Which CAD software should I learn [next]?

Having used SolidWorks for a while, and likely entering the job market again in $ O(1) $ years, I was curious as to which CAD software would be wisest to learn next, with respect to job opportunities and salaries. Looking to compile data from the current job market, I wrote Indeedy, a Python module for automatically searching Indeed.com. With this new tool I searched for “mechanical engineer” plus the names of various CAD systems, then plotted the number of results and average salary for each on the bar graph shown below.

From these results we can see demand for SolidWorks is dominant by a large margin. However, Catia and NX skills are compensated better on average, which makes sense considering their popularity in the aerospace and automotive industries. At first glance it seems there are more Catia than NX jobs, but when NX’s results are combined with Unigraphics’ (NX’s ancestor), demand is comparable. However, this combination also comes with with a decrease in average salary, giving Catia a slight edge, and the title of Best CAD System to Learn (for me anyway).

Mini-project: Hitch receiver bike rack stand

Living in a studio apartment, storage space can be hard to come by. To have a place to store both my bike and hitch receiver bike rack, I designed and built a rolling stand that holds the rack upright, also serving as a nice work stand.

The frame is made from 80/20 t-slot extrusions and hardware, which are available at Amazon.com. On top is a 2 inch Reese hitch receiver, and below is a set of swivel casters, two of which are locking. One nice feature of this design is that it only requires cutting and tapping—no welding, drilling, or more complicated machining necessary before it’s ready for assembly.

The SolidWorks 2012 CAD models for this assembly can be downloaded here.