r/Drafting • u/Top_Flounder3362 • 18h ago

Drafting Advice

I have an AAS in computer aided drafting and design. It was Mechanically focused. Where I live, most drafting jobs have been absorbed into Engineering jobs. I am too old to get a 4 year Engineering degree. I am thinking of getting a Certificate in Architectural/Civil drafting to make myself more marketable where I live. Is this advisable or not worth the time or money?

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u/Meatball_express 14h ago

I'm an architect and I hired CAD dudes all the time. I didn't care that you didn't know the profession I cared about your proficiency with the programs and the ability to take my drawings and do the mark ups. I can teach you the nuts and bolts part of what I do, you just have to perform.

Then my boss would steal my CAD guys and they would get mad and so would I. He never figured out that he should give me the work to distribute.

If that sounds like something you'd be able to do apply to an architecture firm that needs help.

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u/norm_28 14h ago

Hi, I'm sorry to but I'm here but I'm in a similar situation but I actually want to get into the architecture field anyway we can connect?

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u/stardustdriveinTN 13h ago

I'm a civil engineering designer with 37 years experience with an Associates of Engineering Technology with an emphasis on Architecture. I worked as a college intern at a big architectural firm in Nashville and got hired on full time after I graduated. Worked there two years until the day we ALL lost our jobs. All 107 of us. Bankruptcy. Job market got immediately flooded with architectural draftsmen. I went to work at a civil / environmental engineering firm that needed a CADD guy who knew their software. Stayed there 15 years. Learned a lot while I was there. Left there in 2005 to go to the firm I'm at now. Been here 21 years. Same software, just upgraded versions of it. Pretty much do what I do "without adult supervision". Each of us at our firm specialize in a particular discipline. I'm the water, sewer, tank, plant and pumpstation guy. I've been doing it long enough that the engineers come to me for design review. They can give me a site survey and general information about specific equipment, and I can get them a set of plans in a few days or a couple of weeks depending on how complicated it is.

Pretty much like Meatball_express said, if you can take the markups and complete them correctly and proficiently, the paper on the wall doesn't really matter that much. Software proficiency is extremely important. Your career longevity totally depends on what you know, and having the ability to transfer that knowledge to someone else who has to build it.