Layout Technician Career Guide and Counseling

Question: Is Intergrated Circuit Layout Design similiar to Electronic Drafting? hi, i have been wondering is IC layout also called as electronic drafter. If they are not, can you tell me their differences? Thank you. Btw, do you know any company would hired internship as a IC layout technician whom without a degree but had hand-on trainning for over one year with couple senior layout engineers. Thank you for your advices

Answer: As far as I know, both terms apply and are subcomponents of CAD (Computer Assisted Drawing). I believe the more popular term you mentioned is actually Circuit Layout Design. The word "drafting" seems to have gone out of the business world.

Question: All design and layout template pics are missing in the design and slide layout pane in PowerPoint. Any ideas? I am a support technician. I have tried everything I can think of. This is in Office 2003. The templates are still there. If you place your cursor over the template the name shows up and you can still choose that template, the pictures are gone.

Answer: Are you using it for the first time? I can see the thumbnails for my templates. All I can think of is to check options/view under tools. At the bottom there is a box with several options. One of them says "thumbnails". That might do it.

Question: Trying to setup as freelance CAD technician...? I am currently trying to setup as a freelance computer aided design technician. This would involve drawing plans and layouts on a computer and producing a pdf file, jpg file and paper print out of the drawing. But I am finding it hard to find an area to get into. My ideas so far are; Estate agents - providing layouts of the properties they are advertising, this would be ideal to display on their website or emailed to potential customers. Builders - converting any hand drawn plans into a CAD format for easy reproduction, storage and editing. Employers/Agencies - Any employer looking for an AutoCAD technician would benefit by contracting me as a freelance AutoCAD technician as they wouldn't need to pay me between jobs. Home owners - Designing kitchen layouts and bathroom layouts. Also able to produce house plan layouts for furniture arrangements. That's where my ideas end, it really doesn't matter what I'm drawing, it makes no difference to me. Any other ideas would be great! thanks The problem with my ideas is that I can't find an estate agents that don't already have someone providing their layouts, most builders have someone converting their drawings for them already and most places will design your kitchen and bathroom for free as part of the sales pitch. So any ideas other than the ones above, or even ideas to make the above ideas work would be great.

Answer: I moonlight on the side. The only way I have been able to do so is the fact that I have worked for 16 years with various firms and now have an extensive resume of projects. I have also worked with a lot of people and know people in the right places. For instance, people I have worked with in the past have gone to other companies that are really busy. They put in a word that they know someone who can help bail them out. I get them to convince their production managers that they need contract help. Also, if you plan on doing estate drafting, you will probably be working in civil units. Unless you are familiar with measurements in degrees, minutes, and so forth, I would stay away from that. Do you have any experience in architectural, mechanical, electrical, structural, plumbing.......? That really helps.

Question: I'm looking for Uniden CD service manuals? I'm a Radio technician .. and I've sometimes gotten older uniden CB's .. but I can't get my hands of any service manual .. m( schematics, board layouts etc ) if anyone knows where I could download them.. please let me know.

Answer: Sam's Photofacts at larger public libraries A great source for info is from CB International. The guy is a ham and his books are written for the ham to convert CB's to 10 meters. www.cbintl.com You can buy reprints of the Photofacts from Sam's Publishing in Indianapolis.

