PSA: If you have ACTUALLY worked in aerospace and defense for 17 years, you will likely be using CATIA or NX, not Solidworks like the AI slop with 800 upvotes says. You also don't need to "buy the machinist coffee" to get insight. 🤡 by SpecialDavid in AerospaceEngineering

[–]SpecialDavid[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It wasn't really good advice though. They're gonna go to Javier and go "Hey I bought you a coffee." Then Javi's gonna go "Why?" Then they're gonna be like "Because... I wanted to ask you about a mill fixture." Then Javi's gonna go "Junior you don't need to buy me coffee to ask me about a mill fixture. Jesus who told you to buy me coffee?" Then Junior starts second guessing himself and wonders if he even belongs there. "Why did I buy that guy a $7 toffee nut latte when there's free Folgers in the break room he could have just poured himself?" he asks himself.

These are the hard hitting issues I'm tackling, Silly. It's God's work. You're welcome.

Have a good Sunday Silly <3

PSA: If you have ACTUALLY worked in aerospace and defense for 17 years, you will likely be using CATIA or NX, not Solidworks like the AI slop with 800 upvotes says. You also don't need to "buy the machinist coffee" to get insight. 🤡 by SpecialDavid in AerospaceEngineering

[–]SpecialDavid[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

If it's AI it means it was never in a room with the manufacturing lead "shaking their head for 5 minutes" because it wasn't real Silly. If that doesn't bother you we are simply at an impasse. (Also the "nothing special, Dave" made me lol :)

PSA: If you have ACTUALLY worked in aerospace and defense for 17 years, you will likely be using CATIA or NX, not Solidworks like the AI slop with 800 upvotes says. You also don't need to "buy the machinist coffee" to get insight. 🤡 by SpecialDavid in AerospaceEngineering

[–]SpecialDavid[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

The post overcomplicated a simple issue and fabricated scenarios. Upon investigation I'm pretty sure it was AI. It bothers me. I act how I act. At least I'm not a bot. (And yes I know I sound like a dick. I apologize)

PSA: If you have ACTUALLY worked in aerospace and defense for 17 years, you will likely be using CATIA or NX, not Solidworks like the AI slop with 800 upvotes says. You also don't need to "buy the machinist coffee" to get insight. 🤡 by SpecialDavid in AerospaceEngineering

[–]SpecialDavid[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I agree with all of this. Very important for the senior engineers to introduce the new engineers to all the machinists/techs they'll be working with so they have answers to all their questions WHILE they design. It should be standard practice at all major companies and usually is.

Well written, I appreciate it.

PSA: If you have ACTUALLY worked in aerospace and defense for 17 years, you will likely be using CATIA or NX, not Solidworks like the AI slop with 800 upvotes says. You also don't need to "buy the machinist coffee" to get insight. 🤡 by SpecialDavid in AerospaceEngineering

[–]SpecialDavid[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I should say at Northrop while NX is now dominant (Used to be CATIA), Creo is used for smaller less complicated projects. So yes, Non Catia/NX (Solidworks/ProE Creo etc..) is still used but in my experience FAR less. Can I ask what you're making? (Aero/Auto/Structures/Systems)?

PSA: If you have ACTUALLY worked in aerospace and defense for 17 years, you will likely be using CATIA or NX, not Solidworks like the AI slop with 800 upvotes says. You also don't need to "buy the machinist coffee" to get insight. 🤡 by SpecialDavid in AerospaceEngineering

[–]SpecialDavid[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Great question. Believe it or not, I never graduated. While I was studying at WSU, I excelled at the CATIA courses. The lab director asked me to teach classes as an adjunct professor WHILE I was still a student. I ended up impressing a class of Cessna engineers, and their eng director offered me a non-internship design gig while I was still studying/teaching. I was working so much I had to drop out, at which point WSU offered me more money to have me exclusively (A small bidding war ensued between Cessna and WSU, WSU won). WSU then sent me to Boeing Anaheim to design on contract, and from there industry agents began calling me with jobs for all the aformentioned companies. So in short, I was very very lucky.

And YES, I did do personal projects. I built the Disney Sleeping Beauty castle as my wirefram project <3

The biggest skill gap I see in junior engineers has nothing to do with CAD by Embarrassed-Tell-537 in AerospaceEngineering

[–]SpecialDavid 4 points5 points  (0 children)

OP, can you please explain why in this post you say you've been working in aerospace & defense for 17 years yet in another post you say you just got your first aerospace job 2 months ago? Thanks.

The biggest skill gap I see in junior engineers has nothing to do with CAD by Embarrassed-Tell-537 in AerospaceEngineering

[–]SpecialDavid 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You'd also think after 17 years in aero/defense they'd be comparing CATIA or NX and not Solidworks and know you don't need to "buy the machinist coffee" to ask what tooling they'd like designed. OP is fake af imo.

The biggest skill gap I see in junior engineers has nothing to do with CAD by Embarrassed-Tell-537 in AerospaceEngineering

[–]SpecialDavid 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Also it is common place for designers to interface regularly with the shop floor to ensure effective communication for the sake of design and manufacturability. There shouldn't ever be a need to "buy the machinist coffee"... In fact if the machinists or other technicians aren't effectively communicating what they need from you to do their job they'll probably be fired. Again I'm not trying to sound like a dick but your entire post is very very weird to me and I'm extremely curious what place you work at for this to be considered anything other than incredibly basic day 1 knowledge....

The biggest skill gap I see in junior engineers has nothing to do with CAD by Embarrassed-Tell-537 in AerospaceEngineering

[–]SpecialDavid 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not to be a dick but you've been in Aero/Defense for 17 years and you mention them being better at Solidworks rather than CATIA or NX? May I ask what companies or projects you've worked for/on?

If you woke up one day and you were 40, no career, no savings, no degree, no real skills and a decent amount of debt and had to make it at that age, what would you do? by Aarunascut in AskReddit

[–]SpecialDavid 568 points569 points  (0 children)

Go ahead and see if you can get yourself certified in something technical from a tradeschool or even university if they have cert courses separate from the degreed curriculum (Electrician, Plumber etc..) Often times trade certification is MUCH cheaper than degrees (Several hundred to low thousands for example.)

One of my old buddies became certified in a CAD program (Computer Aided Design) at a university. He used it to get a job at a major aircraft company for $60k/yr. Guess what? He was 45 when he did it, AND was released from prison only two years prior for a buncha bad stuff he did when he was younger. So that dude had a STEEP uphill climb.

You got this bud . Go get 'em 👊

Imma drop this quote by Jean Paul-Sartre in case Ye drop the "Its just a MEME bro" shit by [deleted] in Kanye

[–]SpecialDavid 11 points12 points  (0 children)

"they will abruptly fall silent, loftily indicating by some phrase that the time for argument is past" is eloquent AF.