CAD design is a rewarding career that offers a unique combination of creative fulfillment and problem-solving. If you’ve recently discovered the CAD design career path, being curious about it is expected. This article will explain the road to becoming a CAD Designer, including the skills and certifications you need to develop before you can succeed. In addition, you’ll get a detailed snapshot of each stage in a CAD Designer career, along with industry-recommended advice. 

Getting Started

You can start learning about CAD design by reading about CAD design tools and getting CAD career advice from blogs like this one. Free classes and info sessions may also be offered at some locations through your local library or university. If not, a wide range of free AutoCAD resources are available on platforms like YouTube and Autodesk. 

To give you further insights into what it’s like to be a CAD Designer, you may also find it valuable to explore online forums like CADTutor.net, CADForum, and Reddit’s r/CAD. If you prefer a real-time exchange, talking to active CAD design professionals at in-person CAD Design Meetups and job fairs can provide similarly useful insights into the industry and day-to-day life as a CAD Designer. 

Developing Practical Skills

Once you’re sure that you want a job in CAD design, developing the required skills is the most important thing you can do to get your career off the ground. While CAD basics are enough to sustain a hobby, you’ll need more advanced knowledge, along with other skills (specific to your industry niche) to turn CAD design into a long-term source of income. In a lucky case, you may receive on-the-job training, but this is becoming much rarer in today’s age. Consequently, you’ll likely have more success with CAD training offered by colleges and vocational training schools like Noble Desktop. A CAD design bootcamp can provide you with skills and professional experience in one package. 

Because CAD design encompasses many different potential career paths, you’ll want to spend some time figuring out which direction you want to go before you select a training program. If you can narrow down which CAD Design job title fits you best, you’ll have an easier time identifying which skills you need to learn to secure that job. Armed with that knowledge, you can select a CAD design training that’s a good match for your needs. 

Your chosen niche may include a variety of trade-specific skills, but will always include the following:

  • CAD software proficiency
  • Technical drawing 
  • Design theory
  • Math
  • Soft skills (namely attention to detail, communication, problem-solving, time management, and organization)

Do I Need a Degree to Become a CAD Designer?

The first step toward becoming a CAD Designer is your education, which can begin while you’re still young. First and foremost, you’ll need a high school diploma (or equivalent credential) with coursework in math, computer science, physics, and art. 

Most beginner CAD Design jobs require applicants to hold an associate’s degree, and jobs beyond the entry-level commonly require a bachelor’s degree in a subject such as architecture, industrial design, or mechanical engineering. In some cases, however, this requirement may be superseded by an impressive portfolio or equivalent experience. Though you can build a CAD design career without one, a bachelor’s degree will ultimately remove the biggest barriers to securing long-term employment and climbing the career ladder. In addition, statistics show that education results in higher paychecks, with college graduates in all industries earning an extra $500 per week (in 2020). A degree program can also teach you important industry skills, including CAD software and design principles.

If you don’t have the time or funds to attend college, however, there are still alternative ways to go about building your CAD design career. For instance, you can obtain accelerated career training for a fraction of the cost by attending a vocational training school such as Noble Desktop. You may also wish to become a certified CAD Designer by taking a proctored exam from The American Design Drafting Association (ADDA) or Autodesk. Earning a certification can help you qualify for more jobs, see less unemployment, and earn nearly $400 more every week.

AutoCAD Bootcamp: Live & Hands-on, In NYC or Online, Learn From Experts, Free Retake, Small Class Sizes, 1-on-1 Bonus Training. Named a Top Bootcamp by Forbes, Fortune, & Time Out. Noble Desktop. Learn More.

Internships

An internship is an entry-level role intended to provide professional experience that you can use to build your career. In these roles, you’ll participate as a trainee at a real company where you’ll have the chance to build lasting professional relationships and generate new material for your portfolio. In contrast to the assignments you complete in a class, the projects you complete during an internship won’t have that “homework-y” feel and will appear more professional to hiring managers. 

Intended as temporary training experience, most internships last a few months at most. Unlike a standard entry-level job, an internship typically doesn’t require two or more years of experience to apply. Because internships are often provided as a service by businesses and organizations of limited means, some are paid while others are not. 

Entry-Level CAD Designer Jobs

You may have a dream CAD job, and if you’re like most people, it probably isn’t an entry-level role. However, the beginning stretch of your career is a temporary grind in which you’ll lay the groundwork necessary to eventually reach that dream job. Entry-level roles typically involve basic responsibilities but are best thought of as opportunities to gain experience and expand your knowledge. At this stage, you’ll still be actively learning about CAD (and any other skills your selected industry demands) and may need more guidance from senior and mid-level co-workers. 

Rather than being given full autonomy, you may report to a manager or act as a contributor to someone else’s project. You may spend much of your time creating basic fixtures and sheet metal cover panels. 

Common entry-level CAD Designer job titles include:

Mid-Level CAD Designer Jobs

Rather than being distinguished by a specific number of years on the job, mid-level CAD Designer jobs differ from entry-level ones in terms of knowledge and applied experience. As you gain more experience, you’ll typically be given more complex projects along with greater autonomy. You’ll have developed the right skills to solve most CAD design problems on your own and will start working on projects independently. 

Trusting in your experience, your employer will give you more responsibility than you had as an entry-level CAD Designer. You may be expected to task-switch as you tackle multiple ongoing projects and may even be given project management responsibilities. In addition to designing, you’ll likely spend time mapping out project plans and delegating tasks. Because you know more, you’ll also have more power when it comes to decisions within your team.

