Engineering with 3d CAD

[TateJ]

I'm wondering if getting a BSME would likely take me away from what I enjoy most about my job - 3d CAD.
I've worked with a few engineers, and have seen the type of work they do... I don't want their jobs.
I basically want to do 3d CAD, but get more $$$ for my expertise.
Is their anyone out there who has my "dream" job?
What do you do?
What degree(s) have you earned?
What degree(s) would you recommend for me?
Are corespondence degrees respected at all out in the real world?

​

tatej@usfilter.com​

aka: Little Debbie's Boy-Toy​

 

[MadMango]

It really depends on the type of job you can land.

I know degreed engineers that only ride watercraft and dirt bikes all week for Honda, and the flip side- I know degreed engineers that only do MathCad computations all week long.

I also know non-degreed CAD-jockies that make $78k a year, and some that make $30k.

The main thing is to build your skill set and experiences to make you as profitable for whatever employer (aka field) you want to get into. There's no doubt however, that a degree is going to usually net you a higher annual income. "The attempt and not the deed confounds us."

 

[jackboot]

TateJ- I have two Eng Degrees- and I love the 3-d work- the difference between me and my designers is:

I will run more 3-d simulations (FEA, Dynamics, Fluid Dynamics).

This is what I do:
1. Designing new equipment
2. Analysising existing designs and modifying existing designs
3. what-if-senerios
4. Offering help on questions by using the 3-d CAD
5. I have a Mechanical Engineering and Eng. Tech Degree

So-get your degree- if your job sucks you can always go back to your former job. And like MadMango- I know just the same people- some engineers fly helicopters for Bell- Some design sewers-Some work with the FBI- Some work with the CIA-Some scuba dive as part of there job- Some work on there own. There is no end to what you could do.

If you like the 3-d, go with Mechanical Engineering- that would be the tightest fit with the Solid modeling.

jackboot

 

[GregLocock]

On the down side I used to pay contract engineers just $1 per hour more than CAD guys with the same experience!

It would take a while to amortise the cost of a degree at that rate.

Having said that as an engineer I have always enjoyed designing bits. And I really enjoy handing over the detailing etc to someone else!

Some of us drive cars on test tracks, and get paid for it. Cheers

Greg Locock

 

[Biggadike]

If you are an absolute GOD of 3D CAD - someone who can pluck finished robust models out of thin air in 30 seconds flat from the flimsiest of sketches (and probably use a few different systems) - then you may well find a really nice place for yourself in one of top design consultancies. They deal with all sorts of stuff - which makes it interesting - and they often seem to need people like that.
Be warned though, they work long hours and weekends and everything is needed yesterday and has to look perfect.

Or, you might want to consider working for a computer games company. They always need good modelers.

The thing about engineering companies is most of their engineers can use 3D CAD and design and engineer as well. Going in as 1/3 of that equation is unlikely to pull-in the big money.

 

[TateJ]

What if I started my own small 3d modeling/design/drafting company.
How often - do you suppose - the lack of a BS would cause me to loose a contract?
Would a BS give me more credibility - even though it may have no "real" bearing on most of the work I would perform.

​

tatej@usfilter.com​

aka: Little Debbie's Boy-Toy​

 

[MASSEY]

Oh no...not the PE debate again...I hope!

 

[Biggadike]

If you've got your own company, who cares what qualifications you've got. If you can get a client base then that will be credible in itself.

Look around, can you see any other small companies like that? If so, what exactly do they do to be successful? If not, get worried.

I don't mean anything personal by this but... most of the people I've met in the past who were debating the value of qualifications etc. didn't have a very realistic measure of their own skill levels. Step one in this whole debate is to find some way of measuring your own skills against everyone elses. Then you can decide what needs to be done.

 

[Mandrake22]

While being able to add PE behind your name on a business card isn't generally required for the vast majority of industrial work you must admit it lends a certain amount of gravitas when hanging out your own shingle. I love saying that word!
My personal experience is that while my PE helped get a job with a company that sold products almost exclusively to municipalities it didn't influence the pay rate and has cost roughly $800 in dues to my state licensing board. My current company wouldn't know a PE if it hit them in the face but myself and the other engineer both have one.

 

[fxlarry]

Dude, get the degree. Unless you want to do 3D cad of other people's designs all day, get the degree. Although experience goes a long way, I can frankly tell you I would not trust the design expertise of someone without at least a BS in their chosen field. So, you would be stuck one step behind the creative work, which is not the most exciting place to be.

