Engineers and Drafters, I need Advice

In my opinion an ME or AE degree is still a good idea, even in this global economy...among the things we have learned in my field over the past 6 years or so..........is that Mechanical Engineering Does not outsource well. There will always be a market for good ME's and AE's

 

Same here. I have a civil firm with 4 Professional (Licensed) Engineers that all do all of their own CAD Design and drafting.

Experience in the field and knowledge of drafting techniques make a good CAD Tech / Designer. Knowing how to operate the software is not even half the battle. You actually have to know how to draft a plan to some standards. Sounds simple, but it's very hard to find people with good drafting skills, much less one with any design skills or common sense, at least in civil. Its just easier for most engineers to learn the CAD (and how to draft) and do it themselves.

 

The design group that I am in at my place of employment just hired another designer/drafter. These are some of the things we (I) looked for during the interview process:

- Proficiency in a 3D modeling package (Pro/E, SolidWorks, etc)
- Proficiency in Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing (GD&T)
- Knowledge of manufacturing methods (in our case: die-casting, injection molding, and machining)
- Ability to come up with creative solutions
- Understanding of mechanical systems
- Awareness of ASME/ISO/etc-type standards

We interviewed some applicants who had decades of Autocad experience, but little to no 3D experience. That put them down at the bottom of my list. It's in your best interest to learn Pro/E, Solidworks, Unigraphics, or some other major 3D package; only knowing Autocad will severely limit your opportunities. Personally, I'd probably also avoid the automotive sector, even though it'd be "cool" to work in; same goes for the aerospace sector.

 

Great thread guys. The hamb's got some real brains on here! very interesting

~JoJo~

 

I got my AS degree in Drafting Technology in 1982 and it worked out well. I was a Mechanical Engineering Technician doing Piping, Mechanical, and HVAC drafting at the local Naval Shipyard for almost 16 years, then they closed the yard. Went to school and got CAD certified, but there was a glut of operators at the time so no one was hiring. By the time I got a call I was driving a truck and had forgotten a lot of what I had learned. Ive been a truck driver for a rock quarry for 12 years, but now its looking like I might have to find another new career!

 

I just got out of class a few hours ago. Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing. It is interesting. There is a lot to process. I could only get in to one class I need this semester. As a lot of the California guys will know, the state Universities cut admissions so all the J.C.'s are over crowded and it is a bitch to get in to classes.

 

well thats refreshing!

Im in college right now working tword my Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering!

 

My two cents after a decade in the auto industry...

When I did work for the automobile OEs, we had three design departments - CATIA for DaimlerChrysler, ProEngineer for Ford, and Unigraphics for GM. That was 6 years ago, so the software choices may have changed. Everything was CATIA in my most recent work. Whatever the software, it must be a full 3D modeling system as everything stems from the model - analysis, prototyping, and eventually the final prints.

An advantage you'll have in the job market is your practical mechanical experience. You'll be competing against college kids with nothing but classroom experience - classrooms taught by professors likely with nothing but classroom experience themselves. I have been amazed at the lack of knowledge of things I just took for granted. You'll have to sell yourself that way. Getting past the Human Resources people is the first hurdle, however. From my experience, HR people tend to think in line-items they can check off, rather than having a true understanding of the requirements of the job. I've found that once you get to the actual engineers or technical managers, you can much more easily relate your experience with the job's requirements.

Good luck out there.
Brian

 

I've using pro/e now since about 96, I used to teach it. Now I work on military programs and there aren't enough good designers to fill the jobs. I'd stay away from light vehicles (pass cars) but off highway, military, and even truck are coming on or have been. Nasa uses pro/e (I've taught there) and so do John Deere and CAT. In cali, BAE is a big user, and going like gang busters. Just have to find what you want to do.

 

I just finished my Bachelor's of Science in Mechanical. I would say go for an engineering degree - you will learn the cad as part of your course and project work. I went back to school after being out for 9 years. It was tough - but the best thing I have done for myself so far.

 

I went back to school in '04. Lots of excuses but it was the thing to do at the time.

I have an AA on CAD Design Technology. I went to work for a civil firm and worked 70+ a week all last year.

There arte probably a lot of opportunities in the mechanical auot related or not when the economy is good but where you want to be is the civil field. Last to get hit by a poor economy and first to come out of it if or when it does get hit.

Some advice from an old fart. Study then study some more. The better your GPA the better you odds of being in demand.

 

The US auto industry is not that great a field to dive into right now. You'd be better off in aircraft or general manufacturing. At a minimum, Autocad is good to know, but most houses are looking for Pro E and Catia 5 experts.

