The New York Institute of Art and Design offers online AutoCAD classes and because we do, we like to provide free tips for aspiring planners. Enjoy!
If you’re an interior designer and you haven’t learned AutoCAD yet, it might be time to make the investment. First of all, working with the software will completely boost your productivity if you’re currently doing drawings by hand. Since so many aspects of a floorplan are repetitive, working on a computer cuts the process nearly in half solely because of copy/pasting capabilities, completely saving you the time you would have otherwise spent redrawing things over and over by hand.
Not only that, if you want to work for a larger design firm, 90% of all design-oriented businesses and schools in operation today currently expect their employees to be proficient. In such a competitive market, knowledge of the tool isn’t just a resume bolsterer - it’s an expectation.
If you’re worried that the investment won’t pay off in the long run, it’s worth checking out some salary statistics to make sure this is the right option for your budget. According to Glassdoor, the amount of money designers can make if they’re proficient in CAD averages around $55,000 nationally. This number includes completely entry level beginners as well.
If you look more specifically at the amount of money being paid to CAD designers at certain firms, this number often doubles. For example, if you’re interested in getting into corporate design, you could start working for clothing companies that constantly need floor plans drawn up when they open new locations. American Eagle, for example, currently pays the CAD designers on their team an average of $107,000 per year!
Want to learn more? The New York Institute of Art and Design’s AutoCAD course can help you reach your goals. Request your free course catalog today!