Question: Okay, so i have this huge white gap at the bottom of my myspace.? and i've searched it and it all says it's because of old codes. well, here's what's in my about me. <center>my name is mallory, my dog's name is ella, my boyfriend's name is nathan God is the only reason why i'm where i am today. i will be attending GED classes in January. then i'm going to get an associate degree in diagnostic medical sonography. after that; i'm going to train to be an ultrasound technician... hopefully. <a href="http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi… target="_blank"><img src="http://i511.photobucket.com/albums/… border="0" alt="Photobucket" /></a> <style> table.latestblogentry {display: none;} table.extendednetwork {display: none;} </style> <style> embed, object {filter:alpha(opacity=0.1); opacity:0.01; -khtml-opacity:0.01;} td td td td embed, td td td object, td.text embed, td.text object {filter:none; opacity:none; -khtml-opacity:none;} table.interestsanddetails {margin-top:-90px;} </style> <style>.lightbluetext8 {display:none;visibility: hidden;}</style> <style> .userProfileSchool {display: none;} </style> <style>.userProfileDetail {display:none;}</style> <style>.lightbluetext8 {display:none;}table table table table td {width:0px;}.contactTable td, table table td.text table td,table table table table table td {width:auto;}</style> <style>.userprofileurl {display:none;visibility:hidden;}</style… <style>.userProfileDetail {display:none;}</style> <style> .contactTable {display: none;}</style> <style> .friendSpace {display:none;} </style> <style> table.friendscomments {display:none;} </style> <style> .Hide Orange Bars and Text{rr} td.text table {width:100%;} .friendsComments td table, .friendsComments td.text table, .friendSpace table, .blurbs, .blurbs td.text {background-color:transparent; border:0px;} .orangetext15{display:none;visibility:… </style> <style>.r div#modulebasicInfo{background:transpare… url(http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/IMP/C… no-repeat scroll 0 0}</style> <style> .layoutby {http://www.static-layouts.com} body {background-color:; background-image:url("http://i227.photob… background-repeat:repeat; background-position:bottom left; background-attachment:fixed;} big { font-family:century gothic; font-size:21px; letter-spacing:-1px; line-height:20px; text-transform:lowercase; font-weight:normal; text-decoration:none; color:black;} .nametext { font-family:arial black; font-size:21px; letter-spacing:-2px; line-height:19px; text-transform:uppercase; font-weight:normal; text-decoration:none; color:000000;} div table td {background-color:ff20a6;} </style> <style> td, a, body, table, body, td, li, p, div, li, h1, h2, p, br, .blacktext12, .text, textarea, input, .btext, .lightbluetext8, a:link, a:active, a:hover, a:visited, .orangetext15, .whitetext12, .redtext, .redbtext { text-transform:lowercase; font-family:century gothic; font-size:10px; line-height:10px; text-decoration:none;} .blacktext10 {text-transform:lowercase;font-family:ce… gothic;font-size:10px;color:black;paddin… .friendsComments .orangetext15 {padding-left:10px;} input, textarea {border:1px solid black;color:000000;line-height:10px;font… gothic;font-size:10px;letter-spacing:1px… a.navbar:link, a.navbar:active, a.navbar:visited {text-transform:lowercase; font-family:century gothic;font-size:10px;color:000000;lette… a.navbar:hover {text-transform:lowercase; font-family:century gothic;font-size:10px;color:000000;lette… a:hover {cursor:crosshair;} br{line-height:2px;} table, tr, td {height:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;} tr { background-color:transparent; } .extendednetwork table, .extendednetwork tr, .extendednetwork td{border:1px solid black;} .redlink, .friendSpace .btext { display:none;} .imgonlinenow { display:none;} a:link, a:active, a:visited, a.readmail, a.readmail:link, a.readmail:active, a.readmail:visited, a.redlink, a.redlink:link, a.redlink:active, a.redlink:visited {font-family:century gothic!important; font-size:10px!important;color:000000; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; letter-spacing: 1px; text-transform: lowercase; padding: 0px; line-height: 11px;} <img style="visibility:hidden;width:0px;heigh… border=0 width=0 height=

Answer: Delete all <BR> codes.

Question: Advertising... For free? I'm trying to setup a new business. I have been up and running for about 3 weeks now. I am providing a floor plan service to estate agents. Basically I draw a digital scaled floor plan layout of a property for them to upload to their website as an advertising tool. After doing a bit of research it seems that about 10% of estate agents have floor plans of their properties on their website. The main point about my business is that it has been completely free to setup... so far. I have a free website - www.cad-complete.co.uk , free email hosting - info@cad-complete.co.uk , I have all the needed software and hardware donated by a friend. I have all the required experience gained over the years as a CAD technician. I have listed my website on several free business listings. BUT I HAVE NO CUSTOMERS! :( So the question is really this - how do I get estate agents to firstly know about my service and secondly want to use it!? I have emailed many UK estate agents without any replies yet.

Answer: www.vistaprint.co.uk - business cards Local papers Flyers www.gumtree.com for free advertising yellow pages online and print The other one with the blue leather clad kitten/woman - Thompson, thats the one!

Question: have you ever wanted to quit something, feared it might be wrong thing to do, but quit anyway? job/study/etc? After years of travelling and working in hospitality and warehouses etc I decided to get an office job to prepare for getting older so I don’t end up wearing out my body when I’m old from having to do manual labour standing on my feet all day. 5 years ago I got that office job, an administrator in traffic department in local authority (council). i fell into it (it was my first and only job offer working in an office – I didn’t choose to work in the traffic industry). 5 years after wanting to quit on many occasions, I am a traffic technician (visiting sites and designing road layouts on a computer) but I’ve totally had enough. I hate the office environment, I’m bored with the work, I hate staring at a computer all day… I’m not passionate about what I do. I don’t laugh in my job, I rarely smile, I am not friends with any colleagues outside of work… I’m passionate about music, I play the drums, I’m really outgoing in social situations, I used to be really free spirited and I was refreshing for people to have me around. Can I blame my job on me becoming so melancholic/bland/monotone or should I just accept that it’s because I’m getting older and it’s natural… if it helps (try not to generalise/stereotype me) I’m 31 year old new Zealand male, been in uk for 5 years (first 4 in Milton Keynes, London since January) living in Bethnal green (which I love) married to girl from Sydney, planning on travelling Europe next summer in a van I’ve recently bought (so I’ve got something to look forward to…) I just need to get through the next 8 months. I wonder if I’d be happier with a really low responsibility job maybe sweeping the streets or something, picking up rubbish, washing dishes, something out of the office! Should I quit?