I'm a Manufacturing Engineer for a large defense contractor that is doing very well. I use Autocad to do tool drawings, shop sketches, etc. I access various 3-D cad models and dissect them for my needs.

Day in & day out drafting work is drudgery, try to aviod that, unless you get good at it and become an asset with that skill. Most big manufacturers on the east coast are hiring temporary workers, aka job shoppers. The pay is good, but expect no benefits and accept a 25% chance of becoming a permanent hire.

So Cal is probably one of the best places to find work, if you decide to go that route.

Bob

 

i have been doing drafting/design for 20 years now. all automotive with the exception of doing medical for the last 18 months. lost my medical design job because of lack of work. so now i am going back into automotive. tons of work there.
chrysler is switching over to unigraphics because fiat (their new owner) is all UG. so they are phasing out catia.
most of the medical and consumer industries use solidworks. but to be honest, once you learn one system, they are all easy, just a matter of learning which button to click instead of the old one that you are used to clicking.

i would not hesitate for a moment to do this again for a living. you can make some great money at it. especially in automotive.

 

I went back to school in 2005 for CAD which turned out to be the best decision I ever made. I was a machinist before that but didn't think I wanted to do that day in day out for the rest of my life. Great as a hobby but not as a career. For me anyways. I work for a large natural gas firm up here in Canada and honestly, the best company I could ever ask to work for with a constant flow of work. I work side by side with Engineers doing a variety of different jobs and gaining tons of experience! The programs I use are Autodesk Map 3D and CADWorx Plant. I do lots of 3D stuff which is pretty neat. I guess maybe the market may be a little better up here in this field judging by talks of others, but I would definitely recommend it to someone changing career paths as I did. Good Luck!

 

I am a Senior Designer at CAT. Been here 10 years, I also have a AAS in Drafting and design. Started doing drawings and worked my way up to designer. There are not a lot of jobs around here at the time being there were a lot of people laid off last year

 

I am a drafter/engineer at a glass company, we are about to go under due to the economy. I don't know about the mechanical side of things but the architectural field is struggling right now, it seems that you can't get steady work unless you work for the government or state (scary!!!)

 

I'm just trying to get as many classes under my belt as I can towards a degree. I eventually would like to transfer from my JC to Cal Poly Pomona for a Bachelors degree in engineering if I can afford it. Money is tight these days.

 

I am retired, seven years now, but I started in 1960 doing full scale drawings on Mylar in the aircraft industry which was the latest thing then. That lasted until 1969 then got a job designing hospital casework and dormitory furniture and military barracks rehab. From there went to work for the state aviation division doing civil drafting and design on runways first on Mylar in ink then in Auto Cad, and finally in Micro station until I retired at 67 years of age. You have to be able to change with the times and the job requirements. I was given lots of opportunity to do all types of design work and I could not imagine doing anything else more rewarding for a living.

 

lot of great comments on this thread, thanks for all the helpful advice everyone!

 

You would be better off being a welder. I spent 15 years as a drafter and all I ever got was shit on.

 

Know that is an easy CAD program to learn how to use.

 

I started as an Industrial Designer in the '70's. That was pre computer so we had lots of drafting machines and magic markers being used to do the work.

However, that is not the big change. Like many have mentioned here, the way the work is divided into departments has really changed. It used to be you had a department of Engineers or Designers with 4 or 5 year degrees. These people would first create/define, from thin air, an idea and describe it on paper. Then this idea was passed onto another department that would do more detailed design and also draft it. In the old days that second phase department employed someone like you described with an AA degree.

Fast forward now to 10 years ago (I'm retired now). That engineer or designer with the BS or BA degree now turns that idea from thin air into a 3d Cad (Solidworks, etc.) drawing himself. There might not even be a department for drafting anymore. So now the Engineer sends this 3d drawing straight to a machine that understands that file. Now the machine starts cutting or growing the part or mold directly from the 3d file. By the way, that process also eliminated a profession called pattern makers who knew how to intrepret the old 3 view drafting drawings.

There are some areas of the country where the old system is still used. Old system meaning, engineering department, design department, drafting department, pattern makers, tool makers, etc. I think it is important to find out if the area where you plan to work has that kind of system. There might be in that case a real demand for your AA degree in drafting.

I don't know what defines how an area works. It might be that cities with stronger unions keep the older structure to keep more people employed. That is just a wild guess on my part, speculation. But that is a subject for another thread.

I did hear personally that the old system is alive and well in some cities. So I would suggest somehow finding out how the work is done in your area. You may end up with some good news.