Career Opportunities and Work Life

Skills You'll Need

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The Classroom Experience

Certificate & Degree Options

Skills You'll Need - Drafting and Design

A career in drafting and design can be high-pressured and fast-paced. It requires excellent communication skills, diligence, and time management skills.

"It is a must for someone entering this field to be strong-willed and self-confident," states Steve Huycke, Lake Michigan College drafting and design instructor. "Your ideas will be challenged and it's up to you to defend yourself."

Steve goes on to say that it is vital to have the "ability to make a mistake and not panic." Learning from mistakes and adjusting are everyday occurrences. You must be flexible and willing to change your idea to get your product to work.

You also must be able to conceptualize. Drafters and designers have to think in three dimensions. You must be able to take a design on paper and transform the design into a physical object, an object that has depth, corners, hinges, etc.

Skills and knowledge you'll need to be successful include:

• Trigonometry skills
• Applicable software skills
• The ability to work in a team
• Clear verbal and written communication
• CAD skills

Upon completion of this program, you will be proficient in two-dimensional skills, three-dimensional solid modeling, three-dimensional assembly modeling and detailing.