Turn Your Drawing and Drafting Talent into a Career in Engineering, Architecture or AutoCAD
Some of us are perfectly content to spend our work hours toiling away at passionless work. There’s nothing wrong with that. We don’t all require soulful fulfillment in our daily grind, but for some of us, it doesn’t seem quite like living unless we’re knee deep in the muck of meaningful work. For those of us who’ve managed to score our dream job by working at the engineering and architecture life, how was it done? If you’re at the beginning of the path, it may seem winding and long. It may seem daunting, but with a few of the right choices and a good mindset, you can achieve anything you want. Let’s go over some of those successful choices and attitudes.
1. Willing and Able
We don’t just mean willing and able to do work. We mean willing and able to work more than the guy next to you&emdash;and when you fail (you will fail a lot), you get up and back to work. The people who score their dream jobs are those that try harder and longer than the rest, and it comes down to simple math. If Jeremy spends 4 hours a day learning civil engineering, he’ll have that amount of knowledge. If Jon spends 8 hours a day learning about civil engineering, then goes home and continues his pursuit for a few hours, he’ll have vastly more knowledge and ability than Jeremy.
2. Persist
Failure is such a dirty word. From the time we wake up in the morning to the time we go to bed, most of us try to avoid it. After all, success is how we progress our lives. We get things done. You complete assignments. You do laundry. Failure would prevent these things from getting done. But chasing a dream job is such a complex, multi-faceted path that you will fail sometimes. You’ll feel like you’re not accomplishing what you need to sometimes. Sometimes it will feel like the world is against you and no one wants to see you succeed. Persistence is continuing on despite the way you feel about these events. Persistence may not come easy, and it may take some cultivation on your part. Discover the ways that help you continue down the path even when things seem dark and lonely.
3. Learn to Network
Being friends with a large group of people has benefits (even the ones you don’t want to be friends with). If you have the gift of gab, then you likely don’t have much to worry about, but if you are socially withdrawn, this could be a major hurdle. Luckily, networking and being more social is a skill that can be developed. It’s a complex skill, but some easy to access ideas are:
- Help other people and give more than you take.
- Learn more about them. Ask questions.
- Find the people that matter most for your professional goals.
4. Get Educated
Lastly, education is the key to success. Education doesn’t just give you the engineering knowledge you need to succeed in your dream job (which is essential), it teaches you how to make detailed assessments and think critically. Education is an opportunity to interact with people that are in your desired field, whether it’s fellow students, teacher’s aides or professors. It’ll also get you to your goal faster than if you didn’t have a degree or diploma. Most high-paying engineering and architecture jobs ($50,000/year and above), will require you to have post-secondary education, and when you’re in competition for your dream position, every edge you can get counts.
That’s where Brighton College comes in. Brighton College offers intensive training in building and civil engineering, including laying out, designing, estimating, constructing, and managing building architecture. Learn how to turn your drawing and drafting talent into a career in computer-aided-design or drafting, where you can work with engineers to carry-out large scale, important and meaningful projects.
