Please help me

[anupanup2]

Hello Guys .. Today is my 1st day with in this forum section.



i'm working in Steelgrain corp, who are the largest mfg. of Bar stools and all hotel furniture in USA.



we are using Auto- CAD 2004 in our company.. now i want to do something in 3D designing .. i have very little exp. in PRO-E ..



i'm planing to take associate degree in CAD_CAM from Pittsburg techanical Institute, IN Pennysilvania.



can you guys please help me out this is my good decission or not.

hows job opertunities in 3D design and drafting.



really i'm confused ...



please replay me soon.



thanks



Anup

 

[AHA-D]

1. "please help me" is as bad a title as naming one of your products "steel thingy". If you want help say what you want.


2. Without counting on ProE to disappear it still is however a bad timing to count on ProE-jobs when the company is for sale and nobody knows how things will evolve.


3. Taking classes in parametric 3D solid modeling is always a good idea.


4. If your background is Acad and nothing but, then you're in for some surprises, depending on the software you'll end up with.


Alex

 

[kdem]

You will also want to find out what software you will be using for the 3D design classes if you haven't already. Don't just assume you will get ProE experience the school may be using something else such as CATIA or Solidworks.

 

[wsylvester]

Anup,


If you are adding the word Cam in there, you can pretty much count on it it being Solidworks and MasterCam.

 

[anupanup2]

1st of all i'm apolozise for title i gave for my Q. as per Alex.



Here are the areas i'm going to take a class.




Mechanical


Associate Degree

<ul ="content">
[*]AutoCAD[*]Microstation[*]Mechanical Drafting[*]3-Dimensional CAD[*]Kinematics[*]Mechanical Application Software[*]Assembly Drafting[*]Design and Manufacturing Process[*]Additional career-related courses[*]Internship
[/list]
and the fees they told me is 19K for 2 year .. 3 days per week..



that's good subjects ??



Anup

 

[AHA-D]

No need to apolgize, just a friendly hint

Concerning your classes. Looks a bit too much draftsman to my taste and too little "virtual product ". Autocad and Microstation both started as "electronic drawing board" and evolved towards 3D modelers (not or poor parametric) without giving up the past. Mechanical drafting looks like the previous with even less models.


Modern CAD is all about creating the product on a computer before you do it in reality and adding as much functionality to this as possible : design, modify, test, calculate, prepare production, ... The only use left for dimensions and drawings will be to document and verify the final product.


Alex

 

[anupanup2]

Thanks Alex..


your advice will defenetlly help me. Tomorrow i have a meeting with them and they will give me more detail regarding this. I'll let you know what they offer me.


Appreciate buddy.


Anup

 

[kdem]

I took a look at what I had for classes when I got my drafting degree and the areas look similar except for a few differences. If you take a look at the link belowit will give you something to compare.


http://www.tncc.edu/academics/degrees_programs/AAS_CADD.pdf

 

[sureshdesigns]

Hi Kdem


I cant able to download the pdf file which you attached.


Can you upload it again.

 

[kdem]

Here is a picture of the course list and a link to course descriptions.


http://www.tncc.edu/academics/courses/drf.php





http://www.tncc.edu/academics/courses/drf.php

 

[anupanup2]

hi Kdem,



this information is imp for me.

i have bachlore Degree of Mech. do you think it's worth to get this associate degree ??

do you think this degree will open a path for some good Job opening for me??



Appreciate your replay.



Thanks,



Anup

 

[kdem]

If you are looking for a career change or are really intent on pursuing a CAD degree it might be worth it . However, since you already have a bachelor's degree I'm thinking you are insterested in staying in mechanical design but want to get more into using CAD. For this I would suggest looking into certificate or continuing education programs for CAD. You can take the courses related to CAD without having to take the general courses not related to the major. Also, since you are going to a technical school you may not have to takethe general courses not related to the major. The courses listed in my previous post were from a community college. Here is what was listed for a carrer studies certificate:

 

[davidinindy]

Also, You can take courses thru PTC to learn the CAD software. I don't think it's necessary to get a degree in CAD.


Like mentioned already. You've probably already taken all the general education courses you need anyway.


I'd either go thru PTC, or just take the CAD courses as continued education. don't worry about any more degrees, unless you want to pursue a ME or PE... which, in my experience, puts you above the CAD operator positions anyway.


I've just got an associates degree in Drafting and Design, and have no interest in going and getting a ME or anything futher. I enjoy creating the designs on the screen, and would be bored running calculations, and doing paperwork all day, which is what most degreed engineers do.


I've designed everything from plastic parts to military truck chassis to air compressors. I can do the calculations if necessary, and know where to find information when needed. I do most of what an engineer does, without needing the degree.


The degreed engineers here don't even have CAD loaded on their computers.

 

[rudresh.hm]

hi Anup,


i would like to add something, do not learn more than two to three modules!!!


part, assembly and detailing will be sufficient to start working. even if you learn many modules and do not use then often you will tend to and deffinitely forget them. so learn few things put them in to use practice practice and practice you can master.


iprefer being a master in a small area rather being "jack of all trades and master of none". just know what all pro/E or any cad tool can do and notlearn it right away, you can learn when required.


one more thing do not spend too much(as fees)for learning. you can practice by your self if you can get some extra time in your office and a licence and one good friend willing to teach you, its not a rocket science after all!!!!


i dont know how it is in the US, in India no body ask you for a certificatein a cad course( but we will be asked for a degree with good academic track) but, we will be tested on the tool may be by an interview or even model test. hiring is based on skill level not on certificate, every next street will have a cad institution any body can get a certificate!!!!

 

[kdem]

i dont know how it is in the US, in India no body ask you for a certificatein a cad course( but we will be asked for a degree with good academic track) but, we will be tested on the tool may be by an interview or even model test. hiring is based on skill level not on certificate, every next street will have a cad institution any body can get a certificate!!!!

In the US it all depends on where you work. Where I work certificates are used as proof that you took and completed training. We set training goals for ourselves and sometimes the company will set them. Once we complete the training we are required to show proof of completion and the documents are kept as part of our training records. So continuing education is important and encouraged and it helps when it 's time for performance appraisals.


Even if you take a class from PTC costwill be something to consider. I'm not sure I'd pay for PTC classes out of my own pocket. Try to see if the company you work for will pay for the training. I'm taking the web based training from PTC. The company I work for has a maintenance contract with PTC so it doesn't me anything to take the web based classes.


If you want some real world application experience you might try talking with Bart (design-engine) and get his perspective.