I currently work for NASA as a contracting agency through KBR. I build hardware that actually goes up on the ISS. I chose the CAD/BIM Program because it was actually an avenue that I felt like I wanted to travel. I used kind of that as a stepping stone to see if I wanted to go out and get my Archi certification or degree. I ended up not getting my degree because I actually found out I can run the CAD programs really well and still make decent money building plans and getting them submitted to the engineers to buy them off and then we can go ahead and get that building put up and stuff like that.
I was looking for an online program because of family situation and location. At the time, I was living at my family's ranch in Hickman, California, which is in the absolute middle of nowhere - very far away from everything. And I have three children, meaning being home - at the time I was a single father - so meaning being home all the time with them was key. So being online was the only way I was going to successfully complete a class. The fact that you guys (VDCI) are 100% online, it was a godsend; it was awesome. I couldn't have done it any other way.
What was really nice was that the teachers were super, super awesome to work with. If I had a jam-packed, busy job week and I don't have time - you know, three kids, and making dinner, and doing the laundry and all this stuff that goes along with having children - to be able to get my schooling done or get as much time into it as I want to, then I'd email and say, "Hey, you know I have this going on , I have this going on, I need a little bit more time is there anything you guys can do?" And they'd always come back, "Yeah, not a problem. Take your time, I'll extend this out, and you can go ahead and get caught up. That's no big deal." It was awesome. I couldn't have done as well as I did without them and without their help.
Leading up to the thesis, when I had got onto that project and I came up with the design and everything like that, it was a really far fetched thing that I wanted to do. I wanted to design my dream house out in the middle of nowhere, and I created a topographic map where I was able to put my dream house on and build the walls, start the foundation and build the walls and everything else. By the time I was done with it, I had wind turbines there for power, I had water up the hill with piping coming down, and yeah I had the whole nine with that one. That was basically my dream cabin house. I printed out the designs and I set them on the wall because, one day, we will do that!
I had such a great experience going through VDCI and literally learning from the ground up. Not just how the computer works, but how CAD works, how SketchUp works, how all these different programs work together and I went in understanding the construction industry, but I acme out knowing the construction industry.
