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Editor's Forum: Is there an approaching
shortage of CAD users?
According to a 2002 article published in the
Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering Education and
Practice by Moncef Nehdi, P.E., “the brightest students
entering post-secondary education are often attracted by routes
other than engineering that are perceived more likely to yield
careers of higher prestige and greater returns. For civil
engineering in particular, this is further compounded by the
fact that the field is not traditionally viewed as a high-tech
discipline. Thus, student quality, enrollment, and research
funding in civil engineering programs have been declining
across North America. The conservative construction industry
is part of the problem; adjustments of this aging cartel to
the new economy are still at the embryonic level. Civil engineering
educators are facing the question, ‘How do we change
the hardhat-down-in-the-ditch image of civil engineering in
the minds of the new information technology generation?’”
In a recent survey, we found out that 55.3% of MicroStation
users were age 41–50 and only 12.4% were age 21–30.
Also, at this year’s BE Conference, Bentley made a passionate
push for the BE Careers Network, which focuses on increasing
the number of students entering the AEC field.
Could the CAD industry be faced with a shortage of experienced
CAD users over the next ten to twenty years?
What's your opinion? Send your comments
to Forum@AxiomInt.com.
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