dsviewer and everything Google does

It's been a while since I'd needed to use the command, but, the other day a part-time user in the office was aggravated about being able to tell where on our campus he was, because he needed to be zoomed in really close to see the level of detail he needed... (his monitor is much smaller than mine, and he doesn't have a scroll-wheel mouse). I knew there was a command which gave you an aerial view of your drawing, but, I'll admit that I had to ask some friends from the adesk discussion groups what the actual command name was: Dsviewer
Which of course, goes to show what a command line junkie I am that it didn't occur to me to look under the View menu for 'Aerial View' until the following day ~bangs head against wall~

Do you know everything that Google does?
Search the text of books, research papers, for videos, search blogs, newsgroups and images, keep a wishlist with froogle or find maps and news... this would be a good page to bookmark.

AUGI Annual Salary Survey

Salary Survey 2005


AUGI does it again! They are out to help their membership, not just to see if your pay is comparable to that of your peers, but, also as a tool to determine which fields and job titles have the most potential for growth or future job openings.

AUGIworld – Jan/Feb 2006 http://www.augi.com/images/uploads/surveys/salarysurvey2005.pdf

The salary survey results are online! This year we had twice as many respondents as in past years, and I’ve also made it my personal (yet unpaid) mission to offer more by way of information, hence the new and separate page under the survey results on augi.com.

I’ve put an FAQ sheet up, so be sure to read that before you send me a question. This contains the information asked for on last year’s survey as well as questions collected by the survey manager over the past two years (yes, I know there’s at least one spelling error, I’ll fix it soon, I promise).

Next there is a ‘Fast Stats’ document, which currently lists the average salary per industy, listed from high to low (mining to interior design). Also lists the average raise this year per industry. And for those forward-thinkers (students looking for a field, or those wishing to gain further education to move to a more lucrative field), I’ve included the percentage of each industry approaching retirement age. This document will be updated with additional information soon, so be sure to check back in on it.

And (since I’ve heard many relative newbies complaining about their pay), I’ve also listed the average pay per years of experience. There are sizeable differences based on how long you’ve been working, no matter your level of expertise, so hang in there another 2-4 years. ;)

There is also a new section for breakdowns by industry, which I hope you will find helpful. And a comparison of male and female results (just to point out, women with approximately the same amount of experience will make 12.6% less in salary, but, have better benefits and work fewer hours).

I do realize these things also change based on geography, but, please keep in mind that while 6,000+ responses sounds like a lot, they are split between 25 industries and dozens of countries. As always, I hope for more people to participate next year so that we can get a little more specific while still keeping the numbers meaningful.

I’m planning on writing an article for hotnews based on results for the salary survey, I’ll post here when I do. And, yes, to have repeated access to these results (which should ONLY be hosted on the AUGI site, so no downloading them and posting them to your own site), you’ll need to be an AUGI member, but, it’s free so why not?

Becoming an AUGI member will also open up other resources to you, as well… the AUGI forums are tech-support heaven and the ATP is a free, online training program taught by the best and the brightest, the AUGI exchange is a place where you can get all sorts of nifty routines created by the AUGI gurus (my favorite is ‘flatten’ lisp, search for it, it’s way better than the express tool), as well as publications such as AUGIworld and Hotnews, and early registration to AU and CAD Camp, oh, and not to forget, a majority of the course handouts from past AU’s.

Or, don’t pay any attention to all of that great stuff, but, pop by once a year to take the salary survey. ~shrug~

Also, keep in mind Robert Green’s CAD Manager Survey, elaborating on his findings orginally published in the November 2005 issue of CADalyst. His survey focuses on management only, and he’s able to elaborate on things specific to that market, such as software used and how many people you supervise. There is also a salary survey conducted by the AIA.

New Email Address for me

Alright, within the next couple of weeks, my icadc.com email address will be disappearing. Please direct any future correspondence to mstonegatewayaug@yahoo.com or, if it is an emergency, and I've given it to you, feel free to send me a message at my work account.

Thank you and happy cadding.

oh, don't forget about QSELECT... lol... not to beat this one to death, but, I've introduced yet another buddy to the tool he never knew existed. Have fun with it... or, just keep from repeating yourself too much.

Looking for a Large-format Multi-function?

I just got the go-ahead for this, I'd been asking for a scanner for a while, and my boss says we should go for a multi-function.

I am leaning toward the hp DesignJet 4500 scanner. It looks like it can do all sorts of nice things.
I did a search on the autodesk newgroup's hardware forum but, the initial search came up with posts 2-3 years old, and an expanded search comes up with too much junk to read through. I tried doing a search for CADalyst's lab reviews, but, could only find scanners or printers.

I'm not really concerned about space, just about ease of use. I'd happily accept any opinions from people who have purchased and used this type of system.

FMDesktop and Autodesk

http://www.appliedspatial.com/
Wow, just heard about this. Autodesk has acquired FMDesktop and merged it into their Building Solutions Division. Autodesk will support existing users and honor subscription agreements. Bob Fahlin and Dusty Smith will be working in the BSD now, too.

If you are an existing FMDesktop customer, you can check out the FAQ on their site. For those who are not currently customers, you can purchase from resellers listed here for now.

I am excited about this acquisition as it's an even more overt support from Autodesk for Facilities Management. Not everyone will like the idea of big old autodesk taking over another company, but, for lifecycle and interoperability issues, I'd rather we got something from Autodesk themselves.

I had a wonderful Christmas and am off to a great start in the New Year! and I hope the same for you.