eBagger Posted May 17, 2014 Share Posted May 17, 2014 Hey Whats up I'm new here. I guess this is where a thread like this would go. But I screwed up, and didn't finish my mechanical eng. degree after highschool because of a girl, and ended up getting just 1. AutoCAD Certified 2005 2. Associates in Business 3. Associates in English I have kept up somewhat with the AutoCAD world and industry although only managing to work crap jobs like Walgreens and Working with handicapped people (that was aight though, made me feel good) nothing that can sustain a life well I've been out of real work for almost a year, but 6 months ago I got approached to do some designs for someone I played Counterstrike with. I was like naw bro I haven't done that in forever, but he said it wasn't too hard and wanted me too, so I installed AutoCAD 2011 and retaught myself and did the drawings for him although basic in mechanical design. I was amazed at how simplified it seemed things had gotten since 2005, and if I knew 2011 how easy would be going to a business using 2014 I'm out of income again and I can't take going back to another retail job and dealing with the general public Using him and 6 months of basically freelance working for him as a reference doesn't seem like much, but I'm really feeling down with the choices I made about leaving the path/industry. Thanks for reading or any advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReMark Posted May 17, 2014 Share Posted May 17, 2014 Unfortunately I think you'll find it difficult at best given your limited experience. It may all depend on what contacts, if any, you've made through this person that you can parlay into something with more significance. Any chance you can get yourself back into an AutoCAD class and fortify your skills further? Do you intend to stay with the mechanical end of things or would you be willing to branch out? Might I suggest, if you have any interest, the electrical drafting field? I think it has a real future ahead of itself given some of the technologies that rely so heavily upon it. In any case, I wish you success in whatever you decide to pursue. Good luck. Just one quick question. Was all the work you did strictly 2D? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dadgad Posted May 17, 2014 Share Posted May 17, 2014 Welcome to CADTutor. Get busy, it is a huge industry, and you have a lot to learn. Kicking your ass for previous decisions won't help you to get where you want to go. Pursue Autocad, or which ever software, as if it were Counterstrike, and you'll be much better off. It is an amazing tool (CAD) and I find it very much like playing a game, because it is just so mind bogglingly powerful. If you can take some instruction, great, if not, dig into the Tutorials links on this site, and or Youtube, or the Autodesk channel. The only way this will happen is if you make it happen, and get psyched about it. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGAL Posted May 17, 2014 Share Posted May 17, 2014 Buy a new pair of shoes and go door knocking, be prepared to take maybe a joint role job some drafting some manual labour small company etc as a start every job adds to your experience, then for the application for the next better one. If you can do both go back to school part time. Here around 70% of jobs are not advertised word of mouth, agency's etc. When knocked back ask if they know anyone that might be looking for someone the personal network is huge. You will be surprised whats behind some doors, as ex Autocad sales I knocked on any door my best was 1 order $80,000 never been there before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dana W Posted May 17, 2014 Share Posted May 17, 2014 (edited) Well, it appears that you may have enough experience and training for an entry level CAD drafter depending on the industry you are looking at. However, first impressions are everything, so... Lose the slang. Brush up on grammar and punctuation. Know when to NOT talk to people as though you just ran into them in front of your favorite bar. From now on, you left college for "Personal Family Reasons." but still obtained two associate degrees. See, isn't that better? Keep the part about working with the physically challenged in your resume. If you have some time on your hands do some volunteer work and put it on your resume. Personally, I work at animal shelters when I can, especially with dogs, and especially with Pit Bulls. At least a prospective employer might see that you are the type that doesn't just sit on your ass in front of a computer game while out of work. Speaking of a resume... Write one. Check a job search site like Monster.com for tips on putting one together, or simply do a google search on how to write one with limited experience to put on it. Bring the resume back here, post in the Jobs and Training forum, (minus the personal and contact info, PLEASE) and ask how it might work for you, or be made better. By the way, AutoCad 2005 to 2011 is a BIG change, 2011 to 2014 not so much, but it did get a little easier and better. Now 2015 has some really interesting stuff in it, beyond the window color scheme being stolen from a 1995 Kenwood component stereo. Actually it reminds me of the dark Photoshop look. I jumped from 2009 to 2015, and I am simply amazed at some of the small things that are SO MUCH better. For instance, the lasso select tool. It isn't such a big deal with just a mouse, but with a touch screen, it is awesome. I can zip my finger all over the place, select in loops, bends, straight lines... Run it clockwise, it's inclusive, counterclockwise it's crossing. (or is it the other way round?) It's like CSI Miami. And the layer manager. You can actually SEE the layer properties icons. There is a toggle button on the status bar for Hardware Acceleration. Depending on one's graphics card, having it on can cause problems, with others having it off is bad. In past releases, one had to go to the Windows Control Panel to change it. There are a lot of little things that add up to just making my day better. Oh. and you can change the freaking gray empty paperspace background color now, to anything you wish. See, little things count, a lot. However, for some reason, the parametric ribbon