floor plans and where to go from here? 1

[CHALLENGERSRT]

What should i do about my interest in drafting. I don't feel i have that much of an immense passion however if it will help me get out of my moms basement i'll be happy. I am currently in TCAT Memphis and in the AutoCAD/Drafting Course. I also have shadowed and learned from a floor plan architectural drafting company local to me. They have offered me a job for paid work if i can show the employer i can do it. I did a test the last time and still had a ways to go...i wasn't even considering the numbers in CAD or "Preparing" AutoCAD drawings. Anyways this is my 3rd month in school. I want to freelance also but fiverr and upwork are very disappointing options to try to get work. I've been just calling random General Contactors/Architects near me to see if they have any work they wouldn't mind outsourcing. I consider this "cold calling"

Anyways, my main goal with this is because as a man i'm turning 21 tomorrow and i feel i need to get my stuff together. I've lived with my mom my whole life. The thing is that if i accept the offer from the floorplan place and i'm scared its not gonna be what i want it to be...or at least enough to upgrade my life. I know anything is an upgrade from $10 hr but there's uncertainty. I look at the drafting salaries for Memphis and it seems OK. I've never had "real money" but hopefully i can get to it soon. Being a broke student sucks.

 

[SWComposites]

Go with the floor plan drafting company. Learn all you can there. You need experience before you can realistically freelance.

 

[lucky-guesser]

I agree with SWC. I did a little freelance stuff and it was fun, but I was only able to do it because I had already learned how drafting worked at a normal job. Being at a regular business will give you structure and show you exactly what is needed in a print. Once you learn that, you can take that same structure/style/other components of knowledge and apply it to your freelance stuff.

My freelance job was in addition to my normal work. You would need to have a good reputation and a pretty steady flow of jobs before I would try to make freelancing my full time job.

Try to not just learn how to do everything, but why you do each step. I dimension drawings differently depending on which type of machine the part will be made on, which comes from my manufacturing knowledge. I try to keep my part #s, drawing changes, and other assorted paperwork clear and concise to make life easier for the people that have to enter all of that data, as large projects can get messy at times. Learning the basics of what goes on around you will help you understand your own objectives better.

 

[CHALLENGERSRT]

Yesterday was my 21 birthday btw.
Anyways, I will consider both what you have said and honestly I've realized i CAN start freelancing once I "get the ball rolling" however I got another test at the floorplan company on Monday at 8:30. He says if i do good in front of him i will be able to work on "addition/renovation drawings." I'm assuming I'll have to go into studying that on my spare time. I currently am still in Drafting School
and we normally just work out of the AutoCAD textbook. Simple problems and drawings and i submit them on "elearning" Isn't really set time it's just a long course at the end is a Civil Engineering Certificate/Diploma. Anyways, what i've been doing is when i'm out in the real world i would sit in my car and i have this list of all these companies i cold call to see if they need autocad work...figured i might could do some of it since i have the AutoDesk subscription for a year, anyways i do realize i got to save for another certification and pass if i want to get into Structural Engineering/Analysis.
Being 100% i am not soley in it for money, really just the security. I realize my skills sets are what make me valued in society so i need to network with as many people as i can. I've called Architects/GCs/Structural Engineering Companies. I heard on a podcast i need to utilize my location. I felt it applied to me especially since i still live with my mom.

It's like i fight with myself on learning building 3D Cars/ or Auto Parts, but in order for me to sell stuff i would "invent" for specific cars i would have to go through a storm of legal BS and i'm just 21. To me from here i guess it seems that way because of my lack of experience.

Also guys...i know this may be unrelated however do you guys have any advice on getting a better ride. I've had a 1998 Camry and i feel i want something better but not Tryna go into debt just so i can impress random people. But i realize as a man it matters that i make money and feel in order to succeed in life (especially in getting a gf or wife) i have to have these "resources"
I like cars so obviously i don't feel i need specific recommendations...just putting this out there because i felt i could reach the right people on here
That's the main reason why i'm doing ALL of this and have money anxiety. I realize i need to move out my mom first however i have no clue how that process is...i've lived with my parents my entire life I could use some advice.

 

[phamENG]

Happy birthday!

For starters, are we talking a Civil Engineering Technology certificate?

Your best bet is to find a company (like the floor plan designer you found) that will hire you and get you some experience producing real drawings. If drafting is all you want to do, you'll learn more there (and faster) than in a school program. Granted, a floor plan design shop isn't going to give you that much of a challenge. But it is a good place to start and get a professional reference on your resume.

It sounds like you have an interest in engineering. Have you looked at local engineering firms with drafting departments? Internships in those departments are a bit more rare, but might be worthwhile to start making connections. You mention they have a program for structural analysis. Go for it, if that's what you want. "Draftsmen" in engineering firms are fading away in a lot of markets. The workflow from concept to analytical model to BIM model/document production is becoming sufficiently streamlined that the engineers are doing it. I don't need somebody to turn hand sketches into lines on a computer (I grew up with computers, and I can draw in autocad faster and more clearly than I can with pen and paper)...I need somebody who can understand what I'm designing, apply logic and reasoning and their own knowledge of structures, and give me a decent drawing that I can mark up for completion. That's another thing...2D AutoCAD is good, but the industry is largely moving toward 3D models and Revit. If you want to work in architecture and engineering for buildings, learn Revit.

Regarding the car thing...drive it until the wheels fall off. I spent the first year or two after college driving to my engineering firm's parking lot and parking next to the owner's Mercedes in my 20 year old Mazda Protege with a JB-welded radiator, sloppy shifter bushing, and a back door that I had cut open with an angle grinder because it had been side swiped and pinned shut before I bought it ($360). When the clutch finally gave out I gave in and sold it to the scrap yard. But my wife and I had saved enough to be able to buy a slightly newer used car by then. (That's right, I got myself an amazing wife while driving that beater. Why? Because good people don't care about what you drive, just that you do what it takes to make the best life you can for you and those you love.) Even now, when I could probably afford one of those Mercedes or a nice truck...I still roll up to job sites and park next to contractors' $100k F-350s with my 5 year old Elantra. Why? Because my value doesn't come from what I drive, it comes from what I know and who am I am. Don't let the outward trappings of "success" distract you from the real thing. There's a good saying out there that poor people live like they're rich and rich people live like they're poor. There's a lot of truth to that.

 

[BulbTheBuilder]

I love your comment @phamENG.

 

[IRstuff]

But i realize as a man it matters that i make money and feel in order to succeed in life (especially in getting a gf or wife) i have to have these "resources"

While retirement is a distant possibility for you, it's something that you do need to plan for NOW. Too many people can barely scrape out $1000 for emergencies; I've often come across receipts at the ATM where the balance shown is less than $200. That's NOT how you want to live your life, so one "resource" you also need is the ability to live within your means and save for your eventual family, kid's college costs, retirement, etc.

phamENG's points are on point; good people care about the person that you are and whether you'll be true to them, take care of them, and work as a team with them. Someone who is attracted to flashy things (Squirrel!!) may not have sufficient attention span to be there in the long run.

TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert!

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