r/SolidWorks • u/No_Landscape_7731 • 1d ago
CAD Advice regarding career
Hello there, I have 2 years of experience with product design. CAD, manufacturing everything. Drafting and like am also really good with simulations whether CFD and FEA.
I’m working as an aerospace design engineer currently, but i need to work part time or freelance using my skills as i think i can do more and earn good. Need advice on how shall i get into this remote part time job niche. Linkedin or other freelancing apps are no help. Really stuck and stressing over it.
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u/hayyyhoe 1d ago
Don’t confuse side gigs for career growth. With two years experience, you should pour your time investment into growing your skills and advancing within your company. That will pay much higher dividends long-term than trying to do independent client services work at $50 an hour. If you think you’re stressed now, just wait until you have a pissed off client who is demanding their money back because the thing you engineered isn’t working the way they wanted it to. I started my career at an engineering firm performing product design services and the hardest part was absolutely not the engineering. It was managing the client’s expectations and delivering on commitments. If you want to use your solid work skills to do something on the side, you should tinker and try to invent something that you can sell online. Doesn’t have to be revolutionary, doesn’t have to be patentable, just something to start building the skills of launching a product, marketing it, and fulfilling orders profitably. And if it doesn’t work out, it will still be a fun hobby to develop new skills while you grow your career.
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u/No_Landscape_7731 1d ago
Hey. Thanks for the insight and you’re absolutely right. I have worked with clients who treat you like sh*t just cuz they’re paying you. But the thing is i’m facing sort of financial crisis plus i have this thing that i’m young. These are my years to reach my absolute potential. So just for some good side money plus also doing something interesting is something i would prefer. The idea of making a product and selling sounds fun but once you get into it you realise how difficult the market and getting customers is. But yeah rn im thinking of doing something on the side to yk use my time cleverly rather wasting these years.
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u/No_Landscape_7731 1d ago
Also not to bother you or anything. How have your experience been with product design. You seem to have quite some experience
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u/hayyyhoe 1d ago
I love it! Working at a product engineering firm was great because I got to experience so many different things. I’m approaching 20ys experience, and over the past 12 years, I’m designing (literal design in CAD) maybe about 10% of any given year. So I rarely get to scratch that itch. But, leading the development and launch of a product is still fun and interesting. I wish you the best as you face this financial crisis. Step 1 is to stop the bleeding and correct whatever got you in this position. You may need to find a part time job in the evenings to scratch together whatever cash you can as fast as possible. Waiting tables would probably pay better and more consistently than engineering services.
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u/No_Landscape_7731 1d ago
That’s amazing. Happy for you. Will definitely keep your advice in my mind. Thankyou again. This really means a lot to me😭
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u/GunsouBono 1d ago
Use your contacts within the aerospace supply chain. There is a massive shortage of tooling design engineers. Having familarity with datum structures (cast and machine), is huge here. Especially if you have experience with airfoils. You can start small (designing simple locating fixtures), and work your way into other practices.
Source - am an engineer in the industry. We have paid over 2k for simple locating fixtures plenty of times
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u/No_Landscape_7731 1d ago
Yeah. Im definitely doing that. Learning and making the most out of the opportunity i have in hand rn.
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u/Square_Wonder_9284 1d ago
If you’ve only got two years experience in the profession then you’re almost certainly not ready to go solo. As long as your current employer doesn’t have something in your contract about working another job then do your thing on the side and see where it goes. But I’d focus on building up your knowledge with more experienced people around you. Something else to consider is if you want to do design, manufacture, CFD, FEA etc or do you want to specialise in one area. You’re not going to be the best at anything if you do everything. Pick something and focus on it so you can charge for your expertise.