Answer: If i were you buddy, i wouldnt quit and now that you have pretty much plan and know what you really interested in life it doesnt have to be a sweeping streets job. Why not work there for only casual or 3 times a week? that way you balance up yourself and whatever that is you are doing. All the best man, i know what exactly you are talking about. - KR

Question: What is a fair asking price for creating a basic web site for local businesses? I know this may sound dumb, but I've never really sold my work before. These web sites I would be making would be for local businesses in my town, and other area towns...well...I guess whoever wants to order my services, but I'd like to begin with companies I know. Now, the last job I had was for Portland Public Schools. I was already working for them as a Computer Repair Technician for $9/hour, so that's I got paid to create their web site. I have NO idea what is normal asking price for basic web site design. I used to think like $100-$200, but then again, the company our school district hired before me, they paid them over $2,000 for the same thing I could have created. I found this on a blog: "If you're thinking you might not be able to afford putting up a website, think again. For a simple website, a budget of $2,000 to $5,000 for construction and $100 to $400 for monthly maintenance and updates should cover it. Robust sites with streaming video, opt-in subscriber functions and other, more complicated features can run between $12,000 and $20,000 for construction and $500 to $2,000 for monthly maintenance and updates." I also know it depends on the quality of work. I can best explain it as a simple yet visually appealing and informative site. Not like the little business sites with just text, and barely any images, but an actual layout and what not. I would be doing the web design work in Adobe Photoshop and Microsoft Front Page. Both well known and user friendly products. So since I used to think $100-$200...and a Design Company charged over $2,000 for the same style of work. What would be a reasonable price to offer to the local business?

Answer: $300 and up is a good price. Do not overcharge them.

Question: What can be added to this resume to open up more job opportunities? My husband hates his help desk job. He would like to advance in IT,but doesn't know where to go. He wants to learn new skills to add to the resume. What could he do to advance from answering phones? Experience : COMPANY Call Center Technician 8/20/2004 to present Assisted clients in use of client server networks, peripheral devices, POS software, hardware setup. Trained new clients in use and application of software. Sold new hardware/ peripheral devices and used problem solving skills to resolve issues with end users. Consistently top performer in department. Company Call Center Technician 10/01/2003 to 8/19/2004 Assisted end users with internet connectivity and email clients. Provided service to subscribers of 14 separate ISPs, including DSL and dial up subscribers. Company Sales and Marketing representative 9/01/2000 to 9/01/2003 Manager of online sales, assisted with store location sales, including heavy travel. Located special orders for customers though internet research, personal connections. Maintained company website, designed logos, web/print advertising layouts. Education : University BA Information Systems, BA Spanish 2000 Proficient in Virtual Basic, Oracle, SQL, Pascal, Dreamweaver, FTP Batch Client, MS Office, Mac OSX, Windows XP References : Please see attached page. Personal : Interests Motorsports, computers, animals, carpentry, entertainment media Attributes Punctual, organized employee with strong work ethic and high level of integrity. edited to remove more personal info He's looking to move on from help desk. What could he add on a go somewhere?

Answer: Your husband's resume is very impressive. He could add a section called Course Highlights to fancy up the resume a bit. Under this section a list of classes he took that he feels are beneficial to the job he is seeking are listed as well as what he learned in them. For example: Web Design 101 Learned the basics of HTML and CSS. Web Design 102 Learned how to use FTP clients to upload HTML files onto a server. Web Design 103 Learned how to build websites that read from a database in Dreamweaver. This section could easily fill up space and perhaps he could remove the Personal section from his resume. I only suggest this because some employers may have biases against something he does for whatever reason. For example, lets say your husband applies to a job at AwesomeWeb. AwesomeWeb was recently taken over by a man whose daughter is dating someone who is into motor sports. He hates the guy for being irresponsible (and, you know, for dating his daughter..) and he sees this on your husbands resume and is just not impressed. This, of course, is because of his own biases but your husband ultimately pays the price for his bad day. I wish your husband luck with his job search and hope I helped a bit.