I got an email asking about AutoCAD support the other day which set me thinking. I realized that I have been using Revit for as long as I used AutoCAD day to day. My journey with AutoCAD started in 1994 with R12 on DOS. I stopped seriously using it (ACAD/ADT) in 2003 and switched over to Revit. So that's nine years with AutoCAD and nine with Revit. Technically I was using Revit since 2000, but for this I am not counting the first two years since it wasn't my full time work. Some overlap existed naturally, but I've reached the "tipping point".
Oddly I am still a long time away from my own personal "tipping point". I started using AutoCAD in High School in 1985 and then made the switch to Revit around 2002. So for me AutoCAD use = 17 yrs. Revit use = 10 yrs. Of course my fist 8 or so years of AutoCAD was pretty light since I was still a student. :)
ReplyDeleteOoo this is fun ! Now let's see ... I could say 18 years on the drawing board, 12 years of CAD and now 8 of Revit. As for tipping points, I think I fell over some time back and don't seem to be able to get up again.
ReplyDeleteamazing that you did not get the chance to use a non-autodesk porduct. My resume is a bit more:
ReplyDelete'87-88 Autocad on a tablet
'89 Minicad
'90 ArcDeTriomph (working in France but of course)
'92-95 Microstation (in England & Malasia)
'96-2000 (Microstation and Autocad)
2000-2006 Archicad
2006 Vector-works
2007-2009 Archicad
2009-present, Revit.
I left out other software since I was focused on the transition from Acad to Revit. My first CAD application was Mac Draw (if you can call it that) and briefly MiniCAD. I used Generic CAD before Autodesk bought it and shortly after. Next to AutoCAD I used Microstation and TriForma (less) the longest, for about four years.
ReplyDeleteMy first computers were Macs in the mid 80's. I switched to PC to use AutoCAD. They stopped supporting the Mac just as I got interested in using it. In my experience there is not much difference between Apple and PC. I have used multple versions over the years and they all crash, need updates and are quirky.
Very interesting way of looking at it. Your timelines are more or less the same as mine too!
ReplyDeleteTime to reflect on the programs used.
ReplyDelete1988-1990 - Hand Drafting.
1990-1994 - VersaCad(Mac OS)
1994-1998 - Microstation (Mac OS)
1998-2009 - AutoCad (Ver 14 thru ACA 2013)
2009-Present - Revit
I started out on Macs in the late 80’s. It was a Mac II, w/ 19” monitor. The hard drive was spacious 80mg. The cost of the machine and monitor was about $16,000 ($31,000 today). Changed computer platforms when changing jobs. Only 2 jobs over the past 24 years. The hand drafting has served me well, by thinking of line weights to present a drawing in a clear logical fashion.
Congrats on your personal milestone Steve! If I don't count educational years, I've been working with Autocad/ADT for 4.5 years (July 2001 to Dec 2005) and 7 years in Revit (Jan 2006 to present). Scary! If I add school, then it's like 1 year additional hand drafting and 6 additional years of AutoCad. But that doesn't really count ;)
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