tabs have this weird blue neon glow coming from behind them. I find that a little weird because none of the other tabs have any special effects. Edited May 17, 2014 by Dana W Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eBagger Posted May 17, 2014 Author Share Posted May 17, 2014 Welcome to CADTutor. Get busy, it is a huge industry, and you have a lot to learn. Kicking your ass for previous decisions won't help you to get where you want to go. Pursue Autocad, or which ever software, as if it were Counterstrike, and you'll be much better off. It is an amazing tool (CAD) and I find it very much like playing a game, because it is just so mind bogglingly powerful. If you can take some instruction, great, if not, dig into the Tutorials links on this site, and or Youtube, or the Autodesk channel. The only way this will happen is if you make it happen, and get psyched about it. Good luck! Dude this is one of the best replies I've ever read. Not to say everybody else's wasn't great. Your absolutely right, if I could pursue AutoCAD like Counterstrike, I'd be master CAD in no time. I'm gonna look into some mind motivation stuff because I feel like you do have to kind of get obsessed to a degree about your work to succeed in such an industry. I'm going to try and do like you say and go into tutorials like mad, because I'm so fumbly with the interface at the moment. The last I really remember all your drawing tools were on the left was along the left side And I have alot to kick my ass about, but thats too much to get into, I'm basically 27, moved back home with mom, lucky to have clean record/no trouble, about to restart life, and trying to find a career. I'm afraid a soul sucking retail or general public job is going to put me into a rut that will get me back into my original lifes setbacks. I appreciate the quality reply bro. Well, it appears that you may have enough experience and training for an entry level CAD drafter depending on the industry you are looking at. However, first impressions are everything, so... Lose the slang. Brush up on grammar and punctuation. Know when to NOT talk to people as though you just ran into them in front of your favorite bar. From now on, you left college for "Personal Family Reasons." but still obtained two associate degrees. See, isn't that better? Keep the part about working with the physically challenged in your resume. If you have some time on your hands do some volunteer work and put it on your resume. Personally, I work at animal shelters when I can, especially with dogs, and especially with Pit Bulls. At least a prospective employer might see that you are the type that doesn't just sit on your ass in front of a computer game while out of work. Speaking of a resume... Write one. Check a job search site like Monster.com for tips on putting one together, or simply do a google search on how to write one with limited experience to put on it. Bring the resume back here, post in the Jobs and Training forum, (minus the personal and contact info, PLEASE) and ask how it might work for you, or be made better. By the way, AutoCad 2005 to 2011 is a BIG change, 2011 to 2014 not so much, but it did get a little easier and better. Now 2015 has some really interesting stuff in it, beyond the window color scheme being stolen from a 1995 Kenwood component stereo. Actually it reminds me of the dark Photoshop look. I jumped from 2009 to 2015, and I am simply amazed at some of the small things that are SO MUCH better. For instance, the lasso select tool. It isn't such a big deal with just a mouse, but with a touch screen, it is awesome. I can zip my finger all over the place, select in loops, bends, straight lines... Run it clockwise, it's inclusive, counterclockwise it's crossing. (or is it the other way round?) It's like CSI Miami. And the layer manager. You can actually SEE the layer properties icons. There is a toggle button on the status bar for Hardware Acceleration. Depending on one's graphics card, having it on can cause problems, with others having it off is bad. In past releases, one had to go to the Windows Control Panel to change it. There are a lot of little things that add up to just making my day better. Oh. and you can change the freaking gray empty paperspace background color now, to anything you wish. See, little things count, a lot. However, for some reason, the parametric ribbon tabs have this weird blue neon glow coming from behind them. I find that a little weird because none of the other tabs have any special effects. Whoa Dana up their on his high horse Honestly, I'm here because I'm banned from my usual forums (Because of personal mod conflict), where theres no rules and discussing crime/drugs is the primary userbase. Though it sounds bad, their are quite a variety of subforums where some intelligent and successful people post, even a doctor I talk to about my health problems. Technology/Philosophy/Psychology/Guns/Politics, its got it all. And I wasn't talking to you guys like I was in a bar, you got my sophisticated posting style bruh (I'm assuming I can't say the N-word here, or I'd call you that, but in the friendly way like we coo) This was a good reply as well though I haven't done any ever, and I just startup after a year of not volunteering I feel like they gon' be like "He just volunteering so he can say he volunteered" I do have a resume, but just left off where I was working in the Handicapped. I just need to get all crazy BOLD and recent with the CAD work part, call my counterstrike buddy and tell him to tell whoever calls him that I am a AutoCAD Master (Which I might be able to say true if I get on it like counterstrike) This is all rather long term, as I'm planning on getting my motorcycle running, selling it for $1,000 give some to my mom for debts, get a gaming computer (capable of dual monitor CAD work) because my old one died and I'm on mid range laptop at best. Keep learning and when I feel comfortable enough about my skills, use my astounding charisma and charm , put together a portfolio of drawings I did and I'm capable of, and explain my urge to get in the industry and show him my recent drawings They'll be like "This kid got MOXY! He's Hired!" I dunno if you bring you a CAD portfolio with you like you