Help! I'm Sick of CAD. 8

[Wrightguy]

I'm in my mid thirties, married with two kids and have been doing nothing but Cad work for 10 years in the structural side of things to make a living.

I'm considered a technician. I've been going to engineering school at night (1 class a semester) and have 7-8 classes left mostly humanties and water/civil classes. Strength of materials, concrete, steel, structural analysis, soil are all behind me. (Senior standing in school)

I watch as each new engineer comes to work with half the knowledge I have. (Don't get me wrong, some are very bright and will succeed and become those people we admire the most.)

My question is this.....

Does it make sense for me to sit for the EIT exam and leave my current position as a tech and strive for a more design oriented engineering job now or wait it out.

I think I have CAD burnout... and I understand that CAD is an important tool in the design process.. however I would like to see if anyone else has been down this road and can share their insight and wisdom.

Thanks in advance.

MJ

 

[TheTick]

a la Sean Connery in "Highlander"...

We are the same, Binary! We are brothers!"

 

[racv2]

Maybe it is too late for my posting but I did a search on Yahoo cuz that is exactly what is happening to me:
I AM SICK OF CAD.
I actually have a BS in Civil Engineering and passed the FE Exam this past April 2003.
Now the problem with me I guess is that when I took my current job the job offer letter said: "you will be performing Civil Engineering tasks with emphasis in CADD"!!! so I should have known better what I was getting myself into. I have been here 1 year and a half and mostly I have done is just plain old drafting on a computer. Have had the chance tho to do some hydraulics and hydrology design and that is because after I found out that I'd passed the exam FE I complained to the big boss.
What really pissed me off is that there are a couple of kids here one with a BS in CE the other one is not even a Civil Engineer and they get all the real civil engineering assignments. The first kid has taken and failed the test twice, the second kid is scared to death to take it because he didnt take most of the courses that the exam covers in College.
I mean I don't want to criticize anyone but I think it is unfair that I took the exam, passed it at my first try and I still don't get as much civil engineering tasks as they do!!!
So what can I do about it? A friend told me that the reason for that is because I am too good at CAD so they rather keep me doing CAD work than C.E.
Any advice? I want to be a Civil Engineer not a CAD drafter!!! How do I go about this? I feel so frustrated, specially cuz one of the "kids" the one who is not an engineer seats in the cubicle next to me and it is so depressing when any engineer comes in to give him instructions or assignments to design a drainage system or a stormwater basin and then they come to me just for some stupids mark-ups!!!
HELP please! I need some encouragement and patience maybe.
Thanks?

 

[buzzp]

Look for another job. In the meantime, approach your boss and ask him what his plans for you are or ask him where do I fit in the picture of this companies future? He will probably not be straightforward with you if he plans on giving you more CAD work. So if he quickly says oh you will be doing lots of engineering work, well that probably means you won't be. If he says, yes you have been doing a lot of CAD work but.. then he is probably being honest and he intends for you to do more engineering work.
Maybe you are too good at CAD work. It sounds like you really don't have a draftsman in the office, except you.

 

[ewh]

Whoa! I hope you guys aren't tarring all of us CADD (computer aided drafting and DESIGN) designers (oops, I mean "technicians&quot with the same brush. I can't address the civil side of the argument, but I have strong opinions on the manufacturing side. I have almost 20 years experience as a CADD "designer" after spending countless hours clinching my lead holder and keeping my drawings neat and legible as a drafter, making sure the checker (are there checkers anymore?) would not have reason to bleed on my drawings. I have worked mainly in the aerospace industry, and have worked with engineers such as ichibansan who have DEMANDED that I do as they say, right or wrong. As a "designer", I know enough to recognize when such engineers make some stupid mistakes (to get the drawing out the door in a hurry) and have called them on it. It has led to one or two leaving the company (disgraceful to be questioned by a mere "technician&quot. I have also enjoyed working side by side with engineers who have team spirit, who appreciate it when someone is concerned with getting it right, not simply getting it out the door. Deadlines are important, but so is QUALITY! Fortunately, engineers today seem to be more of the latter type.

I have also seen engineers take more control over their designs, and I have no problem with that, until the drawings are made. Many recent graduates seem to have no concept on what constitutes a proper engineering drawing. Yes, they get all of the correct specs called out, and almost all of the required dimensions, but it is rare to see one of their drawings without glaring mistakes (per AMSE Y14.5). Part of the problem is that either they check and approve the drawings themselves, or have one of their fellow engineers do it. It doesn't matter to them that extension lines and leader lines cross dimension lines, or that their notes don't make sense, or that the geometric tolerancing is impossible to achieve. It tends to breed mediocrity when it comes to the finished drawings. I realize that this is becoming less important with the advances in CNC machining and robotics, but the intent of an engineering drawing is to make it easier for the producer (machinist, welder, etc) of the item to understand exactly what is required. These are things a drawing checker would have caught, but they are a rarity today.

