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CAD Technician Salary

BellBoy

New member
This is more a post to blow of steam than it is to talk about CAD but I'd appreciate any advice you fellow CAD users might have. As a CAD man I feel isolated and unsure about how to pursue my future.

To start of I'll introduce myself: I'm a 22 year old male from the UK.At the age of 15 and still at school I was offered, along with some others, the chance to do a two year out of school, night-time, GCSE course in Engineering. I took the offer and loved it. Following that I was inspired to do a National Diploma in Mechanical Engineering, then a Higher National Diploma in Mechanical Engineering and Finally a Bachelors Degree in Computer Aided Engineering. CAD was always the subject I enjoyed the most; I found it both rational and technical whilst still, at the same time, requiring a slight bit of creative, artistic flair so that is why I chose CAD as my career path. During my time at College and University I worked for four years part time doing building layouts on AutoCAD, building up my experience and CV credentials.

Following University with the Economy really bad I was desperate to take any job I could. One came up and I took it at £6/hour. How priorities change because now a year later I feel undervalued, underpaid and I'm starting to question my worth; the worth of CAD technicians as a whole.

My job is split three ways; between SolidWorks rendering 3D bespoke images, on AutoCAD drawing the 'standard' products we sell in room layouts and thirdly writing computer codes for the quoting software the company uses. I enjoy the job I do, and - most - of the people there I really love (it's always affection for people that keep me feeling 'trapped' in a job) the company boss is a right t**t though; very tight with money and constantly shouting at people.

I'm just after perspectives on my situation. Are CAD technicians disposable these days? A dime a dozen? Is 6 pound an hour an average, poor, a very poor rate for a 22 year old CAD technician; with my selling point being SolidWorks Experience? Pre tax my yearly salary would be £12480 and I don't want to sound ungrateful but I feel I should be earning more, or maybe I shouldn't I just can't call it. I certainly don't know how much more. All the jobs advertised for CAD offer much larger salary's yet I don't know how much of that holds true in reality. I have graphic design friends and from what I can learn form them a guys actual ability - as shown in a portfolio - holds much more merits than qualifications or past experience. I don't know if the same is true for CAD; the good CAD guys are high paid the bad are poorly paid and their is a huge gulf of pay difference between the two. Sounds obvious but I just wouldn't have expected there to be the same difference from CAD to CAD guy as there would be from Graphic Design to Graphic Design guy that;s also.

Anyway, it's nice to be here. Nice to see some fellow CAD users and I'd appreciate and value any advice you guys might have. Thanks
 
CAD technicians can earn more than 40K per year which is as good as other technicians like medical or pharmacy technicians..
 

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