Need CAD Work, Charlotte - NC, Arch / Elect/ Instr

Anybody heard of any CAD work in Charlotte, NC. Even if you want to suggest
a company that would be appreciated.

Industrial, Commercial, Retail, Academic, Chemical

Architectural, Electrical and Instrumentation

Wages easily negotiable.

Many Thanks in adavnce !!!!!!

Kevin Murray
Mt.Holly, NC

 

OK, that gives you some Architects and a few builders, who don't use CAD
anyways.

How can you find Industry CAD users ?? I haven't found a one in my area.

KMM

 

OK, that gives you some Architects and a few builders, who don't use CAD

Huh? You must be looking at the wrong architects then. Every architect
I've met in Charlotte uses CAD, and most use AutoCAD.

As for who uses AutoCAD in the Charlotte area, I would be very surprised if
none of the NASCAR teams used AutoCAD, and there are numerous civil
engineering firms in addition to architecture firms who do use AutoCAD. The
banks use AutoCAD, the power utilities use AutoCAD, and the structural steel
industry uses AutoCAD.

Three weeks ago I went to the AUGI Cad Camp in Charlotte, along with about
200 other AutoCAD users and developers.

So there is AutoCAD work to be had in the Charlotte area, and plenty of it.
ClintonG is right. You will have to find a way to show the right person
that you are the solution for their CAD requirements.

Good luck,

-Rick Francken

 

You will have to find a way to show the right person that you are the
solution for their CAD requirements.

I disagree this but "Thank You" for the good luck, it is appreciated.

 

On which part are you disagreeing?

 

You will have to find a way to show the right person that you are the
solution for their CAD requirements.

In theroy correct, in reality I disagree

 

Disagree if you want, but you have to sell YOU, whether you are trying to
land a job or a contract. It's no theory.

 

Under normal conditions of the past years I would agree. Bad economy,
working costs, pressure to keep staff at a minimum has made many companys
very skiddish about taking on people.

I have 20+ years in CAD and 3 of those years as the Senior CAD Chairperson
for a major top fortune 500 company. I have supplied data of the project
accomplishments and $$$ saved.

However, the companies I have talked to simply aren't interested
..

 

Well, those are the conditions that are helping me get work.<g>
One customer used to have 20 people in his group, 3 of whom were dedicated
CAD technicians, until the company downsized his group to himself and 2
other people. When I met with him, he was looking for a CAD person to
handle 60+ hours of CAD drawings per project. When I started asking
questions about his CAD workflow and automation, and of automating the
entire process, his perception of me changed from "CAD person" to "SOLUTION
TO MY PROBLEM". I am currently automating his project drawing creation
process and training his group on the methodology. It is already saving
them hours of work.

It came down to being able to offer my customer a unique solution that
leverages my skills and knowledge. If you have more than 20 years of CAD
experience, you must certainly have a wealth of knowledge as well as
contacts in the industry who have problems that you can uniquely solve.

Have you considered contracting or consulting instead of W-2 employment?
It's a lot easier to sell a $10,000 or $15,000 solution to the person who
has a problem, and do this several times a year, than to sell a $60,000 (or
80,000 or 100,000 ) ongoing overhead cost structure to a person who may not
be the one with the problem.

Regards,

-Rick Francken

 

I agree with you and your reply is a good one with one minor exception.

In the limited few managers or Supervisors I have gotten to interview with,
one of the problems I have run into is "The quick fix". I have offered
solution type ideas and made the mistake of saying "in 3 months you could
save X in money and Y in hours" then 6 months and then an approximation for
1 year. The few who I have been able to get to have indicated, they don't
want to wait; they want the 6 months savings in a month. I know this might
sound silly but it is what I have run into.

Oh, and on the topic of getting to the right Manager / Supervisor. In many
places it is very difficult. Company's often insulate there Engineering with
HR which makes it very difficult to get to the right person.

One HR person asked me if I had experience with AutoCAD 2000, I explained
that I was actively using AutoCAD 2004. She quickly ended the conversation
with "Sorry, we would only be interested if you had AutoCAD 2000 experience"
and then ended the phone call. Trust me it is very difficult to get to the
right person.

 

Kevin,
See my comments below...

I know what you're talking about. "The Quick Fix" was one reason I quit my
real job. The boss kept having me quick fix the software becase they wanted
it done right now. The software application basically got quick-fixed into
oblivion.

Yep. Seen that happen. Either HR or Purchasing. And unfortunately, not
enough of them understand Value to be able to hook you up with the right
person. The really good customers I've found were either former colleagues
of mine, or were referred by colleagues who work in other companies. I told
one friend that I had left my job and was now doing software development and
AutoCAD automation, and she referred me to the Engineer she worked with.

Well, she probably had to put a check in a box on some form. You could
have told her that you had experience with AutoCAD 2.1, 9, 10, 11, 12 Dos,
12 Windows, 13, 13C4, 14, 2000, 2000i, 2002, 2004, and 2005, and she would
have given you the same answer.

No question, it is difficult to get to the right person. I think it's the
hardest part of my work. Designing a building or writing a software app is
easy in comparison. Just keep telling your friends and colleagues. They
will try to help, and will tell their friends and colleagues. And if you
can manage to stay away from the HR types, you'll be better off.

Keep plugging,

-Rick