Anyone Use Autocad or a cad program?

[rykertest]

I am looking at a second job, hopefully something I can do from home a few days a week and I'm in the begining stages of looking into this. Anyone got any feedback on how I could do that? How do I get certified in this and who can I work for?

 

[walliwalibus]

Hmmmm.... start with some college courses and then Apprenticeship then go..............

 

[GUARDIAN]

i use it every now and then. most of the mechanical & electrical design guys here use it on a part time basis. the only full time ones we have are graphical designers that do alot of our schematics & drawings. I suggest a background in that.

 

[Mr. dB]

A couple of semesters of CAD training at a local University would be a big help.

 

[rykertest]

thanks for everyones replies. Have a good day.

 

[Razorguns]

Learning curve is high. Is that what you would enjoy doing, or is this simply for a paycheck.

Happyness is from doing the former. Otherwise you may be back here again one day deciding on your "next" career.

r

 

[rykertest]

Learning curve is high. Is that what you would enjoy doing, or is this simply for a paycheck.

Happyness is from doing the former. Otherwise you may be back here again one day deciding on your "next" career.

r

I already have my dream job...my career. This is simply for money and ideally it would be from home. I used to own a business and hated that, just too much crap to deal with. I love my career but it affords me a decent amount of time off that I feel could be used to make more money at this time. But I need to be home for my family. I kinda want my cake and eat it too but yo uknow, can't hurt to explore the idea.

 

[PICK3]

PM Frisky, she's a CADD guru

I only use MicroStation V8 for QC checks.

 

[rykertest]

PM Frisky, she's a CADD guru

I only use MicroStation V8 for QC checks.

OK, thank you.

 

[swole]

community colleges offer cheap courses

they'll start off with how to click your mouse, lol but then it gets a little more challenging

i've used catia cad, fun stuff. just not what i want to do for a living

 

[PICK3]

The shit they can do with LiDAR data in a CADD environment is truly amazing.

just sayin'

 

[Razorguns]

I already have my dream job...my career. This is simply for money and ideally it would be from home. I used to own a business and hated that, just too much crap to deal with. I love my career but it affords me a decent amount of time off that I feel could be used to make more money at this time. But I need to be home for my family. I kinda want my cake and eat it too but yo uknow, can't hurt to explore the idea.

hmm. see if there's lynda.com courses on it.

but to make money, you gotta compete with the seasoned autocad freelancers out there - and they're gurus. So set aside a LOT of hours to learn this.

r

 

[reno240]

I am looking at a second job, hopefully something I can do from home a few days a week and I'm in the begining stages of looking into this. Anyone got any feedback on how I could do that? How do I get certified in this and who can I work for?

Yeah - just hit a local community college for a couple of semesters. Once you get that down, you can get a job with any number of Architectural, Engineering, or construction companies. Better get on it though, because with every passing day - the pure CAD draftsman is being phased out. The new architects and engineers already know CAD. So, you'll have to find some old timer that you can do CAD for.

 

[alien amp pharm]

Assuming you buy the software ($2000), large format printer ($2500), costs of classes ($1000+) (if you take them) it may take a while for you to start turing a profit, especially if this is being done on the side.

I occasionly do small jobs for Architects from my home. I already have the software and use of a large format printer so my costs are pretty much nothing.

Whatever you do don't make the mistake of thinking it's easy to learn Autocad. On top of that you need knowledge of whatever discipline you are designing for (mechanical, architectural, structural, etc).

If I were you I would first learn the program then seek out Architects who may just need something simple completed such as copying a floor plan from an original or hand drawn print. These are pretty much "copy" drawings and are easy, especially for a n00b.

Once you get more experienced, comfortable and they see good quality work, you can then move onto other more advanced tasks.