Expert: Paul Jordan - 6/22/2009

Question
Hi Paul,

I've been heavily considering a career change from the IT field in favor of learning CAD work. I have a lot of "semi-professional" experience in Photoshop and 3D graphics work, and my wife is a senior cost estimator with a major construction firm. Long story short, your type of work (on the surface) sounds like it's very much in line with my interests and skill set. I have two general questions for you, if you wouldn't mind.

First, if you were restarting your education in CAD today, where would you begin? Would you go straight to AutoCAD, or maybe specialize in Revit? I'm in NJ and we have a pretty wide spectrum of opportunity for CAD locally, and I'm open-minded about any/all that are marketable.

Second, my wife says that there are CAD professionals that work somewhat on a freelance basis. I wonder if you could shed any light on how realistic this really is; I maintain an art and computer studio at home and that's a very attractive option, even if it would be a long-term goal.

Thanks very much.

Answer
Hey Jay,

On the first question, I'd have to say go with the Autocad first.  Autocad is like a basic CAD program but, you can go so many different ways from there.  If you went with Revit, you're focused right into the Architectural industry.. Then there's also Revit MEP and Revit Structural..  Those are two completely different disciplines but, still involved in the building industry.

Autocad can be used for anything.  I used to have a client that designed jewelry with it, I've had clients that were boat builders, landscapers, civil engineers, you name it.  All used Autocad in one way or another.  

Now, with Autocad, there's also quite a few "vertical" routes you can progress to.  There's Autocad Architecture, Autocad MEP, Autocad Mechanical, Electrical, P&ID, Civil 3d.. The list goes on and on.. ALL of them require a decent understanding of the basic Autocad.

I'd wait a few years before you go freelance, just to get the experience you need.  Granted, you could get some job like designing wooden or metal sheds for a small firm and do that freelance for 3 or 4 years but, when that falls through, you've got 3 or 4 years of shed design.. See what I mean??  In the IT world, the more certificates you had, the better off you were at finding a decent job..  In my world, the more experience you have in different parts of drafting, the better you'll be.

Then again, you might find something you really like drawing and can see yourself doing it for many years to come.  Hopefully, there's other companies that need that skillset so you have something to fall back on.. If you find it, you're good to go..

Hope that helps.  In the meantime, register over at AUGI.com.  It's a HUGE source of information about every program Autodesk (Makers of Autocad) sells.  It's not owned by Autodesk but, a lot of their techies go there and help with the forums.  Bookmark it and go there whenever you have a question.  There's also a ton of tutorials that will help you along.

Good Luck!

Paul