At the mid-level, your knowledge and experience base will also have grown enough to allow you to specialize in a niche. Rather than being limited to CAD drafting roles, you may choose to specialize in CAD project management or product design. If you earned a degree, you may also choose to create CAD designs in a field like engineering, architecture, industrial design, game design, or fashion design. Mid-level CAD Designer jobs may use labels like:

Senior CAD Designer Jobs

It often takes two or more years (varies by specialty) to build enough experience and qualifications to reach senior status as a CAD Designer. By this point, you’ll be considered an expert who can devote time to helping less-experienced CAD professionals solve problems. In addition to answering scads of questions, you’ll take charge of quality control, making sure that design mistakes are caught and corrected before they can cause problems in the real-world. In contrast to mid-level CAD Designers, who manage plenty of lower-ranking workers, you may also provide more profound mentorship. 

By the senior stage of your career, years of experience will have given you an in-depth understanding of how to use physical materials to optimize function, cost, and ease of crafting. For this reason, you’ll be able to create full system designs in addition to complex components. Thanks to advanced subject knowledge, you’ll likely be the person on your team who designs the most important and complex parts of projects (such as HVAC and plumbing layouts). 

While not limited to these job titles, Senior CAD Designer roles include:

  • Cad Designer Manager
  • Senior CAD Designer
  • Senior Engineer

Another Path: Freelancing

Although the majority of CAD Designers choose to work for various companies and design firms, you can also trade traditional employment for the flexible life of a freelancer. As a self-employed worker, you’ll work directly with clients and bypass the need to be supervised by a senior manager. Instead of simply being assigned piles of grunt work to complete, you’ll have more power over which projects you take on. In addition, you’ll likely have total control over when and where you work. 

Freelancing isn’t a perfect fit for everyone, but its downsides are highly subjective. Before choosing to become a freelancer, make sure you’re prepared to:

  • Manage a fluctuating income. 
  • Forgo some benefits of traditional employment. These may include insurance, tax withholdings, retirement accounts, employer-sponsored training, and shared company resources.
  • Operate all the tasks associated with owning your business (either alone or with hired help). These tasks include marketing your services along with administrative tasks such as paying taxes.

​​Find out more about becoming a freelance CAD Designer.

How Do I Find A CAD Designer Job?

Start by Preparing for Success

Give yourself a strong chance of success by starting your job search with solid qualifications. Because necessary skills can vary from one CAD design job to another, knowing where you want to end up can help you tailor your training and preparation to the right job. For example, you’d need different skills as a CAD Technician than you would as a Mechanical Engineer who emphasizes CAD. 

Despite this variability, there are several key application components that almost all CAD design jobs require. These include:

The experience required to get a CAD Designer job varies significantly from position to position, with basic entry-level roles even offering on-the-job training to beginners. For more complex CAD Designer job titles (such as Mechanical Engineer or Product Designer), you’ll need between two and five years of relevant experience. 

Search for Jobs Strategically

When you’re fully ready to start work, be sure to cast your search net wide. Rather than looking for jobs only in one place, you utilize multiple job markets for a better chance at finding work. For example, you can build digital authority for yourself using a personal portfolio website and job websites like LinkedIn, while simultaneously pooling advice from forum users on platforms like Reddit. 

According to experts, the following can help you find a CAD design job: 

  • Explore job sites that were created specifically for your industry, whether that’s design, engineering, IT, or even freelancing. 
  • Participate in professional organizations (such as the American Design Drafting Association, or ADDA).
  • Treat internships, classes, and volunteer projects as opportunities to solidify your portfolio and create long-term professional connections. 
  • Attend a wide variety of events, including both formal events (conferences, job fairs, and trade shows) and casual ones (local design get-togethers and Meetups).

Learn the Skills to Become a CAD Designer at Noble Desktop

Learn CAD Design in a confidence-boosting environment where experts can guide you through every step of mastering the leading CAD drafting software. Noble Desktop’s hands-on AutoCAD courses are offered in a traditional NYC classroom as well as in a flexible live online format. They come in a variety of levels (from beginner to advanced) to allow for maximum customization and always rely on task-oriented projects to teach skills. Additionally, all courses feature a small class size to ensure you receive plenty of one-on-one attention from your instructor. 

If you’re looking for a short introductory course or want to split your training into chunks, the AutoCAD Level I course will get you started on the right track. In this course, you’ll explore projects that will get you comfortable using precision drawing tools. You’ll learn how to use a variety of beginner features, from drawing templates to layers, blocks, layouts, annotations, and hatching. Before you’re finished, you’ll also learn how to edit and print your drawing. Because this class was designed as part of a series, you’ll be ready to move on to AutoCAD Level II (and later, Level III) when you graduate. 

To cover the same ground more quickly, you may prefer to sign up for the AutoCAD Bootcamp. In addition to covering all the beginner skills from AutoCAD Level I, this course covers intermediate skills from AutoCAD Level II. To create more complex images, you’ll learn how to utilize tracking points, construction lines, and external references. You’ll also learn how to integrate data tables into your drawings and customize layouts for specific projects. 

Want to master AutoCAD software comprehensively? The AutoCAD Masterclass includes skills from AutoCAD Levels I-III, allowing you to advance from beginner to pro in one course. After exploring beginner skills in the first unit of the course, you’ll start tackling intermediate skills in tandem with productivity strategies. In the last unit of the class, you’ll navigate a variety of advanced subjects, including user interface customization, dynamic blocks, text objects and tables, dynamic attributes, and publication. With these skills, you’ll be prepared to take on a variety of entry-level professional CAD projects. 

To receive the same comprehensive training and earn an official AutoCAD certification, sign up for the AutoCAD Certification Program. In addition to skills training, this course includes private tutoring and proctorship for The Autodesk Certified Professional in AutoCAD for Design & Drafting exam.