Architectural drafting/custom woodwork jobs? (houses, unemployment rate, construction)

[CVasile]

I know this is a long shot of getting a reply from someone in this particular field, but my husband is an interior drafter. Can anyone tell me how the construction business is and if there should be jobs available for him? We are looking to move to either the Nashville area, maybe NC (although we haven't found any jobs postings for his work there) or Spring, TX. There are obviously more job possibilities for him in TX, but we are liking the weather of Tenn more (all 4 seasons!).

Any help would be great! Thanks!

[alleycat]

Does he have experience working for an architecture firm? Engineering? What kind of CAD experience (Microstation, Autocad Revit)?

[CVasile]

Originally Posted by alleycat

Does he have experience working for an architecture firm? Engineering? What kind of CAD experience (Microstation, Autocad Revit)?

He has worked for two different companies so far. He was at one for 5 years (K&Z, Inc) which did very detailed work for commercial buildings like hospitals, schools, fire houses etc. The company had to majorly cut down and he was laid off (which was a good thing because he hated their lack of work ethic there) He has been at Roy E. Whitehead for over a year. They do custom woodwork for commercial buildings as well. He just finished a concert hall for a high school. I sent him a message about what programs he has used. I'll get back to you when he sees his phone. lol

UPDATE

He just told me he's worked with Autocad Lt and cabinetvision.

[alleycat]

I'm not sure I can be of much help to you; I know the architecture and engineering field but not the companies that would need his particular skills. There used to be local companies such as Nashville Sash and Door that did a lot of custom work, but I'm not sure whether it's farmed out these days or not. I just don't know if there are companies here that would need a good shop drawing person.

In the future it would probably help if he could expand his CAD skills. Knowing Autocad Revit, for example, would be a big plus with some companies, although not as important if he stayed strictly in the woodworking field.

I don't have access to the current Nashville Business Journal Book of Lists, but I'll e-mail a friend and see if there is a separate listing for woodworking/casework companies.

[CVasile]

Thank you for the tips! I'll pass them on to my husband.

[alleycat]

My friend is looking now to see what listings there are in the NBJ book.

[CVasile]

Awesome, thanks. Looking forward to hearing back.

[alleycat]

Sorry, my friend couldn't really find anything specifically for custom woodworking. That doesn't mean a whole lot however.

I don't think I've been, or can be, of much help to you. As I mentioned, I know the architectural and engineering areas fairly well (having working in them for 30 years), but not the particular industry your husband has been employed in.

Commercial construction has continued in the Nashville area in the past few years at a moderate pace. Nashville perhaps wasn't as affected by the general downturn in the economy as some other areas of the country but it did feel the effect and the unemployment rate did rise (the Greater Nashville area is a little over 7% now, I think). Residential construction really slowed down in that time.

[CVasile]

Thank you for your time and help. We appreciate it. We'll keep looking, and if we find something, we find something. If not, I'm sure things will work out elsewhere if that's what suppose to happen. Thanks again and take care. =)