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Beyond the Job Description

Many CAD Managers are working their tails off just trying to keep up with the work load that they are overseeing.  Often the work gets piled on them because they are the only tech support person at a firm that is involved directly with projects.  Other times they are just the only person who is not trapped in project schedules and they can pick up the loose ends that need to tied down. Either way, many of us are pulling double and triple duty to get it all done. 

Other CM's have chosen to expand their work areas and job responsibilities as they move beyond the CAD arena to include other technologies.  I want to look at the ones who have expanded by chose.

What I am trying to get at is that the CAD Manager role is expanding.  Many of us have moved into areas that we never thought possible in the early stage of our careers.  Some of us have added on other hats and move totally out of the CAD Manager role.  We now oversee other CAD Managers.  Or maybe we are getting more involved with other IT issues.

A new role has surfaced - the Corporate CAD Manager.  The CorpCADMan oversees multiple offices and division of a firm.  They oversee other employees that have the CAD Manager label.  They orchestrate the overall corporate efforts related to CAD.  They coordinate and set standards for sharing work among offices.  They streamline the work efforts and make sure that every office is working toward the same goal.

Then some of us have moved on beyond the CAD Manager roles into IT Management, CTO or even CIO roles.  We oversee IT and CAD.  Taking a corporate level function that melds together the IT structure and the CAD workflow.  Fine tuning the whole company toward efficiency and production.

Here are some areas that CAD Managers are now involved in:

  • Web development
  • Video Conferencing
  • FTP management
  • Project web sites
  • Collaboration efforts and file sharing
  • Client Management
  • 3D Visualization
  • Programming efforts for system utilities
  • Asset Management
  • Digital Archiving
  • Data Exchange Standardization
  • Sarbanes Oxley compliance
  • Offsite hardcopy storage
  • Digital Asset Management - images, photos, etc.
  • LAN and WAN bandwidth management
  • New Hire candidate screening
  • Strategic business planning
  • Training manager and coordinator
  • Digital security and assurance
  • Intellectual Property Rights
  • Database Management

I could go on and on, but you get the point.  I am seeing more and more that, depending on the industry, the CAD Manager is moving higher and higher in the ranks of technology management.