CAD Designing Jobs
Once drawn painstakingly by hand, drafting is now done by computers in a process called computer aided drafting. CAD is the industry standard for manufacturing plans, stage plans and architectural plans, and is the most common format used for technical drawings. CAD design is an in-demand field that requires software skill, experience and people skills.
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Identification
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CAD designers are the people who make the plans for a drafting team to use technical drawing to design objects like products, product packaging, drawings and buildings. CAD stands for computer aided design. If you have ever seen a blueprint, it was most likely designed on CAD.
CAD is the computerized version of what drafting used to be: a very precise and difficult process executed at great length by hand. CAD is used to design technical illustrations common in architecture and manufacturing design. You can use CAD to create two-dimensional and three-dimensional models of the building, layout or product you intend to build or implement.
Types of Software
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CAD software platforms are plentiful, and many employers require CAD designers to work with multiple CAD software platfors. Software platforms used in CAD designing jobs include AutoCAD, Pro/E, Vectorworks, CATIA and CNC. AutoCAD is the most popular CAD platform. Vectorworks is a CAD type program built for stage design. Lighting and set designers use Vectorworks to create stage and lighting plan schematics.
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Types of Jobs
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CAD-related jobs encompass many fields of industry and include manufacturing design, mechanical design, civil design, roadway design and engineering design. Often, when you are a designer, you must instruct a crew of engineers to execute your plan. This holds true in CAD design; designers often manage and direct design and drafting personnel in achieving their design plan. Civil and roadway designers usually find work in government roadway or planning agencies, but also work with private builders to design the layout of roads in gated housing complexes.
Requirements
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CAD design jobs often require a lot of experience. Because CAD designers are not just drafting operators, but drafting team leaders as well, they must be socially able enough to manage a team of drafters. A successful CAD designer will be proficient in operating most if not all of the CAD software platforms in common use in her industry.
Certifications
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There is no official cover-all certification authority for CAD programs. Various community colleges, vocational schools and universities offer courses and programs which study CAD, but their certifications hold little significance on a national level. If you are going for an entry-level drafting personnel job, a certification might get you in the door. However, CAD design jobs require experience, and most employers looking for CAD designers are more interested in your software proficiency, your job history and your portfolio than any certification.
Salary
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According to a 2006 CAD salary survey by Autodesk User Group International (AUGI), the majority of designers makes between $25,000 and $90,000 per year. CAD designers make the most money in the Pacific region of the United States. According to Think Energy Group, AutoCAD designers' salary garners, on the average, between $55,000 and $60,000 per year.
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