|
December 12, 2002
A: FROM MENTOR MARY JO MULLEN
IN IL
As a civil engineer, I use AutoCad a lot in my job. I think
the trend in
civil engineering is that engineers are moving towards doing
some of their
own basic drafting, instead of totally relying on people whose
sole job it
is to draft drawings. Plus, Cad Operators and Drafters are
in pretty high
demand themselves right now, since they still do a large part
of the
drafting for engineers.
Another advantage for me to be able to use drafting software
is that a lot
of these programs have some design capabilities. AutoCad has
a software
package that can create roadway profiles, or determine areas
tributary to
rivers or calculate the amount of dirt that has to be moved
in a
construction project. These tools are becoming invaluable
to civil
engineers, and a good knowledge of drafting is required to
use them.
********************
December 12, 2002
A: FROM MENTOR SUZANNE FRANKS
IN KS
Robin, I am so glad to hear this! Many students do not get
the chance
to do this kind of work before coming to college. It is very
very relevant,
especially for any career in engineering or technology.
First, there is the experience of working with your hands,
getting an
insight into design, and getting comfortable with using software
for something
other than word processing or instant messaging.
Second, drafting teaches you things about perspective and
develops your
skill for "looking below the surface" to think about
how things are actually
constructed. It develops your ability to think three-dimensionally.
Third, it's a good preparation for actual college level courses.
For
example, students in Mechanical Engineering at Kansas State
University take a course
called Engineering Graphics in their first year. The catalog
describes this
course as "Technical sketching, study of basic principles
of projective
geometry, multiview drawings, pictorials,reading and interpreting
drawings,
introduction to CAD, sectioning, dimensioning." Maybe
this sounds a lot like some of the things you are doing now
- if so, you will be at a real advantage when you are in college.
In engineering and technology, nearly every student will need
to take a
course like this. In the sciences, it may be less directly
applicable to
particular courses,
but the skills you develop (as I described in my first and
second points)
will still be beneficial to you.
|
