Posts
72
Joined
1/22/2015
Location
Altoona, PA
US
Edited Date/Time
8/21/2015 5:31pm
Too make a long story short I'm unemployed after working in a machine shop at a papermill for 4 years, the only reason I worked there in the first place was because my then girlfriend didn't want to move out of town to where the office was I was drafting at. I worked as a draftsman professionally for 3 years before the mill, and have an associates degree, and high school cert to go with it. At the firm I was at we did all civil work, coal mines took up 96% of the billing. We used Carlson civil 3D which is just a package based off regular autocad civil 3d. Throughout all my experience I've used 2005-2010 packages. I'm looking to get back into drafting and am just curious if any of the newer packages are so much different that I would need to take any kind of refresher course on them. I'm marketing myself as experienced and would rather not have a gigantic shock of entirely new software of they are running any of the late model softwares. I'm sure this isn't the case but if anyone is familiar with the newest say, past two-three years of cad packages are there any big changes?
I went through about 5 iterations of "Master Cam" and only once was there so much change they sent us to a one day course, and Master Cam covered that for us upgrading .
The Shop
To answer your question, as far as the basics, nothing has really changed. I think the most changes have come with the opportunities of customization. They've added a few worthwhile commands with every update, but for the most part each update is a load of bull. Autodesk is creating a situation where they are 'forcing' people to buy the updates. A lot of bullshit propaganda if you ask me. I don't mean to sound like a conspiracy theorist, but the updates really aren't necessary.
I work in a firm that has about 20 engineers and the majority of them do not have a background as in depth as mine. They know the basics and that is for the most part sufficient. I hope this answers your question without any confusion. Let me know if you have any other questions. Good Luck.
I use DraftSight X64, it's open source and does a great job. little learning curve from AC2010 which i was using before.
As far as your job opportunity and being out of practice. Just be honest, but let them know that you are confident that you will pick it up again very quickly.
Dammit, I love Autocad, but Autodesk is a shit company... I need to look for other programs.
For me personally, I think it is more appealing to hire an entry level versus a very experienced person.
The reason I say that is this...............You know at least the basics of CAD (probably a bit more than the basics by the sound of it) and you can come in on your first day and be beneficial. Management would know what your capabilities are and would know what your limitations are . If it was me personally, I wouldn't have to spend the next month instructing you on how to draw a line or a circle, because you know how to. You would still be inexperienced enough that you can absorb the companies CAD standards and respect the process in which we complete our .dwg files. That initial process is just as important as being experience, because you need to create a strong foundation in order to be a success in the future.
Every now and then we hire someone that is 'experienced' and they completely ignore our CAD standard. They take on the approach that 'that's not how I like to do it'. Needless to say, they don't last long. I personally think that if you make it past the probationary period the company has decided that you can be a valuable investment to the company. Just keep an open mind. Another reason we hire entry level is because they are a cheaper investment and this plays into what I previously just said.
If you get an interview and receive the job, just work hard and the rewards will eventually come to you.
Their whole perpetual versus desktop licensing that is coming up is a load of bullshit. Microsoft tried this awhile ago.
I honestly think this will eventually be the demise of their 'monopoly'. I've used AutoCAD since I was in high school back in 1991. In that time, it went from such a great drafting/design software to an overcomplicated and overpriced gadget.
The past year or two I've been trying to learn Revit MEP on my own. The resources available from Autodesk are completely worthless, because they have no real world applications. The Revit Electrical Families available are a complete joke, but at least they are getting what they want and making us pay out our ass for it.
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