There are many differences and parallels between programs taught at today’s top computer-aided design (CAD) colleges. Understanding the differences between these CAD programs can help you determine which particular one best suits your skills, passions, and ambitions.
According to research bodies like the American Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), those in architectural careers are generally strong creative, artistic, and theoretical thinkers, while those in engineering careers are generally precise, mathematical system-builders interested in applying scientific principles to their work. So how do these traits apply to prospective students like you?
Read on for insights about which CAD program might help you fulfill your personal career potential.
Bring Creative Visions to Life in an Architectural CAD Technician Program
If your career ambitions are sky-high, you might be a good fit for our Architectural CAD Technician program. From bridges to offices to amphitheaters, architectural CAD professionals help to keep a wide range of structures standing tall.
Architectural CAD technicians act as hands-on assistance to the architects who design the buildings that make up our cities’ skylines. They produce technical drawings, drafts, and designs that accurately communicate building data to their peers in related industries. They also ensure designs comply with state-of-the-art building information modeling (BIM) processes taught in today’s top CAD and BIM training institutions.
Through this important work, architectural CAD technicians become indispensable parts of any architectural team. You’ll be especially suited to this work if you’re creative, a motivated team-player, and have a finely-tuned attention to detail.
On-site, workers read data from a CAD professional’s plans for their construction project
Architectural CAD certification at Digital School takes just one year to earn. If you can picture yourself working to create CAD designs in an architectural office, construction company, or related workplace in a matter of months, an architectural CAD program might be your calling.
Have a Knack for Math? Try an Engineering CAD Technician Program
While architectural CAD technicians often focus on the form of architectural projects, engineering CAD technicians take a slightly different approach.
What moving parts need to be designed? What kind of topographical landscape needs to be considered? How can mechanical and electrical services/utilities be incorporated into a building’s designs? Engineering CAD technicians know the answers to these tough questions, because they have an intimate knowledge of the mechanical parts, assemblies, and construction practicalities that go into the foundational designs of their projects.
Students completing their engineering CAD technician training in computer-aided drafting college learn to complete sets of machine and manufacturing drawings with precision. They can even pursue a process piping specialization along with an engineering CAD technician diploma, gaining the expertise they need to make a living by designing complex pipe networks.
Digital School’s Engineering CAD Technician program is also just one year long, giving students everything they need to quickly and effectively jump into an engineering CAD career. If you’re ready to turn your passion for science, technology, and mathematics into a secure career, you might be well-suited to this program.
Start Even Sooner with a Computer Aided Drafter Certificate Program
Unsure whether you’d rather work alongside engineers or architects? Hoping to launch a flexible CAD career that lets you begin earning an income even faster? For a speedier start to a range of CAD careers, consider pursuing a CAD certificate program which you can complete within six months.
Graduates of Digital School’s Computer Aided Drafter Certificate program can work both in the fields of engineering CAD and architectural CAD, taking on various roles in any modern CAD design team. With a solid knowledge of top CAD software programs, graduates know how to communicate important data to their peers in the design and construction industry through detailed and technically precise computer-generated drawings—a skill that is in-demand across various architecture and engineering disciplines.
Are you ready to launch one of these careers with training and certification from a top CAD college?
Visit Digital School to learn more about getting started.
