Careers with Inventor?

[Anonymous]

As I’m faculty in an educational institution for challenged individuals, I have access to Inventor. 

I’ve noticed over the years that I have a very high aptitude for mechanical design, but no formal engineering education. I find great joy in designing mechanisms in Inventor and prototyping the gadgets that I create. For example, I prototyped my scissor-lift rolling cart in Inventor, among many other things. 

Given that I have a high aptitude and lots of experience working with metal and wood in real life, is there a career path one can follow with Inventor and similar CAD software while lacking formal education? For perspective, I’m a young 63 years of age with lots of project-building experience behind me. 

Thanks for any input.  

[CGBenner · Accepted solution]

@Anonymous 

Hi...  my personal career journey began at 29, when I got my two year degree in design technology.  Not engineering.  For drawing I did one semester on the board, and then moved on to AutoCAD (all there was at the time).  I've had an over twenty five year career doing drafting and design, learning as I go.  My Inventor training consisted of two weeks at a reseller, and then the school of hard knocks.  My design training was all on the job, learning at the feet of not only engineers (who only know so much ;)), but also fabricators, machinists, tin bangers, assemblers and mill wrights.  I basically taught myself Vault by spending way too much time in these forums, and attending AU.  Networking can be as important as anything else.... which is how I got here.

Finding a job without the degree, especially in today's climate, is what might be tough.  All you can do is put together a stellar resume and portfolio of your work, and start looking.

[Cadmanto · Accepted solution]

@Anonymous 

My career started 41 years ago as a 19 year old kid 1 year out of high school.  I was working on the drafting board for the first 7 or so years then transitioned to Autocad 2.62  After using this for about 8-9 years I transitioned into Pro-E for 5 years then Solidworks/PDM for 12 years and eventually into Inventor/Vault for the last 9 years.  I have worked at several places using various skills and features in each of the software's.  During my working time, I managed to go back to school and earn my AASME degree. 

Been in industries from Medical Electronics, pneumatic tools, filtration systems, expansion joints to my current position that builds rail cars.

In each of the software's I have had professional training, but always played with the software for at least 2 years prior to each training.  This way the trainings were refining my skills and not trying to learn from scratch.

My suggestion would be if you can afford training to do it, to further refine your skills.  Then once you have, post your updated resume on the Autodesk classified forum and try maybe to find work this way.

Something else to consider is posting it on Linked-In.

My 2 cents.

Windows 10 x64 -16GB Ram
Intel i7-6700 @ 3.41ghz
nVidia GTS 250 - 1 GB
Inventor Pro 2021

[johnsonshiue · Accepted solution]

Hi Brian,

As of a CAD system, Inventor belongs to a group of tools called "3D feature-based parametric solid modeler." It is meant to make precise model geometry (measurable up to 0.00001mm) as a digital twin to compare with actual build. There is a wide range of application using such tools (almost all manufactured parts are designed using such tools).

Within the group, the tools work very similarly. If you learn one, you can easily transfer the knowledge to another system (with an open heart). It is like once you learn driving a car, you can pretty much drive any 4-wheel vehicles.

Please note that the tools only facilitate your design; they should not drive your design. The key is always about what you are trying to design and what problems you are trying to solve, not necessarily what tool to use.

To be a good mechanical designer, you need to have good grasp of your design constraints, spatial relationship, logical connection, scalability, and extendibility. You may have designed one-off parts. In professional world, many parts are reused and repurposed. You always want to keep in mind how you can easily alter a given design for a different need. It takes some experience and good practice, which does not necessarily have anything to do with the tool. Over my 20+ years at Autodesk, I have seen around a quarter million parts and assemblies. Just by looking at the sketches and the features, I can tell how well the mechanical design was done and how closely the design intent was honored. Certainly, not every part is the same. There is always room for optimization (just like the tool itself).
A well-designed model is like a master art piece. It may look simple but it has depth and intelligence built in. You get inspired by it. Designers like that are highly valuable.

Best wishes and good luck!

[Anonymous]

Thank you all for taking the time to reply. There's some really great and encouraging information here and I am looking forward to seeing what I can do with the knowledge I'm acquiring.

I appreciate it.

[mluterman]

I hate to be the one to break it down to you, but you're what used to be called a "Draftsman". Now, it can be called "Mechanical Designer". The same fancy way a "Teacher" is now an "Educator".

[Anonymous]

I'm fully aware of that, thank you.