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  • PHeller

    Feb. 23, 2011 11:13 a.m. PHeller Dork

    My local area technical school (high school based with adult programming) offers single courses for around $300 ranging from Automotive (to prepare for state inspection test),Computer (web design), Construction (carpentry, masonry, residential wiring), Drafting, HVAC ,Industrial (most electric motors), Manufacturing (CNC and Lathe), Medical, and Welding (AWS Cert).

    I've been struggling to find gainful employment, although I am currently working 35 hours a week, I just need something with more of a future (aka a better paycheck). My bachelors degree has thus proved itself useless in my area job market.

    Anyone have any opinions on trade based short course courses? Will employers value this training or take it with a grain of salt?

    I'm not looking for a long term career, I'm looking for a better paycheck to put me through grad school in the future.

  • cwh

    Feb. 23, 2011 11:30 a.m. cwh SuperDork

    If that drafting course is CAD, I think it would be worth looking into. I have a couple of friends that work with that and do rather well. If the construction biz picks up, more so. Will take a while to get through it, hopefully things will improve by then. Also, clean, air conditioned, lot's of gorgeous chicks hanging around.

  • 1988RedT2

    Feb. 23, 2011 11:37 a.m. 1988RedT2 Dork

    cwh wrote:

    Also, clean, air conditioned, lot's of gorgeous chicks hanging around.

    Dude! He's trying to exercise the big head, not the little one!

  • PHeller

    Feb. 23, 2011 11:42 a.m. PHeller Dork

    Drafting Courses:

    Auto CAD I Hrs: 45 Tuition: $300 Terms Offered: I, III Course #: 5384 Days: T, TH Time: 6:00-9:15 The course will show the process of using the computer to apply drafting skills. Topics include filing and saving drawings, using set-up wizards, drawing lines, erasing objects, and layer controls. Other topics include: using object snaps, plotting and printing, command editing, and using arrays.

    Auto CAD II Hrs: 45 Tuition: $300 Terms Offered: II, IV Course #: 5385 Days: T, TH Time: 6:00-9:15 The student will be able to produce complete sets of drawings. Topics include: scaling, polylines, multilines, splines, dimensioning practices, placing tolerances on dimensions, sectional views, blocks and external references, and assigning attributes.

    AutoDesk Inventor I Hrs: 45 Tuition: $300 Terms Offered: I, III Course #: 5390 Days: M, W Time: 6:00-9:15 This basic course introduces the student to the feature-based parametric modeling system. The program allows completion of a 3-D solid model through the use of basic geometric shapes. The student will create computer models from scratch and by using sketched objects form other programs such as Auto CAD. Students will also use plotting, printing, and editing to produce a drawing.

    AutoDesk Inventor II Hrs: 45 Tuition: $300 Terms Offered: II, IV Course#: 5392 Days: M, W Time: 6:00-9:15 Advanced 3-D-Solid Modeling Techniques will be discussed. Models will be altered. 2D drawings will be produced. The student will complete two design projects. An assembly model will be animated. Exploded, animated assemblies will be created. Parametric modeling is used to rapidly create a drawing or pass information directly from the design room to the manufacturing floor. Production of rapid prototypes from the parametric model is very desirable in today's industrial world.

  • alfadriver

    Feb. 23, 2011 12:00 p.m. alfadriver SuperDork

    Have you contacted companies that you want to work for? They would be able to answer the question.

  • Feb. 23, 2011 3:42 p.m. fasted58 New Reader

    What is your degree and field of work? Any courses relevant to your field are worth taking for education history resume purposes.

    What supplemental field are you looking to get into to pay for grad school? Skilled trades offer good money and on-going training as well but getting your foot in their door is the challenge. The higher paying trade employers have their pick from the specialized trade schools and community colleges w/ 2 year associate degrees as electricians, HVAC, welders, maintenance techs etc.

    If you have experience in some trade field, adult Vo-Tech is a great way to supplement your skills but at a usual 60 hours per course I wouldn't plan a high paying career out of it starting from the ground up.

  • PHeller

    Feb. 23, 2011 4:55 p.m. PHeller Dork

    AutoCAD would be closest to my current field of ArcGIS.

  • PHeller

    Feb. 23, 2011 4:55 p.m. PHeller Dork

    AutoCAD would be closest to my current field of ArcGIS.

  • foxtrapper

    Feb. 24, 2011 5:26 a.m. foxtrapper SuperDork

    Taking a course with the vague hopes it will find you work is rather pointless.

    Taking a strategically targeted course that you know is valued in a field open to you is a wise move.

    Which are you doing?

  • 1988RedT2

    Feb. 24, 2011 6:22 a.m. 1988RedT2 Dork

    foxtrapper wrote:

    Taking a course with the vague hopes it will find you work is rather pointless.

    Utter nonsense. The acquisition of knowledge, any knowledge, is always a good thing.

  • Ian F

    Feb. 24, 2011 10:22 a.m. Ian F SuperDork

    PHeller wrote:

    AutoCAD would be closest to my current field of ArcGIS.

