Back to School! - KCSR

TheWhiteDevil · 2012-06-03, 09:39 AM

Ok. I humbly ask for the educated kcsr members for their advice and with all seriousness I need it.

I have been provided with the opportunity to go back to school, I do have to go to night classes for the first year though or do it via online ( because I work ) to provide my financial backing ( PARENTS ) with the evidence of good grades to justify their assistance in going back to school.

I would like to continue using CAD systems. I enjoy working towards creating something with my hands but in the end, that just isn't going to pay as much as working with my brain. So what degrees or majors/minors should i be looking into with interests in cad, somewhere in the architectural or mechanical area is what i was looking forward to but I'm unsure as to if this is a good field to work towards, as in job availability and pay.

KCSR army. Those of you with jobs centering around AutoCAD and more help me out. What is it you do? What do you suggest?

Evidence · 2012-06-03, 11:34 AM

I just graduated from JCCC with their Drafting/Design degree, and I would highly recommend it. Its cheap and the teachers are fantastic. I believe there are only a few places in the metro to study drafting, but imo JCCC probably has the best one based on price and faculty. I think one of the big tech schools in the area (like Concorde or something) has a Bachelors degree, but its way overkill and the price is through the roof. JCCC also has a really good internship program with Black and Veatch, two of my friends got intern positions there and they both got offered full time jobs before they graduated. I personally got two job offers before graduating, and I ended up accepting a position at one of the middle to larger size engineering firms in the area, working in their 3D Mechanical department.

A couple things I will tell you from experience:

1. If you have experience with something that one of your class entails, talk to the head of the department (if you go to JCCC his name is Tom Hughes). I worked in construction management and ended up taking a bunch of classes that I already knew how to do (ie Architectural Print Reading, etc). I found out later that he would have written those classes off for me.

2. Work experience is turning out to be a much bigger deal than I thought it was going to be in finding a job. I worked all through school, found a place that hired me as an intern and let me leave throughout the day for classes. When I ran out of hours there (it had an hour cap) I worked for a construction company that allowed me to leave for classes also. That was the HUGE determining factor in getting job offers. I sent my resume to only a few places (was being picky) and got interest from every one of them, while a handful of people in my graduating class didn't work while going to school and have sent out their resume to any job they couldn't find and haven't gotten so much as a phone call. One girl was banking on her 4.0 getting her a position, but hasn't had a drop of luck. Companies want to know you're ready to work.

There is a lot more that I could tell you, feel free to pm me with any specific questions.

Good luck on your search for a school

**DIYAutoRepair** · 2012-06-03, 02:34 PM

CAD is almost a requirement in any engineering position now-days. I would recomend getting a degree (2yr/4yr) in an engineering (mechanical/electrical/architectural) field while taking a significant number of CAD classes. 2yr programs tend to be more hands-on, which I like and tend to lead to those types of jobs.

Like Evidence mentioned, working while going to school is going to do you much more good towards a job than th actual grades, as long as your grades are at least decent. Try to get a job as related to your field of study as possible even if you have to sacrifice $$. Between this and your classes you will be better able to know what type of job you want and it will help you network.

I would not recomend leaning on your parents for school, try to do this by working, it shows more maturity, employers look at that. One guy I recently interviewed was working 3 part-time jobs while going to school.

Jobs show an employer that you can: show up on time, work with others, advance thorugh the ranks etc.

Evidence · 2012-06-03, 02:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DIYAutoRepair

CAD is almost a requirement in any engineering position now-days. I would recomend getting a degree (2yr/4yr) in an engineering (mechanical/electrical/architectural) field while taking a significant number of CAD classes. 2yr programs tend to be more hands-on, which I like and tend to lead to those types of jobs.

Like Evidence mentioned, working while going to school is going to do you much more good towards a job than th actual grades, as long as your grades are at least decent. Try to get a job as related to your field of study as possible even if you have to sacrifice $$. Between this and your classes you will be better able to know what type of job you want and it will help you network.

I would not recomend leaning on your parents for school, try to do this by working, it shows more maturity, employers look at that. One guy I recently interviewed was working 3 part-time jobs while going to school.

Jobs show an employer that you can: show up on time, work with others, advance thorugh the ranks etc.

The company I just accepted an offer to told me in my 2nd interview that they were looking for someone with a solid foundation and had a go getter attitude.....I had worked my way up in previous jobs, and I think thats what made me so appealing. Most companies in the engineering/CAD industry are going to spend quite a bit of time training you anyways, since every company has different standards and ways they do things.

s13 · 2012-06-04, 01:07 AM

to prove to dad that im not a fool

69Mach351 · 2012-06-04, 09:51 AM

If you are wanting to be a full-on engineer, go get a 4 year degree or do the two year and plan on going on to a 4 year.

I work in an industry with a lot of "engineers" and a majority of them are actually draftsmen with a degree from a tech school or a two year degree. There is nothing wrong with that, and with time, you can work your way on up, but they are not actual engineers. Often times they are the ones that do the drawings or modifications to drawings that someone else has done. It is more "on the job" training. They don't quite make as much coming out of school, but they don't spend near as much on school either.

