Career / Education advice , Help!

[garth]

Hi

I'm 23 and work in the engineering department of an Industrial computer company. I'm basically engineerings bitch.

However, I have the option of further education and would like to progress into CAD but with the knowledge behind it - Ideally a degree.

I have fairly good GCSE's, a BTEC L2 in ICT things, NVQ L1 and 2 in PEO's and a NVQ L2 in maintenance engineering - AKA not enough for any UCAS points.

Would this be a good course for me to do and would it allow me to go to a degree after? All this is jibberish to me.

https://www.southampton-city.ac.uk/Training/course_view.asp?id=1257&area=business

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

Oli
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[unitynotsocri...]

Rather than get into debt at uni,why not teach yourself CAD in the evenings on the p.c.?You could wait until your over 25 and then the qualification/UCAS points are pretty irrelevant.
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nearly a normal tax paying tosser.......with ferrileness suzi100,cg125,cb125scb100n,cb175,cd100,cj250t,kh250,c15,125 bantam,super 6,rickman gs750,xt500,250rs,dt175,lifan125,dolomite1850,metro,Morris220ld,morrisfg,leyland princess,range rover,corsa,vw camper .now struggling with legs. MORE ORDER = MORE CHAOS

[Suntan Sid]

I suppose I'm what's known as a CAD tech, these days.

In my experience most people I know in this field are self taught, you just pick it up as you go along. CAD is not difficult to use, most, proficient, users probably don't use more than 10% of the available commands.
If you can get hold of a copy just start using it, you'll pick it up very easily.

Do you use Cad now?

Just remember, do not draw to a scale, draw everything at full size in "model space", create the scale drawing in "paper space", using viewports. Most newbs seem to be completely baffled by this concept!

Keep a careful watch on your layers and linetypes, and try and keep the finished product as easy on the eye as possible.

You do not need to be educated to engineer standard to produce good drawings. Obviously you need some understanding of the field your in, and you need to have a good creative eye.

Any decent engineer will be checking your drawings with a fine tooth comb, they expect to find mistakes, so don't sweat it when they do. Checking your own work is extremely difficult, you can look at one of your own drawings a hundred times and not spot the glaring error staring you in the face.

If someone is paying your fees for the course, then go for it, it won't do you any harm!

If you have any specific CAD questions, post them up!
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[rustgold]

In one of my old (short term) factory jobs, they had CAD on some of their machines. Those who were using the program learnt it on the job. I didn't stay long enough, but it does raise the question of whether it's the most useful degree to do considering the debt-free options, plus the question of whether it actually makes you that much more employable (to be worth the expense & lost income).
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[yen_powell]

[unitynotsocri...]

Theres some good parrelels for CAD and using your minds inner 'visualisation.A good way to practice your visualisation skills is to play 'the janus Game'.i was taught it by a german engineer years ago.

Thank you Eugene stansfeld.

basically you play noughts and crosses in your head.Visualise a 3 x 3 grid ,number each square 1 to 9 then pick a number to place you nought or cross,then the other player take a turn.You remember each others move until you/other player wins.After practice you'll find you can do it with three levels.level A 1 to 9,B 1 to 9,C 1 to 9.
Whats amazing is you can play 3d noughts and crosses,eg a1 b5 c9 wins!!brilliant for wet camping holidays when the phone batteries are flat.
____________________
nearly a normal tax paying tosser.......with ferrileness suzi100,cg125,cb125scb100n,cb175,cd100,cj250t,kh250,c15,125 bantam,super 6,rickman gs750,xt500,250rs,dt175,lifan125,dolomite1850,metro,Morris220ld,morrisfg,leyland princess,range rover,corsa,vw camper .now struggling with legs. MORE ORDER = MORE CHAOS

[Frost]

UCAS points are not important once you reach the age of 21. Once 21 you're a mature student and there are no formal entry requirements. My my degree we had a 50 year old guy who had zero qualifications but was genuinely interested in the subject, he got a 2:1 i believe,

[Reid]

If you absolutely must do a course to get into university, only way to go is an 'Access to Higher Education Diploma'. I did one a couple years ago (about to start second year of uni atm) and its pretty fucking easy (easier than my failed A-levels) but unis tend to like it. You can easily wrangle it to get into any university you want as long as you impress them enough with a good cover letter and interview. You get them tailored to a specific career and might need to talk to a couple of colleges to find one that suits you and places are either extremely limited or wide open, depending on the college's financial strategy.

It's a year long course, costs a couple hundred quid, is universally recognised and was the best decision I've ever made.

[Frost]

Me:
Age: 22
Qualifications: GCSE's 4 of them

I walked straight onto a degree in AI & Robotics at a decent uni with no interview, cover letter and a crap short personal statement.

Uni's need students, they also need students who will pass. They know that someone who has spent a few years in the world of work will find 25 hours of lectures a week an absolute doddle and will focus on getting the grades so they can get the job afterwards, rather than most 18 year olds who are going to uni to get pissed