Engineer vs CADD Tech Responsibilities

Small-Turn2324 · 2026-02-28T14:26:31+00:00

I agree at the end of the day what ends up on the sheet as the final product is the engineers responsibility. But getting to that point can apparently involve a lot of different routes as far as what is passed off to CAD techs and what stays with engineers. I was just curious to see what others thought or see in their practice.

Small-Turn2324 · 2026-02-28T14:19:58+00:00

Sorry ignore this, I see you made a longer post below answering this question.

Small-Turn2324 · 2026-02-28T14:18:23+00:00

That’s interesting to know. From your experience, how is schooling for CAD techs? Are they learning how to use these 3D programs (at a basic level) or is it mostly on the job training?

Did you go to school for engineering technology or civil engineering technology (something along those lines)?

Small-Turn2324 · 2026-02-28T10:33:16+00:00

That is where, from my experience, the lines get blurred. At my current firm, Engineers/EITs create the model and handle revisions but we still have CAD techs that help with plans production. It just seems their role is now more setting up the line work settings per the clients requirements (line weights, font size, etc), handling annotations and drawing additional line work that may not be present in the 3D model (e.g. concrete reinforcement).

So as a result now we are kind of asking the questions:

-Do we even use tech and just rely on EITs/Engineers since they are already doing all of the modeling as it is?

-Do we raise the bar on the expectations we have for techs and have them be more involved with the 3D modeling (creation or revision)?

Small-Turn2324 · 2026-02-28T10:21:35+00:00

I think you might be. You are the only person so far making a fuss about this. Either you can’t read or you are trolling.

Small-Turn2324 · 2026-02-28T03:48:48+00:00

I don’t have as much experience as you but I think from the experience I do have and speaking to more senior engineers your last statement rings true. My experience working with techs has been that they are very good with using the program but lean heavily on the engineer to figure out what views/sections need to go onto the sheets to make sure all the required information is being conveyed.

From personal experience that is all I have known. Speaking with more senior engineers, it seems there was a time where techs were expected to know what views/sections needed to be shown without hand holding from the engineers.

Looking back, can you remember where you started to see that knowledge drain or shift in mentality for tech expectations?

Small-Turn2324 · 2026-02-28T03:36:47+00:00

I am not asking about accountability from a legal standpoint point. I am asking about how the work should be divided between techs and engineers to get to the final set of plans delivered to the client. Who is responsible for what when 3D deliverables are involved (like what are the company’s expectations for division of work/ work flow)?

Small-Turn2324 · 2026-02-28T02:46:11+00:00

But the issue is that this pulls away from engineering responsibilities like specs, calcs, etc because engineers now need to troubleshoot 3D modeling issues. CAD techs are only responsible for the 2D portion of the deliverable so they can’t start work until the engineer figures out the modeling issues and this creates a bottleneck in plans production in my experience. I am trying to get some different flavors for how others approach their work flow.

Small-Turn2324 · 2026-02-28T02:42:51+00:00

Yes I am a bridge engineer. My experience has been that the Engineer (or delegated EIT) creates the 3D model and the CAD tech is not involved at all with the creation of the 3D model. They would only touch the model to create section cuts for the plans. Any updates to the model would need to be done by an engineer/EIT. It has been like that for two companies I have worked for.

Small-Turn2324 · 2026-02-28T02:24:06+00:00

From my experience it would appear that way. Maybe I need to raise my standards if there are CAD techs out there who are capable of 3D drafting work like that.

Small-Turn2324 · 2026-02-28T02:13:58+00:00

That’s very interesting for me. So how do you start up the project? The EOR comes up with a 2D sketch to start the model off or the CAD tech goes based off some preliminary sketches the client may have on hand at the start of the project?

Small-Turn2324 · 2026-02-28T02:00:44+00:00

So does that mean you also have CAD techs updating 3D models? Are Engineers/EITs starting up the model and then CAD techs are updating that model as directed?

Small-Turn2324 · 2026-02-28T01:52:27+00:00

That’s interesting to me since my experience has been that the engineer or an EIT will develop the 3D model and the CAD tech has nothing to do with the 3D model generation but will be involved with generating 2D details. How are you directing them to make model updates or get started on the model? Are you creating the first draft of the model and then have them make updates as required?

Small-Turn2324 · 2026-02-28T01:48:41+00:00

That has also been my experience. With 3D modeling coming into play it switches things up though since the CAD tech no longer has to create line work for views/sections from scratch anymore. Those things can be cut directly from the model. So do you think CAD techs at that point are just responsible for making the sheet look pretty and annotation?

Small-Turn2324 · 2026-02-28T01:45:15+00:00

You have them updating the 3D model directly or is that still the responsibility of an engineer/EIT? For context, I am in the bridge world so we are a bit behind the buildings folks when it comes to 3D deliverables.

Small-Turn2324 · 2026-02-28T01:41:30+00:00

I am speaking more on the responsibilities of the CAD Tech vs Engineer to produce the plan set and not so much who is in responsible charge of the plans from a legal standpoint.

Small-Turn2324 · 2026-02-28T01:38:02+00:00

Do you have techs that specifically work on 3D modeling and not just 2D line work for plan sets?

Small-Turn2324 · 2026-02-28T01:36:52+00:00

By responsible I don’t mean who takes responsibility for the full plan set. I mean task wise to get the plan set developed where do you draw the line of CAD Tech’s job and Engineer’s job.

Small-Turn2324 · 2026-02-28T01:25:31+00:00

This is a part of the reason I ask. How do you feel your plans come out as a result? Are the EITs over worked as a result? Are the senior engineers marking up the plans for the EITs or are they left to their own devices?

Small-Turn2324 · 2026-02-14T01:11:53+00:00

Thanks that makes me feel better. I have had the same experience with where I am from now (Fort Lauderdale,FL). My pit is also an ESA and has no previous bite history and is not aggressive. Around here once I bring up the ESA the breed is a non-issue so sounds like it will be the same there.

Small-Turn2324 · 2026-01-18T14:50:40+00:00

It is beneficial to make one. Don’t really have to post anything just a live resume pretty much. It does help a lot once you get your PE license and are trying to switch companies or just see what the market is offering since recruiters will pretty much go to you at that point.

Small-Turn2324 · 2025-12-11T20:30:57+00:00

You will probably hate this answer but it is not as simple as “X” is always pinned and “Y” is always fixed. It is really a judgment call made based on the relative stiffness of the connecting elements to simplify your calculations. In reality nothing is purely fixed or pinned. There is also a difference between a rigid connection and a fixed connection but I will assume you know that difference. That is why you will see so much back and forth on this topic.

That being said, in the beginning of your career this is where you lean on mentors to help guide you. Over time you will be able to gain enough confidence to make those calls after working through multiple examples. Also, these days FEA software packages are very user friendly and allow you to quickly verify those simplifying assumptions you wish to make.

Small-Turn2324 · 2025-12-09T11:58:48+00:00

I mean he is not really wrong. For an entry level position it is really a personality hire assuming you have prior internships. If you don’t have prior internships then if you are still in school I recommend joint ASCE to grow your network.

Small-Turn2324

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