CompuServe Messages

James: I've been working 25 years and fortunately have spent most of that time in work that I enjoy. I have been doing drafting and model building for both architects and engineers. The problem I have is that I can't get enough work these days. The engineering model business has all but evaporated, replaced by a variety of 3rd party CAD programs. <<Why would anyone want to learn more than one CAD Package…this logic is suspect in my book!>> The reason to learn more than one CAD program is so that I can expand my client base. If there are 100 Engineering companies and 75 use AutoCAD then I have a potential client base of 75. If I know all of the major programs then I'll have a potential client base of nearly 100. Which is the size that my client base was before the market was fragmented by CAD programs. All I'm really trying to do is keep up. The programs used to develop 3D plant design models are all Third party applications. Not taught at local colleges. I know exactly the work I want to do and the programs I want to learn. The problem is that learning them is impossible without a fat bankroll or an employer who is willing to pay for training. I posess neither. I started this discussion in the hope that this problem would get some air and perhaps some potential solutions would be discussed. Instead I get chastised for whining." You'd whine too if it happened to you"…L.Gore<g>. J.F.