Drafting - SAIT courses

[WilsonFourTwo]

Originally Posted by Sylvanfan

Looking at the demographics I think opportunities will continue to exist. What draftsman/technologists do as their work is an ever evolving skill set and those who can best work with designers will continue to be in demand. It is at a point where knowlege has to start being passed down though.

I just recently saw a presentation (future of our business stuff) where it was mentioned that the average age of SMEs was 54. This was specifically geared toward operators but the same appears to hold fairly true of disciplines as well.

I'll be honest here....I get a bit scared thinking about our (Alberta) ability to sustain our industries in the future, let alone grow them. These senior guys have the 'old way' experience that also tends to give them some unique/valuable perspective when we're searching for 'new ways'.

That said, it means that there are/will be huge opportunity for younger people to come in, learn, and apply themselves. We're already seeing young (early 30s as example) people making their way into positions that were previously filled by people 10 years more senior. There's pros and cons to that, but as I'm benefiting from the scenario, I ain't gonna complain.

[guzzy]

Originally Posted by Kswiss

Thanks All! This is really helping me out. I eventually want to get into PM, as I have managerial experience in banking. Cant wait to get er started!

If you are looking to the PM route I would recommend the EDDt course with piping major. Having your CET credentials will help your chances of becoming a PM

[Kswiss]

Bump!

(Thanks again to everyone who helped me out in posting in this thread)


Just wanted to give an update of where I am at and to see if I can reach out to anyone at CP!

So I ultimately decided on the Process Piping Drafting Fast Track program and am set to complete it in less than 3 weeks! As part of the program I need to complete a 1 month practicum (paid or unpaid). According to a lot of my instructors, the market is a little quiet at the moment and looking for one of these jobs can be daunting. We also had an industry night for us to network, and again many of the industry people said the same thing. I have been throwing my resume around and unfortunately it has been quite quiet.

Wondering if I can pick someone's brain on how they would approach it, in obtaining this practicum (which hopefully leads to full time)? Any advice and thoughts would be so appreciated.


Thanks to everyone in advance!

[Harju]

My spouse went through the PPD fast track program a couple of years ago. She had a hard time finding an internship but eventually got a full time job through networking with people in her church. She used the first month of the job for her practicum to graduate. I think the key is to network with every possible route.
It ticked her off that the people who seemed to do the minimum amount of work to just pass the course were also the people who had practicums and jobs lined up by the time they graduated. A lot depends on existing contacts and networking.
I know it was just an expression but don't "throw your resume around". Tailor the resume and cover letter depending upon the company and opportunities it may have (generally you can get an idea from looking at what ads they might have out for Sr. Designers). Linked In is a great source for finding people in the industries and the types of jobs and companies that are out there. I assume they have already given you the Mike Laing engineering directory website.

[northcrunk]

Drafting isn't going to get you a ton of money but it is useful knowledge. Unfortunatly there are not a lot of prime drafting positions anymore and drafters are even trying to move to document control. I did drafting at sait but make more in document control. My advice since your coming from finance is to get into project controls. A few of the PC guys/girls here make over $220k per year. I'm even in the 6 figure range now just doing doc control.

[llwhiteoutll]

^ This will depend heavily on your company and your role/assignments. Did pretty good last year, second year in PC. But I took the crappy jobs no one wanted and cranked out some crazy OT.

It seems the best bet is to go staff for 5-7 years to get some experience, then jump to a contractor role once your network has grown and double your rate.

[Kswiss]

Originally Posted by Harju

My spouse went through the PPD fast track program a couple of years ago. She had a hard time finding an internship but eventually got a full time job through networking with people in her church. She used the first month of the job for her practicum to graduate. I think the key is to network with every possible route.
It ticked her off that the people who seemed to do the minimum amount of work to just pass the course were also the people who had practicums and jobs lined up by the time they graduated. A lot depends on existing contacts and networking.
I know it was just an expression but don't "throw your resume around". Tailor the resume and cover letter depending upon the company and opportunities it may have (generally you can get an idea from looking at what ads they might have out for Sr. Designers). Linked In is a great source for finding people in the industries and the types of jobs and companies that are out there. I assume they have already given you the Mike Laing engineering directory website.

Yeah, its pretty much who you know. I am trying to focus on networking as much as I can as marks don't really mean much in this course. There is a feeling that the market is a bit saturated with drafters so looking out of Calgary and maybe Edmonton is not out of the question. And yup got the Mike Laing directory. Much needed for sure. Thanks!

[Kswiss]

Originally Posted by northcrunk

Drafting isn't going to get you a ton of money but it is useful knowledge. Unfortunatly there are not a lot of prime drafting positions anymore and drafters are even trying to move to document control. I did drafting at sait but make more in document control. My advice since your coming from finance is to get into project controls. A few of the PC guys/girls here make over $220k per year. I'm even in the 6 figure range now just doing doc control.

Some of the instructors mentioned this too. That it is OK to start off in another concentration like document control. Cause once you are in, you can pretty much move anywhere in the company. Thanks for the info on project controls, I never even had that in my mindset, but will look into it further. Thanks!