    Good idea. You wouldn't believe how many engineering graduates we get who don't have basic CAD skills... especially since CAD is what we do...

  • Ian F

    Feb. 24, 2011 10:27 a.m. Ian F SuperDork

    1988RedT2 wrote:

    foxtrapper wrote:

    Taking a course with the vague hopes it will find you work is rather pointless.

    Utter nonsense. The acquisition of knowledge, any knowledge, is always a good thing.

    I would agree. Since that's pretty much exactly what I did and have done pretty well by the decision.

  • RossD

    Feb. 24, 2011 10:47 a.m. RossD Dork

    As a Mechanical Engineer, I use AutoCAD hourly.

  • cwh

    Feb. 24, 2011 3:17 p.m. cwh SuperDork

    Sounds like I had a good idea, finally.

  • knb13

    Feb. 24, 2011 4:55 p.m. knb13 New Reader

    the CAD course will best fit your field- all the others may be handy skills to know but one class in them won't put you into a whole other job market nor will it help in your environmental job field.

    Supplement what you have already.

    With that said, a lot of environmental/mapping/planning/consulting firms have CAD people already... so while it may look good on your resume, I don't know how much good it would do in the real world job search.

    But more education is never a bad thing... whats the worst that happens- you are out time and $300 but might gain some insight into how CAD works.

    What field would you shoot for in grad school? What is your motivation for grad school?

  • DILYSI Dave

    Feb. 24, 2011 5:09 p.m. DILYSI Dave SuperDork

    AutoCad would be OK. If they have a SolidWorks program, I'd tend to move that direction. In my experience, the whole world finally went 3D in the last decade, and SolidWorks became the new standard in the process.

  • foxtrapper

    Feb. 24, 2011 5:31 p.m. foxtrapper SuperDork

    1988RedT2 wrote:

    foxtrapper wrote:

    Taking a course with the vague hopes it will find you work is rather pointless.

    Utter nonsense. The acquisition of knowledge, any knowledge, is always a good thing.

    No, it is not.. Learning to speak Esperanto for example. Or how to program a computer with punch cards.

    Learning is neat, I love to learn. Spending money on a course that won't help you, especially when you have limited funds, is a waste and rather pointless.

  • gamby

    Feb. 24, 2011 5:35 p.m. gamby SuperDork

    foxtrapper wrote:

    1988RedT2 wrote:

    foxtrapper wrote:

    Taking a course with the vague hopes it will find you work is rather pointless.

    Utter nonsense. The acquisition of knowledge, any knowledge, is always a good thing.

    No, it is not.. Learning to speak Esperanto for example. Or how to program a computer with punch cards.

    Learning is neat, I love to learn. Spending money on a course that won't help you, especially when you have limited funds, is a waste and rather pointless.

    I'm guessing CAD is a bit more useful than Esperanto.

  • Scott_H

    Feb. 24, 2011 8:04 p.m. Scott_H New Reader

    I can tell you what happened in my welding class. This was a couple years ago now that I took an evening welding class through the local community college. I wanted to brush up on my welding since it had been some time since I had taken my last class - 20 years prior in high school.

    There were two other guys there who were like me, hobbyists. The others were welder wannabes. Most were actually pretty decent. The thing that made this class attractive to these students was the instructor. This community college had a co-op arrangement with Caterpillar where the CC would train and certify their welders. This instructor coordinated that program.

    It was well known that if you got in good with this instructor and performed well he would pass your name along to CAT and the manager of their apprenticeship program.

    I know there are quite a few of these arrangements with CCs and local businesses around the country. The CC ends up being the company's training department. How to find if there is one near will be the tough part.

    Good luck.

  • foxtrapper

    Feb. 25, 2011 5:24 a.m. foxtrapper SuperDork

    gamby wrote:

    foxtrapper wrote:

    1988RedT2 wrote:

    foxtrapper wrote:

    Taking a course with the vague hopes it will find you work is rather pointless.

    Utter nonsense. The acquisition of knowledge, any knowledge, is always a good thing.

    No, it is not.. Learning to speak Esperanto for example. Or how to program a computer with punch cards.

    Learning is neat, I love to learn. Spending money on a course that won't help you, especially when you have limited funds, is a waste and rather pointless.

    I'm guessing CAD is a bit more useful than Esperanto.

    Only if: (1) you're going to use CAD; (2) there's a market for CAD programming in the area you're looking at; and, (3) the CAD you're learning is worth learning.

    On the job market, CAD is a pretty small niche world. There aren't many calls for it. So it's a very limited use knowledge with a small market value.

    Accounting on the other hand is a much more marketable skill. The job opportunities for an accountant are greater than those for a CAD designer.

    If CAD is what someone wants, and they don't care how far they might have to go to find a job in it, go for it. But if someone is trying to just find work nearby, or wants to take one course that is most likely to help then find a job of some sort, CAD may not be the best choice.

    Aim. Always aim.

 
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