Student Experience: Bryan A. Palmer

“I really liked CADD and stuck with it to get my associate degree in two years. The best part of my experience was working with Steve Billingslea and Bryan Hoben. They were really great at making sure that students really understand what they’re teaching.

“All of the software in my classes gave me a good background for my current job. I didn’t learn Microstation — one of the main software programs I use at work — there, but all of the advanced courses I took made it easy to change from one platform to another. It’s pretty much the same thing — just different buttons.

“My education helped prepare me for a professional career; before this job, I had always worked in an hourly pay environment on a production line. Now, I have a career that I not only enjoy but where I can earn a good salary.

“This is a great two-year degree. If you enjoy computers and drawing, there are so many types of jobs — architectural, mechanical, 3-D and more. It’s a lot of fun and there are great opportunities in the job market. If you get the basic knowledge, you can expand on it in so many fields.”

Although Bryan Palmer had taken some board drafting classes in Amarillo, where he grew up and graduated from high school, his CADD career really began in Dallas at the closest community college he found to his home after moving. He earned his associate degree in Mechanical Computer Aided Design and Drafting in 2003 and in 2005 went to work for LOPEZGARCIA GROUP, an engineering firm with offices in Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin, Houston and Amarillo, currently employing more than 200 professionals in Texas. The company has departments specializing in transportation, mechanical, electrical and environmental engineering; Bryan works in the transportation division. His job duties include using Microstation and AutoCAD to develop construction drawings for transportation-related projects with clients such as the city of Dallas and the Texas Department of Transportation, primarily on highways and bridges. He previously worked creating mechanical drawings of machine parts at RTS Packaging.

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