What CAD Technician actually do?

[Buttman]

I want know what are the responibilities? (in architectural) What qualifications do they required? I'm good at autoCAD 2002 and ADT2004 - I have degree in architecture BA (HONS). I appreciate for your time.

[ihabkal]

I think it differs from country to country. I n Egypt, they draw plans, sections and elevations from sketches made by the architects. In the states they usually require a degree, and do the same things and more they need experience in architectural details and building construction. so they would know how this fits in that, what's it made for and froom what material. You better check with the governemt regulations about that, they go into detailing the expected because they regulate work based immigration and they want to make sure what foreigners are hired for.

thanks,

Ihab

[STRAT]

with that qualification you'd be lowering yourself somewhat if you went in as a cad technician in the UK.

 

essentially a cad technician is one who takes the architect's sketches/designs/schemes, and works them up into proper cad drawings. ie, plans, sections, elevations, working details etc etc etc. he's usually got his basic ONC/D or HNC/D qualification or he's on his part 1 or part 2.

 

basically he's a cad monkey without a high enough architectural qualification to be the designer himself.

[ihabkal]

I heard there are architects from India and some of the Arab countries that work as cab drivers and gas station cashiers in New York. Actually a friend of mine did that for a while. He's a 2000 graduate, Architecture. From lebanon. I was one year older, a 1999 graduate.

[Janzer v1.0]

I work as an Architectural Technologist, so I may be able to give you better insight since this is my current career while I work on an Architecture degree. Basically, we take the drawings, sketches and redraw them in CAD. We may produce working, presentation, or shop drawings. But we are much, much more than CAD workhorses as some may have you believe. These people are obviously uneducated in this field of work. We also produce details using the various building codes. The building code is our bible. A technologist can design (in Canada) a building up to 6000sqft and up to 3 storeys in height without the help of an architect or engineer. As a technologist in Canada most are graduates of a 3yr Architectural Technology program and Technicians of a 2yr program. After school is finished you must complete different levels of an Architectural Technolgist...1,2 and 3. All have to pass standardized testing and courses. These can take years to complete as work hours must also be obtained to graduate to the next level. Work of a technologist can vary from firm to firm too. Some can design portions of larger structures, space planning etc. Technologists must be technically adept, having a knowledge of structures, mathematics, CAD, building code interpretation, and estimating or quantity surveying. I hope this helps you in your endeavors. If you have any more questions check out...some of your local Technology Associations....in Ontario we have a few....here they are:

 

OAAAS

 

OACETT

 

AATO

[3dp]

if i can add my ££$$ worth

cad techies in essence draw what someone is telling them to

if they are any good they know what it is they are drawing (ie not a tracer although they too are still around in the m+e world) and so can put together a decent bit of information

they don't go client facing in accepted sense and they probably don't ususally go looking for trouble in a design sense and keep the head down and turn out packages

had a interview last friday for a visualiser role where it turns out as i expected they were looking for a cad tech who could also use viz

although i did'nt say it the second word was off and i won't be joining them

if you are part 1 as i am(was) think of it as a foundation

at 40 i have a nice line in visuals i work on a lot of design based projects and can assist in that manner and at the same time i work for a major contractor as a design manager and kick butt as a design manger at the construction end

if you are starting out stay hungry and remember you don't need qualifications sometimes it's more what and who you know that find you a path

[DAN212222]

well i was a cad technician before going on to further education. it really depends on the company u work for, i went from working for a small company where i got a chance to hold meetings, design, presentation work, and yes the obvious technical drawings, but i then went on to a bigger company and was chained to a desk doing stair details 9-5 5 days a week will soon have you suicidal, so think about it carefully, to tell the truth the majority of architects in the north east anyhow dont get to design they are also busy drawing techincal drawings all day....

 

good luck

[ihabkal]

David, for a British person your English is worse than me... and I'm a foreigner. or mybe I have cancer in my brain and that's why I didn't understand half of your wording.

thanks,

Ihab

[Iain Denby]

David, for a British person your English is worse than me... and I'm a foreigner. or mybe I have cancer in my brain and that's why I didn't understand half of your wording.

thanks,

Ihab

Yes, David's never been one for punctuation ! ;-)

[3dp]

!"£$%^*()(__+++_)_

to you all

:-)

[Iain Denby]

!"£$%^*()(__+++_)_

to you all

:-)

 

Still can't manage a full stop !

[Fran]

basically he's a cad monkey without a high enough architectural qualification to be the designer himself.

 

Well that's insulting to say the least. And not true. It is that kind of attitude that demeans and makes unimportant the very important job of putting together construction documents. No wonder people don't want to bother to become good technicians anymore - they get little respect and are rarely paid a living wage.

