topic Re: Will AutoCAD Certification help me get my first drafting job? in AutoCAD Forum

Will AutoCAD Certification help me get my first drafting job?

Anonymous — Wed, 13 Jan 2021 18:01:30 GMT

Hi all, I've been self-studying AutoCAD with a student license the last few months, and I'm wondering if employers would hire someone whose only experience drafting is the time they spent learning and an AutoCAD Professional Certificate.

Is it worth the money ($150)?

Thanks in advance!

Re: Will AutoCAD Certification help me get my first drafting job?

Patchy — Wed, 13 Jan 2021 18:06:38 GMT

Nope,

If they want you, they will train you, if they don't, they will say we're hiring experienced person.

Re: Will AutoCAD Certification help me get my first drafting job?

tboehler — Wed, 13 Jan 2021 19:28:23 GMT

If you aren't going to miss the 150.00 - Id get it done. It can only be a plus on a resume.

Re: Will AutoCAD Certification help me get my first drafting job?

kenneth.smithV6QLC — Wed, 13 Jan 2021 21:07:28 GMT

Look into government contracting with the Navy (in particular, as it is my current field for 10+ years as a mechanical drafter). If there is a spot hiring, normally there is a drafting or engineering group willing to help train you. I've only had an Associate's Degree ever since my first job as a Drafter, but everything I know has come from OTJ training and learning the program for customers. Definitely worth the 150.

Re: Will AutoCAD Certification help me get my first drafting job?

RobDraw — Thu, 14 Jan 2021 11:52:40 GMT

It can help if there is a lot of competition for jobs in your area. The problem is it doesn't say that you are any more qualified than the next guy. It just means that you know the software.

Re: Will AutoCAD Certification help me get my first drafting job?

apjones — Mon, 01 Feb 2021 20:02:24 GMT

It also illustrates that you are willing to take the initiative and invest in yourself.

Re: Will AutoCAD Certification help me get my first drafting job?

s.borello — Mon, 01 Feb 2021 23:33:22 GMT

It won't hurt you to get certified; it also will not guarantee employment.

Re: Will AutoCAD Certification help me get my first drafting job?

ChicagoLooper — Tue, 02 Feb 2021 12:53:35 GMT

Typically, for students breaking into the job market, you get someone in a ‘key position’ to read your resume then he offers you an interview. (A key position doesn’t have to be a VIP hiring manager, it could be your future immediate supervisor.) If the job opening generates a ton of responses, typical when posted in a hiring service, then your cover letter (goes hand-in-hand w/the resume) puts your resume in the keep pile while the remaining resumes get discarded.

The resume and cover letter play a critical role and yes, everyone understands it’s not totally fair b/c qualified applicants can get shafted while under qualified ones stay alive and proceed in the hiring process. It’s the game, and you, the applicant, gotta play it.

The key is to stand out and showcase your ability at the same time. And all this must occur within the parameters of a cover letter and resume.

If you get an invite, create a portfolio of hardcopies and bring it to the interview. Neatly organize them. And no, a paperclip or staple doesn’t count as organization. If they’re D-size drawings you can make half sized copies, just get them printed on paper. And by all means create a professional looking titleblock complete with a fictitious firm name and address (shows your ‘creativity’ in a subliminal way).

Less than 5% of entry level applicants create a portfolio so if standing out is your goal, and it should be, be prepared and create one.

So which applicant gets hired?

One applicant writes a cover letter to accompany his resume that grabs the reader’s attention so he can’t put it down until he’s finished reading it while a second applicant doesn’t even write one.
One applicant brings copies of plans, elevations, cross sections, orthos and details to the interview while another goes empty handed.
One applicant has printed homework assignments printed within a titleblock so it looks like work product while another writes a bulleted list of drawings he can draw.

Given the hypotheticals above, how do you think a firm would weigh the importance of a certificate?

Re: Will AutoCAD Certification help me get my first drafting job?

Anonymous — Sun, 30 May 2021 22:04:57 GMT

Look at several job posting websites, like Indeed, Monster, etc, and search for "Certification". You'll find very very few list AutoCAD certification.

Meanwhile, be prepared to "audition", by drawing something handed to you, and answer questions about it. I applied for teaching job and had to proof I know what limits tolerancing was.

Re: Will AutoCAD Certification help me get my first drafting job?

rushabhthakkar_910 — Mon, 31 May 2021 04:43:17 GMT

What I believe is that Certifications can give us an Edge over others. If you are going for an Interview, you may have some slight advantage over the others. But if you are not able to answer what the interviewer is asking you, even the certificate won't help you get a Job.

It depends on what you know. And also, if you don't have a Certification, but have a Good Experience with the Software, maybe without a Certificate, you can get a Good Job...

Re: Will AutoCAD Certification help me get my first drafting job?

holemhoracbq49 — Thu, 07 Jul 2022 19:26:00 GMT

No. If you will work as a designer, you need certification. An AutoCAD draftsman creates a package of working documentation with Autodesk AutoCAD software: prepares working documentation on the basis of 3D models and planning decisions, makes drawings, draws details, draws up specifications. Can interact with the client, travel to the site for measurements, communicate with related specialists (visualizers, engineers, builders). If you look at Ratings IT companies, you will notice different requirements for specialties.

