I just found out that my college canceled the CAD class I was going to take over the summer due to low enrollment. My plan is to use this unexpected allotment of time getting some on-the-job experience as a survey tech (for free if necessary), and getting more hands-on with AutoCAD. That's where my next question comes in:
Having no formal experience gathering data in the field (these classes fall in the next two semesters), what can I expect to be handed by my employer when it comes to the drafting stage of a job? A sheet with a list of coordinates? Is there a standard format, or at least a predominant one? I've searched online and can't seem to find what I'm looking for, which I guess would be a sample sheet of the raw data that I will be expected to turn into a drawing.
If anyone has any other suggestions concerning where my time might be best spent this summer, with my goal at this stage being to get hired as a surveying tech within the next year as my studies continue, please let me know!
Much appreciated,
Cary
In your first summer job experience I think it unlikely that you would be called on to do any drafting. You would probably be in the field helping some more experienced hand by keeping the truck organized and stocked, setting up tripods, pounding hubs, cutting lines through brush, etc.
Cary M, post: 373269, member: 11598 wrote: what can I expect to be handed by my employer when it comes to the drafting stage of a job?
That time will come. When it does you would probably be getting a coordinate file in PNEZD (Point number, Northing, Easting, Elevation, Descriptor) comma delimited format for import to the CAD package of choice.
Such a file can be downloaded directly from the data collector as it comes from the field or it can be the product of some reprocessing and analysis of raw data in the office. The former is more common, the latter is my strong preference.
Oh no, sorry if I was unclear. I didn't think I'd be given any drafting tasks during work experience; I want to work separately on the drafting during the summer so that I can hit the ground running when the time does arrive, and because it's something I can be working on at home with the soft/hardware I already have.
I fully expect to be carrying all the equipment and fetching coffee 🙂
Thank you re. the PNEZD file type; that gives me a great starting point for looking up what I need.
Cheers!
Cary
Basic, vanilla AutoCAD has no native function for importing a PNEZD file. It can be customized, by a LISP program, but that is a rather advanced topic. Most of us use some customized variety of CAD (eg/Civil 3d, Carlson Survey, Microsurvey, etc.) which has those functions added.
When I took a class in beginning CAD Autocad and its Applications was the textbook and the classes consisted of going through it line by line, exercise by exercise. Is that, by chance, the text for your upcoming CAD class?
Mark Mayer, post: 373291, member: 424 wrote: Most of us use some customized variety of CAD (eg/Civil 3d, Carlson Survey, Microsurvey, etc.) which has those functions added.
Ah, that's good to know. I believe there's a student license for Civil 3D so I'll see if I can get a download and start familiarizing myself with it.
Mark Mayer, post: 373291, member: 424 wrote: When I took a class in beginning CAD Autocad and its Applications was the textbook and the classes consisted of going through it line by line, exercise by exercise. Is that, by chance, the text for your upcoming CAD class?
There actually isn't a set text for the upcoming class. Most of the drawings created in the class I just completed (the basics) were for mechanical parts; though the course is broadly in Civil Engineering, I hope we'll at least touch on the surveying aspect of CAD during the next class. All the more reason though to get acquainted with the specific software that surveyors use on my own time.
Cary M, post: 373300, member: 11598 wrote: I believe there's a student license for Civil 3D so I'll see if I can get a download and start familiarizing myself with it.
Anybody can download a free 30 day demo.
Mark Mayer, post: 373309, member: 424 wrote: Anybody can download a free 30 day demo.
I checked the site; looks like it's the same as with AutoCAD. There's a free 3-year license and full software download for students - not for professional use of course, but perfect for my needs at the moment.
Thanks gschrock, I'll check it out!
Cary. You will do very well in this field long term. That is clear to me from this post. I am sorry that I really don't have anything more specific or concrete to add to this thread though. Go get 'em tiger!
Brad Ott, post: 373317, member: 197 wrote: Go get 'em tiger!
I appreciate it!
YouTube is great too. The great thing about AutoCAD is that you can Google and get answers to just about everything. I learned on Microsurvey and they had a lot of great tutorial videos from what I remember but I only use AutoCAD civil3d now, with a little Bentley MicroStation mixed in, because that's what the company I work for uses. All of the programs are similar and as long as you have the fundamentals you can jump from one to the other fairly painlessly. The exception might be MicroStation which is odd in my opinion.
Nburg, post: 374041, member: 11684 wrote: All of the programs are similar and as long as you have the fundamentals you can jump from one to the other fairly painlessly.
Civil 3D is next on my list; I downloaded the student licensed one but haven't installed it yet. Haha, I've had so many inane YouTube videos shoved down my throat that my first response is now, "How long is it?" and if the answer is longer than 30 seconds, it's an automatic no-go. If I do watch and I'm not enthralled after 15 seconds, it's all over. Of course, that stubborn attitude meant it only occurred to me a couple short weeks ago to look on there for surveying videos, and I'm glad I did! A lot of good stuff that fills in the blanks as far as the practical side of the job, and I'll no doubt be checking it out for CAD stuff as well. Thanks!