 

If everyone is a designer there isn't anyone with the proper skills to produce technical drawings. How would it be if contractors were all handed a pile of coffee-stained skinny paper?

[STRAT]

Fran - i wasn't meant to be demeaning CAD Technicians, i assure you. i was one for years until i decided to change my career path. just stating a fact.

[Fran]

Fran - i wasn't meant to be demeaning CAD Technicians, i assure you. i was one for years until i decided to change my career path. just stating a fact.

 

Then how about taking the word "monkey" out of your assessment? People generally don't like being called monkeys. And what you've stated is your opinion and not fact. People who take their technical skills and position serously are NOT failed architects. That's like saying all nurses are people who can't make it as doctors.

[STRAT]

no, it's a case like what i mentioned in my first post. 99% of peeps who are CAD technicians are usually in training. not failed.

 

i'll remove the word monkey if you like, it's just 'cad monkey' is a common phrase where i come from not likening literally to a monkey who cant do anything, it's just a general term. not demeaning what so ever.

[gipper51]

The role of a "CAD technician" is a hard position to find in my area. I think only the largest of firms hire people who do nothing but CAD drawing because they need the manpower. Of course, as someone else said even a licenced architect can be pigeon-holed into doing nothing but stair details 40 hours a week if they're not careful. If CAD drawing were your only skill, it would be tough to find work in the architectural field around here. At least work that paid anything.

 

While I am not an architect and don't have the required education to become one, I am still considered an intern architect by my firm and still do much of the same type of work that the guys who are in licensed or about-to-be-licenced do. While it's true that 80% of what I do is CAD drawing, the other 20% includes everything from reviewing shop drawings to on-site visits, working with engineers, some design work, meeting with clients, etc. Most smaller firms expect you to be able to do a lot more than just draw on CAD, but the CAD is your most valuable asset.

[IC]

I've been an Architectural Technician for 15 years. I've gone from tracing Kitchen Layouts to designing Houses, Flatted Blocks and Site Layouts.

 

It seems to me that Technicians are divided into two camps-the ones who love producing Technical Drawings and are very good at it and those who tire of it and veer towards a more design oriented career (or even CG!).

 

The technical guys don't seem to do as well financially for some reason.

There is a recruitment company who contact me every month or so telling me about vacancies they are trying to fill and they invariably end up saying, ".....but I think you're too experienced for that one, they're looking for a CAD Technician-type."!!

[Fran]

i'll remove the word monkey if you like, it's just 'cad monkey' is a common phrase where i come from not likening literally to a monkey who cant do anything, it's just a general term. not demeaning what so ever.

 

You just don't get it, do you? It's unimportant whether I'm insulted as an individual right here and right now by your use of the term "cad monkey". Your use of the term speaks volumes about how you (and apparently architects in the UK) regard technicians - as sub-humans who require no special skill or level of intelligence. The fact that it's commonly used in your industry is sad, but it would explain why people fail to see technical work as worthy of the respect it realistically deserves. Nobody is going to strive to be an excellent technician if the position is always viewed as a stepping stone to something more important and the custodian is making more money.

[Sawyer]

Thats kind of funny I have found that cad techs are in such sort supply. Everyplace I have ever been at or heard about is short people. I have been at places that just hired warm bodies hoping that they could be taught cad. Then Really smart people who actually care about their work are even rarer. Problem is if you are good you can go many places. But here in CA building is still going crazy, so we may not be typical of the rest of the country.

[ihabkal]

Thats kind of funny I have found that cad techs are in such sort supply. Everyplace I have ever been at or heard about is short people. I have been at places that just hired warm bodies hoping that they could be taught cad. Then Really smart people who actually care about their work are even rarer. Problem is if you are good you can go many places. But here in CA building is still going crazy, so we may not be typical of the rest of the country.

 

my wife is an architect and she is a great Cad Draftsperson. she's smart, educated, worked on airport drawings at DarGroup ranked 14th worldwide in revenue by the ENR......

but she has one problem... She is like me Lebanese.

so they need to hire people and they can't find good ones? maybe if the government in the US makes it easier for professional architects to get Greencards or if they raise the cap on the H1B visas (65000 this year down from 195000 2 years ago) they might get good people in good places.

All these man made immigration laws are to prevent the bad people from going places but they are also hurting honest individuals. it's even harder in the UK I tried to immigrate there 4 years ago, and I applied everywhere and got phone calls and the like, but the laws made by the british government made it hard for employers.