Re: Will AutoCAD Certification help me get my first drafting job?

dany_rochefort — Thu, 07 Jul 2022 20:00:32 GMT

@Anonymous Yes, definetily. Technically speaking that job title is called CAD Operator since you haven't actually followed a Drafting Course. I have met plenty of CAD operators throughout my career. Go for it.

Re: Will AutoCAD Certification help me get my first drafting job?

pszty0001 — Sun, 29 Jun 2025 02:51:46 GMT

Well his or her resume, after getting CAD certification, isn't going to read any differently than it did before certification, after all. He or she is still not going to have the work experience element that "your resume" is supposed to have loads of. Only difference will be in the education/certifications section which NO ONE READS. No temp agency, no hiring manager, no nobody, reads the part where you list your education, I swear! I have a Master's degree in Environmental Engineering from Yale and all I field when and if any temp agency even gets back to me is they start talking about my work experience (or lack thereof). It's soul-crushing. I'm starting to think that all universities and colleges, even the ones that offer "trade" related certifications like computer aided drafting/design, should be burned to the ground.

Re: Will AutoCAD Certification help me get my first drafting job?

ChicagoLooper — Sun, 29 Jun 2025 21:38:55 GMT

@pszty0001
Wow! I’m wondering how many inexperienced applicants reading this Forum wouldn’t mind proudly listing a degree from Yale under the education section of their resume.

I hear you and me too, I swear, no one pays attention to the education section. But….if I’ve got a Masters and I know it will be verified, then my application just leveled up.

You are applying to an environmental consulting firm, right? Not a kitchen cabinet shop or cell phone tower builder. Besides, it’s a Masters from Yale so why shouldn’t you fortify your education section?

Does your education include a summer internship at an environmental consulting firm like one undertaken by a fellow classmate? That counts more as experience than education. Or provided tutoring by you to underclassmen? Willing to serve is a highly desirable characteristic that’s easily demonstrated through tutoring.

Did your coursework entail any field wok? Soil sampling or monitoring well installation? That’s experience, in-your-face experience.

Is your cover letter full of EPA terms? You did write an ‘interview-worthy’ cover letter, right? Nomenclature such as Environmental Site Assessment (ESA), EPA Leaking Underground Storage Tank (LUST), Site Remediation, Superfund Sites, health risks of polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) etc. so the prospective employer knows you have familiarity with regs and permits in the industry despite no work experience?

If you’re applying for a Cad job like the OP (you did read the OP, right?) then a Masters in Environmental Engineering doesn’t sound right. You should be directing the Cad work, not performing it.

If you really feel your Masters is holding you back from gaining employment you always have the option of leaving it off.

Good luck to you and for you.

Re: Will AutoCAD Certification help me get my first drafting job?

RSomppi — Mon, 30 Jun 2025 16:46:13 GMT

@pszty0001 wrote:
Well his or her resume, after getting CAD certification, isn't going to read any differently than it did before certification, after all. He or she is still not going to have the work experience element that "your resume" is supposed to have loads of. Only difference will be in the education/certifications section which NO ONE READS. No temp agency, no hiring manager, no nobody, reads the part where you list your education, I swear! I have a Master's degree in Environmental Engineering from Yale and all I field when and if any temp agency even gets back to me is they start talking about my work experience (or lack thereof). It's soul-crushing. I'm starting to think that all universities and colleges, even the ones that offer "trade" related certifications like computer aided drafting/design, should be burned to the ground.

Quite inaccurate. If you had said something like some companies do not read/care about that stuff, I would say that maybe those companies do not need someone with good credentials but to say that "NO ONE READS" them is wrong. Some companies have an education requirement, even for entry level positions.

Re: Will AutoCAD Certification help me get my first drafting job?

pszty0001 — Tue, 14 Oct 2025 21:29:37 GMT

Then what good is it? Why even offer it in the first place if it's as useless as most master's and doctorate programs...?

Re: Will AutoCAD Certification help me get my first drafting job?

pszty0001 — Tue, 14 Oct 2025 21:31:29 GMT

Then what is the bloody point of HAVING a certification process in the first place? If it's going to be as useless as most master's and doctorate degrees...?!

Re: Will AutoCAD Certification help me get my first drafting job?

pszty0001 — Tue, 14 Oct 2025 21:33:30 GMT

Thank you for clarifying that there IS a use for this certification after all! Besides I thought the point of ALL educational endeavours was to get a JOB doing what you studied?!?!

Re: Will AutoCAD Certification help me get my first drafting job?

RSomppi — Wed, 15 Oct 2025 13:39:00 GMT

No need to say it twice.

If you think degrees are useless, there’s no way to convince you of the value of a certificate.

Re: Will AutoCAD Certification help me get my first drafting job?

pszty0001 — Tue, 14 Oct 2025 21:40:26 GMT

My master's was in 1996. It makes me look "too old." Anything I did while I was a grad student at Yale, is "too long ago" by the standards of most things. I am trying to get into CAD operator type jobs as something to do to pay the bills these days while I wait to grow old and die, hopefully not penniless and jobless. I was reading about a fellow Yale alum who had wound up on the streets of Los Angeles, who has finally found help out of that situation by way of a fellow Yalie who arranged a way to get him a temporary home - but in his case he also had a drug problem to overcome and I don't have any of that. No other "hooks." I can't even ever hook up with my fellow Yale alumni in my area because the nearest events are always so far away; 4 hours or more each way. I've even tried to log in to Yale's online career "assistance" and nothing on there ever wants alumni from "over a quarter of a century ago" as people put it.