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. It is 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 . 

There are so many factors and variables that go into determining someone's rate of pay, but one of the biggest is experience. And I'm not talking about experience with Autocad. I'm talking about real world, work experience. You may be an ace CAD drafter and you might be able to turn out drawings in a flash, but if you don't know which end of the screwdriver turns the screw, or which end of the hammer hits the nail, you're not going to be as valuable as someone who maybe doesn't have as much CAD training, but has lots of construction experience.I wouldn't say that CAD technicians are disposable, but I would say there are a lot more of them than there used to be. So employers really have the advantage because they can pick and choose who they want to keep and who they can replace. And the guys with real world experience are much more valuable than the kid coming straight out of school who's spent the last 4 years with his nose in a book. Employers typically want guys who can do more than just draw pictures. They want people who can troubleshoot and solve problems. Those are the guys who make the big bucks.I don't know what £6/hour equates to in dollars, but I think it's something like $9/hour. If that's true, then I would say you are earning just over minimum wage. With your background, I think you should be earning quite a bit more than that. I know the economy is bad, but if I were you, I would be looking for employment elsewhere.

[QUOTE=Cad64]There are so many factors and variables that go into determining someone's rate of pay, but one of the biggest is experience. And I'm not talking about experience with Autocad. I'm talking about real world, work experience. You may be an ace CAD drafter and you might be able to turn out drawings in a flash, but if you don't know which end of the screwdriver turns the screw, or which end of the hammer hits the nail, you're not going to be as valuable as someone who maybe doesn't have as much CAD training, but has lots of construction experience.I wouldn't say that CAD technicians are disposable, but I would say there are a lot more of them than there used to be. So employers really have the advantage because they can pick and choose who they want to keep and who they can replace. And the guys with real world experience are much more valuable than the kid coming straight out of school who's spent the last 4 years with his nose in a book. Employers typically want guys who can do more than just draw pictures. They want people who can troubleshoot and solve problems. Those are the guys who make the big bucks.I don't know what £6/hour equates to in dollars, but I think it's something like $9/hour. If that's true, then I would say you are earning just over minimum wage. With your background, I think you should be earning quite a bit more than that. I know the economy is bad, but if I were you, I would be looking for employment elsewhere.
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Thank you for the reply and I'm in agreement with much of what you said.I recognise and value the need for experience and knowledge that you can't buy. That kind of wisdom you have to earn first hand. With only 4 years experience prior to my job (and a year in my current job) I do not expect to walk into a company and earn as much money as someone who has been doing CAD a long time; I appreciate the need to work up. In effect I'm viewing these next few years as an apprenticeship of sorts as I build practical, real world experience.  Out side of CAD and work life, yet still in the real world, I'm looking to buy a house and I'm trying to save like crazy. Coupled with the minimum wage rising from 5.80 to 5.93 next week I'm feeling very undervalued earning 7pence more than the minimum. My intention is not to play the victim but to try and resolve the issue within my current job, or like you said, look else where. I just wanted some advice on how much value I should place on my self as a CAD man. I don't want to delude myself that I should be earning more than I am, or to be to modest and believe I'm earning too much.  Thanks again for the reply