I tend to agree with voltair and The Tick. After those years hunched over the board, I have to admit that I, too, love CADD, especially when I have the opportunity to work with engineers who give me the basic parameters of what is required and let me go at it. With today's high-end software, much more is produced than mere lines on paper, and on all but the most basic parts, even those lines are produced much more quickly and accurately. No comparison. No descriptive geometry required to define views. Design problems that would have been missed until actual parts are made are now uncovered as you create your model. It is much simpler to do mass analysis on a solid model (even lowly "technicians" such as myself can handle this) than with a picture on a drawing. I agree that more time is having to be spent learning the latest software versions, but each new version is more powerful than the last, and it is time well invested. In today's "just in time" environment, it doesn't make business sense to do away with designers and leave it all to the engineers.

I don't have an inferiority complex. I know about appropriate fasters, edge distances, suitable materials and finishes, manufacturing methods, etc. and am always learning more. It is not necessary for an engineer to spoon feed me this information, only to ascertain that the part meets stress requirements, that I have not made any mistakes in my judgement or to suggest better alternatives.
I have held several positions as a design engineer (though I will not refer to myself as such), because the only way the front office could justify my rate was to do so.

I apologize for ranting on about this, and wish I had more to offer racv2, other than look over the above postings again. There is some good advice there, and keep checking back.

 

[Wrightguy]

Well just a little update....I just finished taking the FE Saturday and it wasn't too bad. I didn't study for it. It sounds pretty obvious but if I had studied for it..it would have been pretty easy to pass. I took it anyway just to see how I'd fair later after graduation. (I haven't had traffic engineering,or CE Materials) I have decided to return to school full time in January to graduate in Dec '04. instead of dragging it out another 5 years part time.

It looks like the consistant advise has been to graduate and pass the FE...

I'm on my way.....Just need to have a lttle more patience..

Thanks everyone..You've all been great!

Anyone else take the FE Saturday?

 

[TheTick]

Good luck, Wrightguy!

 

[ctopher]

Finish what you started. Even with CAD burnout, it is a tool that more people are using and is the way of the future....not just for engineers. Hang in there. I use CAD 10 hrs a day everyday, and also get burned out.
ctopher

 

[plasgears]

Your CAD skills will make you more valuable as an engineer. I have been in the job market lately, and CAD is now a requirement for engineers at all levels.

 

[lilliput1]

I am a mech engineer doing HVAC work so what I say below, based on my observation may not be entirely correct:

Unfortunately structural engineers have the most risk (potential of structure collapse) associated w/ their design and they are not paid as good as other fields of engineering.

Structural engineers must be familiar with AISC design manuals. I don't know if the college course prepared you for this. The ideal assumptions used in the Strength of Materials college course may not apply in real life. Hence the AISC bridges this gap through a lot of conditions, & calculations to determine the allowable stress. How are you at Excel spreadheets?

ASHRAE offers night courses that are specific to HVAC. It will cost approximately $4000 total for say (2) years night study.

 

[racv2]

Thank you buzzp I followed your advice and talked to my boss and a month ago I quit my last job as a CAD drafter. I don't have anything against CAD drafters, I was just tired of being referred as "one of our CAD drafters" in my last job when I knew I was more competent than some of the engineers there and I knew I had a BS in Civil Engineering.
I got a job as an "engineer". I like what I am doing now, I am enjoying my job. I always wanted to be a engineer and use my AutoCAD skills so I am glad I was able to quit and get a better job, better paid and a real civil engineer position.
Thank you all for your advice.

 

[JRW261]

Maybe Pennstate is different but they still teach students Computer aided drafting skills. I had an entire class on "computer aided engineering". I think it is just the (no offense) older generation of engineers that didn't grow up in the PC age but in the "punch a hole in card for Ansys" age havn't been taught about CAD programs which now are solid modelers and such. In my 4yrs I was taught ProEngineer, ProEngineer Wildfire, AutoCad, and self taught myself Solidworks. I am more fluent in solidworks but could easily relearn any of them in a matter of a few days. In our CAE class (and other classes) we used Ansys for design analysis and other types of software as well. Yes, we are told this is more of a ME Tech'sjob but in some work places there aren't Techs and in your design process you will have todo it.

In response to the original post, I think that his prior experience, new training, and crossover abilities will help him a great deal. The biggest problem with new graduates is that they have NO prior experience in ussually ANY field. Employers, as I have seen it, generally hope for some experience to show not only that they can use their skills but that they can work in a work place effectivly. I think this will be his greatest advantage.

 

[Amberjak]

I have to agree with you. I'm 35 and have been using CAD for about 9 years now and am sooooo burned. WHAT ever happend to good old paper and a #2 pencil.

 

[lilliput1]

The sooner you get the EIT the better. Then you can take the PE exam. Since you already have more than 5 years experience you can take the PE exam right after you pass the EIT. Engineering firms have a salary bracket and getting registered would help you climb up. I was able to purchase my house when I passed my PE exam and my pay scale went up. However that was in 1978 when a 13 year old split level (3) bedroom single home was $35000. Nowadays home prices are so out of reach that I pity the next generation. Now both husband and wife got to have good salaries to make ends meet!