[Kswiss]

Originally Posted by llwhiteoutll

^ This will depend heavily on your company and your role/assignments. Did pretty good last year, second year in PC. But I took the crappy jobs no one wanted and cranked out some crazy OT.

It seems the best bet is to go staff for 5-7 years to get some experience, then jump to a contractor role once your network has grown and double your rate.

Quick question whiteout, what kind of educational/work background does PC generally require?

[llwhiteoutll]

Originally Posted by Kswiss

Quick question whiteout, what kind of educational/work background does PC generally require?

There is no real "required" background.

Personally, I did Asset Management at SAIT and have experience in the trades. Right now I'm working on a large oil and gas facility job, doing all the progress verification for our main plant. Basically spend 80% of my time in the field.

The guys who work with me have a Masters in Business and the other has 20+ years experience as a Quantity Surveyor in the Middle East. There are others in the home office with engineering degrees, business degrees, MBAs, no degree. Although, all I have met have some kind of post secondary or construction experience.

[Kswiss]

Originally Posted by llwhiteoutll

There is no real "required" background.

Personally, I did Asset Management at SAIT and have experience in the trades. Right now I'm working on a large oil and gas facility job, doing all the progress verification for our main plant. Basically spend 80% of my time in the field.

The guys who work with me have a Masters in Business and the other has 20+ years experience as a Quantity Surveyor in the Middle East. There are others in the home office with engineering degrees, business degrees, MBAs, no degree. Although, all I have met have some kind of post secondary or construction experience.

Cool thanks for the info!

[Rutuu]

Document Control pays six figures in Calgary?

That's quite impressive.

[Rutuu]

Ok I read a position description of a Document Control Specialist at Suncor and there was a lot more in the job than the document controllers that I've met ever did. The ones I've dealt with just assign a document number and make sure the document is uploaded to the system.

Apologies.

[Reaper]

Originally Posted by northcrunk

Drafting isn't going to get you a ton of money but it is useful knowledge. Unfortunatly there are not a lot of prime drafting positions anymore and drafters are even trying to move to document control. I did drafting at sait but make more in document control. My advice since your coming from finance is to get into project controls. A few of the PC guys/girls here make over $220k per year. I'm even in the 6 figure range now just doing doc control.

This does not include Piping Drafting. One can make a lot of money being a Piping Designer. I've never heard of any Piping Designers quitting to become Document Controllers. I'm pretty sure I make at least double what the Document Controller makes in our department.

[guzzy]

Originally Posted by Reaper

This does not include Piping Drafting. One can make a lot of money being a Piping Designer. I've never heard of any Piping Designers quitting to become Document Controllers. I'm pretty sure I make at least double what the Document Controller makes in our department.

Agreed. Electrical, civil and structural designers/drafters usually make a little less than Piping designers. regardless, if you are good, you will make good money as a drafter regardless of the discipline. The piping designers tend to be more involved in the overall project scope because they own the 3D models.

The hard thing is standing out above your peers. You have to have a great work ethic, good skills, and most of all, understand that if you don't spend time at site you will never be at the top of your class. All of the great piping designers/engineers etc i know, have all spent a lot of time in the field. If you aren't willing to do the site work and understand the construction portion of what you do you will be an average drafter and be paid an average wage. If you excel, understand construction and work hard you will be paid well above average.

To put it in perspective, i might recommend 1 out of 10 drafters/designers that i have worked with. Unfortunately it is too easy to get into piping design and people are attracted to the money. Most of them don't have the passion, talent or attitude to actually succeed in this profession.

[northcrunk]

Originally Posted by Reaper

This does not include Piping Drafting. One can make a lot of money being a Piping Designer. I've never heard of any Piping Designers quitting to become Document Controllers. I'm pretty sure I make at least double what the Document Controller makes in our department.

Designers definatly make more money than just the drafters. You right about designers not jumping to go do doc control. Usually their next step up is engineering tech. It also depends where you work (epc or owner) as most owner companies don't have any drafters and if they do it is just to supervise the epc work. Owner companies definatly pay better.

EDIT: The most important thing in the O&G industry is reputation. It's more about who you know and what your reputation is than what you know.

[Handsome B. Wonderful]

If you wanted to go in to Document Control, you could have just dropped out of high school.

[northcrunk]

Originally Posted by Handsome B. Wonderful

If you wanted to go in to Document Control, you could have just dropped out of high school.

You need High School at least. And good computer skills.

[Mazrim]

Originally Posted by guzzy

Agreed. Electrical, civil and structural designers/drafters usually make a little less than Piping designers. regardless, if you are good, you will make good money as a drafter regardless of the discipline.

Maybe the top Electrical/Civil/Structural drafters make the money mentioned in this thread as the piping guys, but I can tell you from experience it's not the case for most.

[llwhiteoutll]

Originally Posted by northcrunk

EDIT: The most important thing in the O&G industry is reputation. It's more about who you know and what your reputation is than what you know.

Very true. You want to get to the point where people are contacting you asking if you'd like to work for them, not the other way around.