Experience. Passion. Drive.
I found my passion for teaching close to 30 years ago after attending an AutoCAD class in Nutley, New Jersey. I was drafting manually at the time. (Some of you might remember: Lettering guides and Berol® templates). Learning CAD was a daunting task but I realized the ways of drafting with pencil and paper were soon to be extinct so I took the dive into the world of Computer Aided Drawing.
The approach was to learn as much as I could to make myself a valuable asset. Like many others, I set out to learn every single aspect of the software but soon realized that it was almost impossible. Instead, I focused on topics that were important for standard drafting and design. Once I mastered those tools, I branched off onto other topics that helped reinforce the basics. This is the same approach that I take in my training.
Today, most Universities and Technical Schools simply cut and paste curriculum from other sites or take the recommended syllabus from the manufacturer of the software. The problem with this approach is that there is no continuity or flow and it simply becomes a checklist, crossing off each topic as they are covered. This approach is so convoluted that most students end up exactly where they started….CONFUSED!
For the past 20 years or so, I have travelled throughout the United States teaching AutoCAD and Revit at numerous firms and I am always amazed me how many people do not use the software to the best of it’s capabilities. Most just fiddle around and find a way to get something done and when it works it becomes “their way” of doing it and unfortunately, teaching it to others. It may work, but this lack of efficiency ends up costing you and the company not only valuable time, but also money.
Another problem that I have seen is with recent college graduates. Many, upon graduation, have degrees and the accolades that go with it, but do not have enough CAD experience to slide into the workforce. These candidates are usually passed over when their lack of experience becomes apparent during interviews.Universities simply give the students access to the software and send them off on their own. Most of the time, the professor is learning the software along with the students. I have had numerous students that have attended my classes with this same story.
I feel that it is important to stress the compassion that I have for not only teaching these two software packages, but also the drive I have to make you more efficient and marketable.
Thanks for taking interest! Now…..let’s start learning!!
Joe DeChairo