Apprenticeships or University?

I was offered an apprenticeship at 16 as a trainee draughtsman for an engineering company that designed ground support test equipment for the aerospace industry. As mentioned in previous blogs I really didn’t know what I wanted to do after leaving school but as I...

Is work experience worthwhile?

When I was 15 I had no idea what career path to choose and the only subjects I did reasonably well in were Art and technical drawing.  For work experience we had to select a subject that we found interesting and would enjoy as a career. I chose graphic design as a few...

Should you invest in 3D software?

In 2001 I was employed as a design engineer for a company that manufactured air cargo handling equipment for airports. The company were using AutoCAD for all their CAD work but had recently invested in Solid Edge V10. Although my primary role was to design new...

Contracting – pros and cons.

There are many different careers to pursue in the CAD industry but regardless of what role you choose at some point you may question whether it is worth taking that leap into contracting as opposed to having the security of a permanent position. I stayed with...

AutoCAD or MicroStation?

In the computer aided design world there is frequently the debate about which 2D software is better, AutoCAD or MicroStation. There really is no right or wrong answer here as they both do the same thing very well, so often it just comes down to personal preference or...