****microstation??****

[solefishes]

hi everyone!!

 

ok, this is my question to the cg world.... i am currently learning - due to my job requirements - a program called Microstation made by Bentley ( an american company as far as i know...). so my query is: how many people/companies use this program all over the world? is it beneficial learning this program if i intend working in London at some or other stage? or is it basically only used in America?

 

if someone - anyone - could help me with this question, i would greatly appreciate it as it is a big concern of mine!!!

 

thanks so much for taking the time out to read this!!

 

regards,

meghan

[Crazy Homeless Guy]

well, autocad is by far the most common app in america, but personally, i prefer microstation. i started using it when i was in school, and used it at my first job. the company i work for now used microstation when i started, but has now switched to autocad.

 

it is not a complicated app to learn, it is fairly intuitive, and straight forward.

[mbr]

It's used all over, as far as I know, but not nearly as much as Autocad. I've heard friends that use it that love it and hate it.

 

For 3D, all I know is that where I've been working every Microstation model that came in from a client had to be remodeled entirely for it to work in Max.

 

For architecture, I believe their BIM setup is pretty sophisticated. I know it's being used for that more frequently and seems to have a solid following.

 

Isn't Bentley from the UK? Thought it was for some reason.

[solefishes]

crazy homeless guy: you see, now that's what i'm afraid might happen. i'll learn microstation for now, but in the long run, it won't be very beneficial as companies are mostly inclined to use autocad. so is there still a market out there catering for microstation?

 

MBR: thanks for input but i find it weird that you had to remodel all those files you received from microstation... i'm in a similiar position here in the sense of; we import models into Max from Microstation but we haven't come accross any problems regarding the meshing etc....

 

ok: so let me ask both of you this then - if i have Max behind my name (i've been doing it for just over two years already ) and if i have microstation aswell - would you think i would be relatively marketable if i had to go work in London. i'm only 20 now, so i do have alot of time on my hands - but i am stressed about learning a program that as far as i can tell, isn't used intensely.

[bricklyne]

Actually, the thing about Microstation is that it tends to be used by a lot of companies whose design-work has a high proclivity for engineering-based projects (Like Arup in the UK and some offices of NBBJ inthe US, I believe) and consequently and as a result it also tends to be only common among very large firms because it requires quite a bit of set-up in light of it's BIM nature. As such having Microstation knowledge and experience in your resume will make you more appealing to a certain size/niche of architectural firms ( read large firms) and the question to a very large extent becomes what kind of firm do you see yourself working for (and by extension what kind of architecture/design are you interested in getting into - think Airports, Stadiums, Large hospitals, Bridges, etc, as far Microstation is concerned).

 

In any case, whatever you decide, I would advise you not to leave AutoCAD completely behind because it is, at the end of the day, the lingua franca of the Architectural/Engineering and Construction fields and whether or not you end up working for a Microstation-based firm or not, you will always end up having to use AutoCAD in some capacity or another. And in addition, it never hurts to have both AutoCAD and Microstation knowledge and experience on your resume. If you can afford the resources and time to learn it, I would advise you to go for it as it makes you that much more marketable than the next candidate especially if you already know AutoCAD.

 

PS. Bentley Systems Inc, is actually an American firm, and as such has a considerably large usage among a cross-section of large American firms ( not limited to Architecture of course). But it also enjoys quite a fairly sizable user base in Europe as well ( in the UK, the Netherlands and Germany to be specific- though obviously not as large as AutoCAD), so I wouldn't really worry about being able to firm work in a Microstation-based firm in the UK at least. But like I said before, it all depends on the type and scale of architecture and design you really hope to get into, as you will rarely if not never, ever find it used in small firms and for projects below a certain budget size as it basically ceases to become fiscally-feasible at some point.

[Crazy Homeless Guy]

crazy homeless guy: you see, now that's what i'm afraid might happen. i'll learn microstation for now, but in the long run, it won't be very beneficial as companies are mostly inclined to use autocad. so is there still a market out there catering for microstation?

 

i don't fully agree that it will not be useful in the long run. i still pick up microstation to due lots of things. it is a very fast drafter if you know how to properly use accu-draw. consider it adding a skill set to your bag. ..and like others say, learn autocad as well. i feel like you are only looking at the negative side, and not the possibility that there may be a positive side. plus, since you are learning it for your current job, you are probably being paid to learn it as part of training. if not, you should be.

 

as a side note, the first firm i worked for that used microstation had only 14 people. the firm i work for now, that switched from microstation had about 150. we switched at the same time NBBJ was switching from Autocad to Microstation.

 

we switched because the IT dept. recommended it at the board meeting. their recomendation was based upon the idea that switching to autocad would allow us to seemlessly exchange drawings with a larger majority of our consultants.

 

oh, and to the best of my knowledge, we have never not hired someone because they didn't know Autocad. if we hire them, and they don't know it, we train them in it. the majority of our hires are based on need and personality. whether we think they will be responsible, and fit in well with our working enviroment.

[mskin]

Microstation limits your ability to comfortably move from firm to firm. Its a good program used by many firms, but considering that most architectural firms use autocad, it makes sense to me to continue learning the industry staple. I worked for a firm using microstation. personally, i hated it, but i am biased towards autocad. when i left the place and went to work somewhere else, i felt like i had so much catch up to do. incidently, all the firms i interviewed for used autocad. I wouldn't not accept a job at a microstation firm if i loved thier work and felt that they had a lot to offer, but it would weigh heavily on my decision. Whats the average job life expectancy at any given firm? four years? Thaink and plan for the future.

[Justin Hunt]

Learn Microstation for sure. A couple of years age I took on a job where they only use MS, for drafting all the way through to rendering and animation. As a architectural modeller you can't get much better. Just keep an open mind as finding work arounds will keep you on your toes. As a renderer, it is a poor choice but that does not mean that it isn't good.

 

MS has done alot of work to be able to talk with AutoCad and does it very well. There are a few hoops to jump through to get a model into Max, but using the DWG-Link works well.

 

I have since left that job and they had one hell of a time finding a replacement that could model and render to the high standard that they came to expect. When I was looking for a job in London 4 years ago, Microstation was a must with a lot of the firms.

 

Learn it, it won't do you any harm.