RE: AutoCAD Certification
Certification sounds like a decent idea, however, there are going to be really good designers that never get certified. I would not want to deny them jobs. Im guessing the biggest group would fall under advanced?
RE: AutoCAD Certification
A good basic idea but bear in mind that there are some parts of the software that just don't get used in some areas of industry.
I have never used SSM and I don't expect to. It's not worth it if a "project" consists of no more than (say) 3 or 4 sheets.
I know many companies that have no desire to link acad to excel or any other dbase.
Could I choose maybe R14 to qualify? Or maybe v2.5?
Just my £0.02 worth.
RE: AutoCAD Certification
BTW, I've voted "agree with revisions". I'd really like to vote "agree with reservations".
RE: AutoCAD Certification
Quote:
Originally Posted by johnbogie
A good basic idea but bear in mind that there are some parts of the software that just don't get used in some areas of industry.
I have never used SSM and I don't expect to. It's not worth it if a "project" consists of no more than (say) 3 or 4 sheets.
I know many companies that have no desire to link acad to excel or any other dbase.
Could I choose maybe R14 to qualify? Or maybe v2.5?
Just my £0.02 worth.
yes, that is my thought about testing... I'd love to be certified, and am an a-1 drafter... in my field... LOL. but, I utilize completely different tools within acad than many... one might think that there should be a single basic acad certification... then more advanced certifications for certain things (either by discipline, or certain aspects of the program like customization??? I don't know)
this is where it could get complicated...
RE: AutoCAD Certification
I already have an AutoCad certification that I received via attending a Vocational School
(long time ago). Any type of AutoCad course with over 500 hours of training should qualify as a certification. I had to demonstrate the ability to complete a class project in order to complete the course work.
RE: AutoCAD Certification
I agree that inexperienced AutoCAD users can cause havoc and do some serious damage to CAD files. I disagree, however, that the answer to this lies 100% with training and certification. I think at least part of the problem lies with AutoCAD itself. There are far too many glitches and gotchas that just should not be there in an application this mature.
For example:
- Whenever one of our principals (or some project managers) wants a printout, he has to ask a "CAD operator" to make the print for him, because printing in AutoCAD is still such a black art. IMHO, this is ridiculous. While it's at least partially due to intellectual laziness on the part of the principal, I don't see why at least the basic functionality, maybe without all the subtleties of line weights, etc., can't be made as simple as printing from MS Word or Adobe Acrobat, both of which the principals do use to print documents.
- It takes extraordinary effort on the part of users to draw accurately on the right layers. There is no intelligence built in to OSNAPs, so it's very easy to get entities lined up to the endpoints of hatch patterns, etc., and there is no way to get AutoCAD to "prefer" snapping to points that would result in orthogonal geometry when ORTHO is on, etc. There is also no way to prevent users from creating any arbitrary layers they please, instead of having to pick layers from a predefined list.
- It also takes extraordinary effort to share drawings with other offices. You can't just send the DWG file itself - you have to go through some process like ETRANSMIT. While that command has been vastly improved since its introduction in 2002, I never could understand why tiny files like .shx shape files, linetypes, and hatch patterns couldn't just be embedded in the DWG file.
- The user interface needs to be redesigned so that it is simpler and the commands operate consistently. I'm not talking about prettier icons on the buttons, but issues like the fact that "Previous" is a valid option for selecting objects in some cases but not others. For example, I see no logical reason why you shouldn't be able to use "Previous" with the STRETCH command, but you can't. Additionally, if you use HATCH, for example, but you UNDO it if it doesn't give the intended results, you lose all the settings and have to go through picking the pattern, scale, angle, etc., all over again. The same is true if you enter the PLOT dialogs and then notice or remember you forgot to edit some small but critical information on the drawing - once you cancel the PLOT dialog, all settings are lost. There ought to be a way to UNDO or CANCEL these commands, yet save the settings.
- The DWG format allows for the creation of "foreign" objects by third party applications that result in weird "proxies" with sometimes unpredictable and unexpected behavior, which in extreme cases can cause AutoCAD to choke. There ought to be a way to open DWG files in "pure mode," in which all objects created by missing applications are ignored.
Again, I don't disagree that the very nature of vector information is probably inherently complex enough that some sort of training, experience, and, if necessary, certification will always be needed, but I do think AutoCAD itself could go a long way towards lowering the steep learning curve that currently confronts the novice. This being the "Skunk Works" forum, I thought this might be a good place to float these ideas.
Michael Evans
Togawa & Smith, Inc.
RE: AutoCAD Certification
I have mixed feelings about Software Certification in general. As a Network Administrator and OS Guru of sorts I have been using and integrating Microsoft products like Small Business Server, Exchange Server, SQL Server, and all versions of OS's and Office products for more than 20 years and have never held a Microsoft Certification. I feel I am very good at what I do with an extensive knowledge of the products. However everytime I try to take certification based on my knowledge alone, I usually fall just short of a passing grade.
With regard to Autodesk/AutoCAD Certification specifically, I worked for a local reseller for almost 10 years as a support technician and Sr Instructor and have Autodesk Technical and Training certifications in every version from R9 to R2000 as well as Land Desktop, Mechanical Desktop, and the first 2 releases of Inventor. Subsequently I also have a certification in Solidworks ( I know that is a 4-letter word to the Mech Techs) as a support tech and trainer. While these certifications were necessary for the dealership to maintain authorization to sell and train in the products I do not consider myself more than a competant operator in any given product.
Certification is a good way to show a prospective employer that one is knowledgable in a given piece of software, but by no means says anything about proficiency. I would take an operator with 5 years of experience over someone with 10 certifications and no practical experience any day. As the IT/CAD Manager for my company I do review resume's for competency in particular software packages, but I place little importance on certification.
Just my two cents worth .... Hope it helps!
RE: AutoCAD Certification
I say we go back to the mentorship programs. You do 1 or 2 years in school and then get placed with a mentor for 3-5 years of actuall experience before you can actually get "hired" by anyone
RE: AutoCAD Certification
Quote:
Originally Posted by jmelanson
I say we go back to the mentorship programs. You do 1 or 2 years in school and then get placed with a mentor for 3-5 years of actuall experience before you can actually get "hired" by anyone
My career route was a bit different to most of you. I started life as a lowly apprentice (you know, sweep the floor, make the coffee, clean out the old rancid coolant tanks, etc), worked my way thru 10 years as a toolmaker, then 8 years on CNC machining centres (where I learnt to model on CAM systems) and now I am a tool designer. Unfortunately, in this trade, the only way to learn to design properly is to make mold & press tools, jigs & fixtures and special purpose machines in the first place.
Hence, my reluctance at using a mentoring system. Tis far easier to turn a Toolmaker in to a tool designer, than try to teach some poor fresh faced college CAD student even the fundamentals of good tool design. However, some formal recognition of my CAD skills would suit me fine, particularily as I already have the recognition of 20 years on the shop floor for the body of my trade.
my $0.0275 worth (allowed for currency exchange)