would a model agency or art agency or something would you? And yeah you right is definitely has changed. It reminded me of how Microsoft Word changed, except that their bars were always at the top. I dunno it seemed like even though everything moved around it, it seemed as though it had been dumbed down a little bit. I'm not just saying that cause I'm mr. old school 2005 always better, it just seems to be going with the general trend of technology making things easier in general, even in programs like CAD. I remember joking when XP came out "One day Microsoft just gonna have big buttons on the screen you hit and goes to the program" and they came out with that windows 8 garbage and its true. Good lord Squares with little apps in them. Makes me sick, I wanna DOS prompt suckas these days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobDraw Posted May 19, 2014 Share Posted May 19, 2014 (edited) Here's a hint. If this is you being "sophisticated", you need some brushing up. (Please don't take this as an insult.) I'm not sure you realize it because you are new, but this is a professional forum. Conversations worded like this usually take place in the chat section. I'm not criticizing what you are saying, just the way you are saying it. Just knowing your place will help to get you far. Edited June 4, 2014 by RobDraw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dana W Posted May 20, 2014 Share Posted May 20, 2014 You can lead a (high) horse to water, but you can't make him drink. Post your full contact information and resume here so we can warn everyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikekmx Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 Just like being expert at Word doen't enable you to produce a best-selling novel, being expert at AutoCAD doesn't enable you to produce accurate technical drawings. You need to know what you are drawing. In my experience there is little demand for a plain AutoCAD user, but there is a lot of demand for an engineer who is (at the minimum) proficient at AutoCAD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReMark Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 I still run across many ads looking for people with AutoCAD skills that do not mention one also has to be an engineer. Engineers are paid for their specific engineering knowledge not for their CAD skills. For them CAD is just another tool, like a pencil or a spreadsheet, that may help them do their job but it isn't the main focus of what they do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobDraw Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 I get emails from monster listing new openings in this area. There are, by far, more engineering than drafting positions. That may be because the drafting jobs often do not get listed because the larger firms are always looking for good drafters. With that being said, I am fairly confident that, if I were to lose this job, I could get another drafting position before the first unemployment check came in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReMark Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 Despite the fact I am full-time employed I check job postings on a regular basis primarily to see what companies are looking for in the way of experience paying particular attention to what programs they are running and what versions. Every now and then I'll run across an ad that states "experience using AutoCAD 2000 required." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikekmx Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 I still run across many ads looking for people with AutoCAD skills that do not mention one also has to be an engineer. Engineers are paid for their specific engineering knowledge not for their CAD skills. For them CAD is just another tool, like a pencil or a spreadsheet, that may help them do their job but it isn't the main focus of what they do. exactly what it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikekmx Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 I still run across many ads looking for people with AutoCAD skills that do not mention one also has to be an engineer. Engineers are paid for their specific engineering knowledge not for their CAD skills. For them CAD is just another tool, like a pencil or a spreadsheet, that may help them do their job but it isn't the main focus of what they do. CAD monkeys? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReMark Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 Not in the hands of an AutoCAD expert. Then it is a force to be reckoned with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eBagger Posted June 4, 2014 Author Share Posted June 4, 2014 I'd be a CAD monkey and appreciate it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eBagger Posted June 4, 2014 Author Share Posted June 4, 2014 wow I posted this big reply to dana and others and then it said I wasn't logged in I think it did that for my last reply too but I dunno I might retype it sometime if I'm bored and it doesn't show up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dana W Posted June 4, 2014 Share Posted June 4, 2014 wow I posted this big reply to dana and others and then it said I wasn't logged in I think it did that for my last reply too but I dunno I might retype it sometime if I'm bored and it doesn't show up Well, I'll try to save you some time. What I wrote was meant to let you know how to compose documents and conduct your self when meeting your prospective employers in the future. You chose to take it personally, and show us how far in the opposite direction you were willing to go. Fine. I'm done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nukecad Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 wow I posted this big reply to dana and others and then it said I wasn't logged in I think it did that for my last reply too but I dunno I might retype it sometime if I'm bored and it doesn't show up When you log in tick the little box that says "remember me", that way you stay logged in until you hit the "log out" button. If you don't tick the box you can get timed out if you stay on a page for a long time. (e.g. typing a long post) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.