Especially with CAD, where you can make pretty pictures of physically impossible objects. If you want to do that, consider becoming an industrial designer (just kidding, I work with alot of IDs and most of them have a really good experiential knowledge of engineering demands, some of them were even double majors).

As for dream jobs:

http://www.ideo.com.

But I dont think we're hiring just now, sorry.

 

[cadd3d]

I am in a similar situation. I enjoy alot of the engineering work, but have enjoyed CAD the most. I got my BS in Communications, and then went back to Vocational Technical school several years later to learn drafting. I am presently persuing my MBA in business and entrepreneurship. I do not know if I want to be a CAD jockey for the rest of my career, but if you want to get ahead the best advice I can give is to get your undergraduate degree. The idea is that if you decide one day you do not just want to do CAD, then you have something more to fall back on.

 

[testy]

Get the degree, no one can force you down a path just because you have an education. However, I disagree with Viktor and FXlarry about non-degreed professionals capability of being good designers. I work with Engineering graduates on a daily basis, that I wouldn't trust to fuel my car. Give me a seasoned craftsman with an education any day. Many Designers don't even realize that their designs are made to work on the shop floor, by the very people your are disparaging. Being more educated doesn't increase intelligence, it just shows perseverance.

IMHO

 

[sancat]

I agree with testy.
These are some reasons why you should get the degree.
It will save you time while designing. Math, and theoretical stuff, if studied with the practical application in mind, (as it seems you already have), will show you shortcuts to what you do.
If you run your own company, it will not limit the kind of people you can hire. Yes, with no degree you could hire a titled guy (there should be lots of examples around) but it is just harder to hire the best ones.
Knowledge is the only property you cant lose (alzheimer excluded). It will be with you no matter how high your debts are.
Finally, you will discover how much you dont know. I think the more I learned the more I discovered how much more there is to learn. Even though you like CAD, you might find while studying other parts you did not know about engineering and which will make you crave for.
I agree with everyone here, not all of us do the same. I certainly envy Greg's racing cars, but I also enjoy doing heavy math.
Said that, to study engineering is not easy, and you need to be Very Stubborn to go through it. At the beginning it is Very Theoretical, and far away from you might think engineers do, however all that math IS necessary to understand Why things happen the way they happen, or at least to enlarge your mind.
sancat

 

[jive]

hey! Tate... you're getting mirky of your degree.. but I suggest... don't mind what others say to you... nevertheless, you've struggled a lot for your profession...

 

[engatwork]

When I was young - like in the 8th grade I had my mind made up that I wanted to do "engineering drawings" when I grew up. This was around 1970 and there was no such thing as computer drawing at that time. Anyway, I got an ME degree and did extensive design/engineering drawing early in my career and although I still enjoy working on 3D/AutoCad I "delegate" the drawing out to people working under me. My salary range is well above what I would make working on 3D/AutoCad.

 

[AlexDring]

From what I have seen most engineers dont use modelling programs. Most are complex and time consuming to learn, and the programs are constantly changing. I use now about four differnt kinds at my work, Solid Designer, Solid Works, Mechanical Desktop, and Inventor, and I still have troubles keeping up on all the revisions.

If designing and playing with cad is the passion that burns inside, I would think a degree would further take you away from that. From what I have seen mostly in Engineers is mostly managment. Most dont have the time to sit down and play, most are too busy researching, or putting out fires.

Typically the best desingers I have see that get paid top dollar are ones that stay with a company forever and ten years. Once a niche is found in desiging that really intrest you, automotive, structual, machines, tooling, R & D, I would find a job like such, stay there and in time the money will come once you make a name and reputation for yourself. "I think, therefore I am"

 

[honjohnest]

Time will be what controls your later life. Make him your friend. Get your degree and learn the heck out of 3D Cad. I believe that you will find 3D Cad to be only a small part of what you really liked. Complex visualization of seldom thought of concepts is the ticket. Let others (with the time) complete your ideas in the future... and then remember this part of your life with a grin.

A good school will provide you with the skills to give you time, later in life, to pursue your true interests which will be far beyond the simple 3D Cad your know have an infatuation for!

Good luck!


John
johnd@switchone.com

 

[DECH]

I am a mech designer i dont make the money an engineer makes but i like to do the work not delegate it so my position fits me and the money is pretty good
I am able to be creative and this is what i really enjoy
so in my opinion a degree will make you a better designer
no doubt and knowledge is as valuable as expirience
so you definitly wont regret getting a degree
but you will surely regret not getting one