Is CAD Design Right For Me?

CAD Design is a rewarding creative path, but as you’ve already guessed, it’s not the right fit for everyone. To figure out if it’s right for you, consider how well your personality, skills, and preferences align with the responsibilities of a CAD Designer. In addition to considering the obvious features of the job (like the fact that you’ll be drawing and designing with computer software), also think about supporting skills, such as mathematics and communication. It’s also worth considering how many local CAD design job opportunities you can access and whether a desk job fits your work style.

What is a CAD Designer?

Using computer-aided design (CAD) software, CAD Designers produce technical drawings for advanced projects. In addition to two-dimensional surface drawings, CAD Designers also create three-dimensional models. Ultimately, CAD drawings and models make it easier for people in many industries to transform conceptual designs into functional objects, products, and spaces.

To help fulfill this end, CAD models may be used in many different ways, from visualization and analysis to manufacturing. The projects their models forward also involve various disciplines, including civil engineering and architecture, medical equipment, electronics, vehicles, fashion, and games. From among these subjects, CAD Designers typically select one area to specialize in for the duration of their careers. 

To ensure their models provide functional results, CAD Designers generally work alongside Architects, Engineers, Scientists, and other Designers. Outside of this, you’ll find CAD Designers working in relatively unique work environments. While most CAD Designers maintain a standard full-time work schedule, they’re often at liberty to choose between working in-person, remotely, or as independent freelancers. 

The businesses that commonly employ CAD Designers include:

• Architecture firms
• Civil engineering companies
• Construction companies
• Energy and utility companies
• Fashion houses
• Manufacturing facilities (especially those emphasizing mechanical, electronic, medical, and aviation manufacturing)
• Tech companies

Why Become a CAD Designer?

CAD Design is a rewarding career that offers the opportunity to contribute to important projects such as medical devices and defense. In addition to working on gratifying professional projects, CAD design will equip you with the skills to create your own 3D print projects and generate a secondary income stream. AutoCAD is ultimately a versatile skill that can be applied to many different projects. 

For the same reason, CAD design skills can get you a job in a variety of different industries. Because CAD Designers’ human touch creates more functional and precise models than a computer alone, CAD design will always be an important component in product manufacturing, architecture, and engineering. CAD Designer job openings have even been predicted to increase by 8% between 2016 and 2026, and while recent years indicate this may be an overestimate, CAD is still a thriving feature in many industries. In fact, CAD design skills can easily act as a natural segway into a more advanced career such as mechanical engineering or architecture.

You Enjoy Technical Drawing and Design

Even though you’ll get plenty of help from your CAD software, you need drawing and design skills to become a CAD Designer. However, the drawing skills you’ll use as a CAD Designer are different from the artistic drawing skills taught in most drawing classes. Rather, you need technical sketching skills that will allow you to produce geometrically accurate blueprints and models. 

That said, CAD design also involves paying attention to how a finished design looks. In addition to ensuring that the finished project is fully functional, a good CAD Designer will pay attention to classic design principles when creating a design. More often than not, you’ll be transposing someone else’s vision into a design, which can sometimes limit you in this regard. Occasionally, however, you may design a project completely from scratch.

You Like Working with Technology

Many careers involve creativity, but while some trend toward traditional skills (like clay sculpting or painting), CAD design is a tech-forward field. CAD Designers use software to generate precision designs for all manner of projects (from airplane parts to medical devices). A simple way to think of this is that although CAD Designers need drawing skills to create designs, they ultimately work with a computer to create them (“computer-aided design,” right?). 

The software tools that CAD Designers often use include:

• AutoCAD 
• Autodesk
• Autodesk Fusion
• Civil 3D
• Inventor
• Revit
• SolidWorks
• Tinkercad
• 3DS Max
• FreeCAD

You can read more about CAD Design software on Noble Desktop’s Learn AutoCAD blog. 

Because software is the primary medium used in CAD design, this career is considered a desk job and typically involves using a computer for many hours. 

You’re Detail-Oriented

In contrast to fields like graphic design, CAD design prioritizes operative details over big-picture aesthetics. This trade is all about creating highly precise technical drawings that will yield functional results when executed in a real-world environment. To this end, CAD Designers commonly work in fields like engineering, manufacturing, and electronics, helping to create blueprints and models for physical objects and spaces. 

To effectively create models that work when brought to life, CAD Designers need to be good at spotting small details that might cause a project to malfunction. In some cases, this also means being able to apply detailed knowledge of a particular subject (such as mechanical engineering, architecture, or industrial design). CAD Designers also use these same skills to analyze, document, and improve existing designs. 

The fine details of the design itself aren’t the only ones that CAD Designers need to pay attention to, however. They need to be familiar with government and legal regulations (such as ASME Y14) that may be relevant once the drawing is brought to life. Additionally, being able to create drawings that are easily readable to people with a wide variety of accessibility needs is a valuable asset. 

You Have Strong Math Skills

Because CAD design often involves creating precise 2D and 3D models, design principles are often not enough for a CAD design career. Rather, you need a strong sense of three-dimensionality that you can support with mathematics. In particular, producing highly accurate blueprints, schematics, and models requires advanced knowledge of geometry. If done wrong, however, math can have the unintended effect of introducing errors into your drawing. For this reason, it pays to have a solid head for math if you’re considering a CAD design career.

In addition to performing calculations correctly while drafting, CAD Designers are often responsible for obtaining mathematical data before designing their project. For instance, CAD Designers may take measurements at a construction site or measure an object to create an attachment. 

You’re Comfortable Collaborating

As the person responsible for turning someone else’s idea into a working design, CAD Designers need to be comfortable collaborating with others. While collaboration will look different from one job to the next, it’ll typically involve communicating with other professionals and may include working on a team. These other professionals may be fellow CAD Designers, but might also present as a mixed bag of professionals from several industries. As a result, being able to adjust communication for diverse groups is a useful skill.

When it comes to the real work—turning someone else's concept into a CAD design—several communication skills are vital. These include the ability:

• Listen actively 
• Communicate design ideas to clients and colleagues clearly
• Accept and implement constructive feedback

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.

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.