I am so Sick of drafting

Time to get outside.

If I could take a year off I would go to Costa Rica or Chile...

When I retire I'm going to the Big Island - to the Kona or Captain Cook area.

The dreaded drafting burnout. Sucks the joy right out of life. Train someone to shoulder part of the load and get out in the field or risk flameout crash and burn. At least make some time for the gym and get some excercise so your health doesn't suffer.

The lower back knot. The neck strain. Guarantee that someone will call to bug you about the map that is 5th in line. You move it up and start on that one next, except then you get a call for the guy would needs the map that you were going to do next, except it is now 3rd in line.
It never ends.

I hope that never happens. I really enjoy the office part. Except for running my own copies and folding them. That blows. Beats cutting brush ANY day.

And here I thought I was the only one.....

I would rather cut brush; ANY day!

> I can puke. I am burnt out with Surveying at the moment . All I do is draw maps for 12 hours a day and it sucks . I am really hating cad right now . I used to love to draw now , its like I cant do it anymore . I need a year off. :'(

It happens to nearly everyone. 12 hours a day will get you to that point you are at rather quickly.

Make some short term goals that incorporate minor changes and achieve them. Find / identify your stressors and limit them if you can't eliminate them altogether. Best of Luck

Cutting brush is pure therapy ... as long as I know I have alternatives.

If you work for yourself, find a way to send the easy stuff to someone other than yourself. Have one of your field guys come into the office 1 day a week to learn CAD and you get out there and generate some callouses somewhere other than on your finger tips.

If your employed by someone else, it's time to speak to your boss. I would straight up tell them what you told us. If the boss values what you provide, he will find a way to break up your workload to get you a few days of different work.

You will be much more productive if your not burned out.

My 2 cents

Take that year off..... seriously.

When you are 90 years old and looking back on your life, it isn't going to be CAD you remember. It is going to be the year you dropped off the face of the earth and travelled.

I saved up my holidays for 2 years to take all of August off. It was awesome. Every contractor I worked with told me how much they hated me when I returned. Those guys get no time off at all.

I feel your pain! 2 months now, drafting as-built drawings, about to go mad!

-JD-

Been there done that in the month of December. Worked doing PM, drafting, propsals, billing, meeting clients, scheduling, crew management, dealing problems that arise in office and field.

Plane came crashing about second week in December. It was hard ground.

Took two weeks, thought help was coming, right back in the same mix.

Ready to go do something else. $30,000 on an education and stil making party chief wages.

Yes it sucks.

I get overloaded with screen-work every so often. In twenty years I've gotten so loaded down a number of times and hired an extra CAD tech. After six months of training them like I like...and listening to their incessant "how we did it over at Blow & Associates", they usually drift on.

And I'm usually glad they're gone. Not because of their work or personality, but because if there's anything I hate worse than CAD work, it's CHECKING SOMEONE ELSE'S CAD WORK!

I'm such a picky bastard...I've just learned to walk away from it for a while. It stacks up..and then I jump on it and whittle it down.

CAD work is probably one of the "dirty little details" about the business we don't talk about. :bored:

Just hang in there another 10 years. With the feature recognition software coming into its own, mapping will be done with photos and scanners.

I hate drafting as well. Glad I get to do a mix of office and field. Field work is almost a reward at times.

Have one of your field guys come into the office 1 day a week to learn CAD and you get out there and generate some callouses somewhere other than on your finger tips.

Really??? Lawd, I never knew my job was so freaking easy!! I hope my boss never figures out that this CadMonkey can be replaced by a rodman by simply showing him a cad package one day a week. [sarcasm]Yeah, that guy should be ready to go and very productive by 2115.[/sarcasm]

I have been at it on my own for 17 years this year I decided to add a second crew and it took off. But so did the office work.
Just been at it along time. We had a lot of jobs hit at the end of the year. One topo/bound after another. Don't get me wrong very greatful. Had prostrate out in October. Guess what I was doing in the hospital the next day. You got it laptop and a mouse. Actually took no time off. I need a partner that can earn. Tired of the doing it on my own. I never understood Surveyors we set up 20 companies all doing the same work and we could partner and probably make the same money. I rethinking my business model it's for young guys.

> Just been at it along time. ..... I need a partner that can earn. Tired of the doing it on my own.
Why are you not thinking of hiring CAD help?

I have been in that situation more than a few times. I have found that after 6-7 hours of drafting my production drops and my errors increase dramatically. Not to mention the hand pain from using the mouse all day. Right click, left click, scroll, repeat!

Actually tride but can only find subparr wanabes. Actually started testing them before committing. I had a guy straight say he could draw with Carlson. So I handed him a deed and he was still starring at it hour later. By the time I tell someone how to do it I can do it. Never works out. I get to ill and they can't take it.