Recent College graduate… Are you prepared for the job market?

You’ve worked your tail off to get to the point of walking on that stage to receive your diploma.  The days of the late night studying or feeling the tension of trying to meet a submission deadline are over!! 

It is now time to prove yourself in the real world of design.  But, are you fully ready???

I have been in the Education Industry for close to 30 years and the one thing that I have noticed when it comes to recent Engineering/Architectural graduates is that although they are well versed in the theory of their fields, they fall far short of an ideal candidate for the job.

Why?  They learned everything possible when it came to their industry of focus.  Some may even feel that they know more than they would ever need.

So why is it that when they apply for jobs they are turned away or their resumes neglected?

In my experience it is all because of the lack of hands-on experience with the tools that are of utmost importance in any design industry, and that is Computer Aided Drafting or BIM (Building Information Modeling) expertise.

For years I have heard stories from my recently graduated students that say that during the job interview, they were “asked if I had any AutoCAD experience and when I answered no, they told me that it was needed for the position”.    It didn’t matter if you were an Engineer or Draftsperson, you needed CAD experience.  Others that had years of experience in their industry were also turned away because of the lack of CAD experience.   Some have told me that the Chief Engineer that interviewed them had said to take a class just to have it on their resume so that they can justify their hiring.

Bottom line…..CAD knowledge is a NECESSITY if you want to be prepared for the job market!!

Joe D