If it matters to you, I work about 95% in manufactring and about 5% in structural. It used to be the other way around. Structural had more engineers, but draftsmen did quite a bit as well.

69Mach351 · 2012-06-04, 09:52 AM

Oh, and good luck!

TheWhiteDevil · 2012-06-05, 08:41 AM

KCSR you guys rock. thanks for the advice...and yes its to prove to my father that I care about more booze and motors....

Not to mention saving for a engagement ring and the desire to be able to provide a life for a significant other is a pretty good motivation...

2012-06-03, 09:39 AM	#1
TheWhiteDevil Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: SPINDEPENDENCE Posts: 636 Post Thanks / Like Thanks (Given): 38 Thanks (Received): 10 Likes (Given): 59 Likes (Received): 66 Dislikes (Given): 23 Dislikes (Received): 17	Back to School! Ok. I humbly ask for the educated kcsr members for their advice and with all seriousness I need it. I have been provided with the opportunity to go back to school, I do have to go to night classes for the first year though or do it via online ( because I work ) to provide my financial backing ( PARENTS ) with the evidence of good grades to justify their assistance in going back to school. I would like to continue using CAD systems. I enjoy working towards creating something with my hands but in the end, that just isn't going to pay as much as working with my brain. So what degrees or majors/minors should i be looking into with interests in cad, somewhere in the architectural or mechanical area is what i was looking forward to but I'm unsure as to if this is a good field to work towards, as in job availability and pay. KCSR army. Those of you with jobs centering around AutoCAD and more help me out. What is it you do? What do you suggest? __________________ WE KEEP THE PEDAL TO THE METAL.

2012-06-03, 02:34 PM	#3
DIYAutoRepair Sponsor Join Date: Oct 2011 Posts: 763 Post Thanks / Like Thanks (Given): 1 Thanks (Received): 30 Likes (Given): 9 Likes (Received): 159 Dislikes (Given): 0 Dislikes (Received): 5	CAD is almost a requirement in any engineering position now-days. I would recomend getting a degree (2yr/4yr) in an engineering (mechanical/electrical/architectural) field while taking a significant number of CAD classes. 2yr programs tend to be more hands-on, which I like and tend to lead to those types of jobs. Like Evidence mentioned, working while going to school is going to do you much more good towards a job than th actual grades, as long as your grades are at least decent. Try to get a job as related to your field of study as possible even if you have to sacrifice $$. Between this and your classes you will be better able to know what type of job you want and it will help you network. I would not recomend leaning on your parents for school, try to do this by working, it shows more maturity, employers look at that. One guy I recently interviewed was working 3 part-time jobs while going to school. Jobs show an employer that you can: show up on time, work with others, advance thorugh the ranks etc. __________________ DIY Auto Repair Fully equipped service bay rental by the hour Visit us at http://diyautorepairkc.com/ or call (913) 226-3806 Favorite car from the past (73 Pinto)

2012-06-05, 08:41 AM	#8
TheWhiteDevil Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: SPINDEPENDENCE Posts: 636 Post Thanks / Like Thanks (Given): 38 Thanks (Received): 10 Likes (Given): 59 Likes (Received): 66 Dislikes (Given): 23 Dislikes (Received): 17	KCSR you guys rock. thanks for the advice...and yes its to prove to my father that I care about more booze and motors.... Not to mention saving for a engagement ring and the desire to be able to provide a life for a significant other is a pretty good motivation... __________________ WE KEEP THE PEDAL TO THE METAL.

2012-06-04, 01:07 AM	#5
s13 Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Wichita Posts: 390 Post Thanks / Like Thanks (Given): 17 Thanks (Received): 14 Likes (Given): 59 Likes (Received): 27 Dislikes (Given): 2 Dislikes (Received): 7	to prove to dad that im not a fool

2012-06-04, 09:51 AM	#6
69Mach351 Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: KS Posts: 4,002 Post Thanks / Like Thanks (Given): 63 Thanks (Received): 91 Likes (Given): 295 Likes (Received): 557 Dislikes (Given): 18 Dislikes (Received): 23	If you are wanting to be a full-on engineer, go get a 4 year degree or do the two year and plan on going on to a 4 year. I work in an industry with a lot of "engineers" and a majority of them are actually draftsmen with a degree from a tech school or a two year degree. There is nothing wrong with that, and with time, you can work your way on up, but they are not actual engineers. Often times they are the ones that do the drawings or modifications to drawings that someone else has done. It is more "on the job" training. They don't quite make as much coming out of school, but they don't spend near as much on school either. If it matters to you, I work about 95% in manufactring and about 5% in structural. It used to be the other way around. Structural had more engineers, but draftsmen did quite a bit as well.

2012-06-04, 09:52 AM	#7
69Mach351 Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: KS Posts: 4,002 Post Thanks / Like Thanks (Given): 63 Thanks (Received): 91 Likes (Given): 295 Likes (Received): 557 Dislikes (Given): 18 Dislikes (Received): 23	Oh, and good luck!