Experience. Passion. Drive.
I found my passion for teaching close to 30 years ago after attending an AutoCAD class in Nutley, New Jersey after being a manual Drafter for many years. (Some of you might remember: Lettering guides and Berol® templates). It 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.
My goal was to learn as much as I could to become a valuable asset to any school or firm that I applied to. Like many others, I set out to learn every single aspect of the software. I soon realized that it was almost impossible, so I instead focused on topics that were important in everyday drafting and design. Topics that were needed to become not only employable but efficient. 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 schools’ 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 to firms and it has always amazed me how many people do not use the software to the best of it’s capabilities. Most have just fiddle around and find a way to get something done and when it works it becomes “their way” of working. Although this eventually works, it isn’t the most efficient way of getting things done and, in turn, bad habits follow.
Efficiency is something that cannot be debated. If you can do something with the same accuracy, quality control, and result, but do so in less steps, there’s no argument. (At least there shouldn’t be).
Another problem that I have seen is with recent college graduates. Many, upon graduation, have a degrees and the accolades that go with it, but do not have enough CAD experience for them to be valuable assets for companies. These candidates are usually passed over by hiring firms when their lack of experience becomes apparent during interviews. Universities simply give access to the software and tell the students, “The project is done by the end of the semester”. 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