Many indians and others are working from their home countries, they don't pay taxes and they have a good life doing renderings for american and UK busineeses. if that works for them it should work for me. I'll be back home in 2 years if I don't get a greencard. so be it...they'll kick me out, but I'll end up not paying taxes and making the same income. Government=0 Ihab=1

[Janzer v1.0]

Way to go FRAN. Let STRAT have it. It's about time. I've read many posts by him and I think that's just how he is. I'm a Technologist and love my job. I am not a "CAD monkey". We have skills that are probably way beyond anything he can probably comprehend with his tiny, close minded british brain. We are the ones who make it work. But we are ALL a team and the project doesn't fly without working together. Architects, technologists, spec writers, estimators, project managers, enigineers, interior designers, quantity surveyors, secretaries, (i could go on forever here) etc......He's probably just a coffee maker anyway. Put another pot on STRAT. I'll take mine black you cheeky little shite.

[IC]

Janzer v1.0, I think your post will be censored because of your language but I feel I have to comment on it anyway.

You have just done exactly what you are criticising Strat for! But you have done it in a much more venomous way than anything I've seen him post.

 

Your "tiny, close minded british brain" reference will probably be offensive to a lot of people here, myself included, so please mind your own decorum whilst you berate that of others.

[DrFx]

Thank God I'm not a british monkey!

In my country the term "monkey" is used for people who do a dull, repetitive job, for low pay, kinda like a "sweat shop" job. Yes, it's demeaning, and yes CAD-draftspeople of the lowest ranks are sometimes designated this way.

I am not talking about a CAD-technologist the way Janzer described it! To earn the term "monkey" you have to know nothing of building regulations, not make design decisions, and have only a faint idea what it is that you are drawing!

[ihabkal]

Way to go FRAN. Let STRAT have it. It's about time. I've read many posts by him and I think that's just how he is. I'm a Technologist and love my job. I am not a "CAD monkey". We have skills that are probably way beyond anything he can probably comprehend with his tiny, close minded british brain. We are the ones who make it work. But we are ALL a team and the project doesn't fly without working together. Architects, technologists, spec writers, estimators, project managers, enigineers, interior designers, quantity surveyors, secretaries, (i could go on forever here) etc......He's probably just a coffee maker anyway. Put another pot on STRAT. I'll take mine black you cheeky little shite.

 

That is the first time I see a Canadian call someone else names. It is true that the british empire flouriched on the blood of their neighbours, occupying, killing, robbing other countries throughout history, but Canadians are more sophisticated than to call them names...You're famous around the world for being helpful and treat others in a nice way.

[Andrew Schroeder]

Thanks for that Ihabkal, I think for the most part you're correct about canadians.

 

I worked as a Draftsman for years before venturing off into the world of business. While I was a draftsman, I worked hard and took tremendous pride in my drawings. I saw many job postings for positions such as "Autocad Operator", "CAD Technician", "Draftsperson", etc.

 

If I can give you a bit of background, my grandfather spent a good bit of time as a aeronautical draftsman, after coming to canada in the 50's. My father worked as both an aeronautical draftsman, and as an electrical draftsperson for a few years. As far back as I can remember, literally, I had graph paper and a drawing set. During highschool I had completed our grade 12 drafting class by grade 10, and spent the remaining 2 years tutoring other students. When I graduated, the school created an award for me: Excellence in Drafting. Now, I'm not writing this to blow my own horn, but rather, to show you that it's possible that the people who are sometimes called CAD Monkeys are actually doing something that they love, and are damn well happy in that position.

 

After highschool I went to a technical institute for Civil and Municipal Drafting Technology. While a student, I tutored other students, finsihed and left 3 months early to work in industry. My first job was a CAD operator. And I suppose it was also the first time I was put face to face with the fact people really just don't care as much about the drawings as I did. So, I toiled many late nights against short deadlines, refusing to comprimise the drawing quality because some engineer had decided to make changes at the last minute. Well, that went on for a good while, and still persists today. When I draft, I do so with care and precision. Our tools aren't the board and compass anymore, but rather the computer and mouse. My drawings are unique to me, no other drafter will create the same drawing. While we work in constrained environments with ridged standards, there is still a lot of room to 'play' and create something to be proud of.

 

Drafting to me is still an art, as much as it ever was. The balance of white space, the composition of drawing elements, lineweights, color, and detail. Of course, not every drafter you find will care about these things.

 

These days as a business owner I can understand why the term CAD Monkey is used, but I still stay away from it, because I don't hire CAD Monkeys (CAD Operators). I hire draftspeople. There is no sense in bringing on someone who does not care about their work just because they can make Autocad "Go" (unless to save money, which will likely only cost you in the long run).

 

Take cartography for example. Cartographers, mapmakers, are respected for creating beautiful maps. But what are they really? Are they not essentially draftspeople working in the mapping field? Yet, they're seen very differently.