Want to be an Electrical Designer? Don't Learn Revit

I happened to run across this post the other day:

http://archinect.com/arch-ellipsis/want-to-be-an-architect-don-t-learn-revit

Obviously this guy isn't actually telling people not to learn Revit, and starts his first paragraph by backpedaling away from that statement as quickly as possible - however he does not relent on his point, which is that if you want to be a Revit Monkey, then by all means, learn Revit, take
Revit classes/training, watch Revit videos, waste your nights and weekends Reviting.

Just don't harbor any delusions that dedicating yourself to learning a set of software is the same as dedicating yourself to learning a discipline (and get the fuck away from me with that shit).  You can study wrenches and sockets for the rest of your life, but it will never make you a mechanic.

As I've mentioned, I'm fortunate to have a diverse engineering and technical background, which is why when I started in the field of Electrical Design I was never hired, considered, or paid as a CAD Monkey (and it's certainly not the way my time is billed).

The various attempts by Revit Monkeys, apologists, and assholes to convince me that I need to take several steps backwards is laughable - especially when they claim it's the only way I will have a job.  The fact is - I took off the monkey-suit a long time ago (and it never really fit me that well to begin with).

The ultimate irony is that I could probably get hired over most of them at any given position - just by putting 'Revit' on my resume along with the rest of my work experience and skills - and if I was forced to take a job like that out of necessity - I could be up to speed on any discipline within a matter of days, and equal (or superior) to the skill level of any Revit Monkey on Earth within weeks (even those who have been using it for years).

Where Oh Where In The Fuck Did My Revit Go?

Fuck this program.

I was going to talk about trying to find your way around inside of a large (badly made) Revit model, but even in a simple one - it will just up and eat itself on occasion.

This wasn't even under heavy use either, and it just goes 'bang - you're dead'.  No 'would you like to try to save this', or acknowledgement by the re-started program that something just happened.

I'm willing to bet that with such a pathetic excuse for design software at the core of some people's fantasy world of unproductive bullshit, a 'message' like this probably doesn't even register.

They could probably get it 9-10 times a day, and it would actually feel like a little relief, since for the time it takes to re-open the model, and get back to where they were at, they don't have to use Revit.

I work with a number of people who are completely entombed in Revit, you can smell the stench of regret.  Their cold eyes seem to reflect a shadow of their former selves.

Even those who are 'productive' with it have thrown themselves against the wheel so hard it has broken many of them permanently.

All for dubious gain, and loss of profits.

Goddamn Fucking Revit Shit Choke On a Dick

Someone (albeit unintentionally) ended up throwing me under the bus the other day.

I had a very small, but fairly involved project (among the dozen or so that I was juggling) that would've been completely done - except I was waiting on equipment information.  I had already designed it once,  then modified it to meet the clients requested design that the Architectural Revit Monkey (ARM) neglected to mention, or foreward to me (or anyone else for that matter - but strangely he wasn't the one who ended up throwing me under the wheel).

Instead, it was the guy who I had specifically asked for the information I lacked, and was told 'I'll let you know when I get around to it'.  Instead he was halfway done (if that) and then tried to tell my boss that it was all there (in the Revit model of course).

The implication was clear - that I hadn't been getting my Revit on, otherwise I would have had seen that... it wasn't actually complete. 

It was my boss jumping the gun a little bit,because nobody was even supposed to be done (the ARM hadn't even designated a room for the rest of the equipment - and even after they did,  it changed locations three times). 

I don't blame my boss though, because he was just trying to help saw off a project (the only way some things ever get out of our office is because we refuse to let people make careers out of them).

But, since I had reached a stopping point, and moved on to other projects, the idea that I would regularly waste time opening various models (to play 'Where's Waldo') to see whether or not progress had been made is more than a little bit ridiculous. 

Against my better judgement,  I had already wasted time putting lights into the Architectural model (then wasted more time bumping them around - see above), for no real gain.

They finally get all of this worked out - two days later.   Then the equipment flips from gas to electric (then back again after we point out that the electrical version will require a stupidly large breaker to feed it).

This wasn't the first time I had someone (including this guy) act like I was a retard for not 'looking at the model - cause it's in the model' (cue derisive laughs), 'look at this stupid guy who doesn't know how to look at the model' - but guess what fuckfaces?  Stupid guy DID look at your goddamned model, and guess what?  He just made you look like his bitch, because it was either not 'in the model', or it was FUCKING WRONG IN YOUR MODEL.

The fact is, I catch other people's fuckups and oversights on a regular basis - but unlike the 'Revit Elite' I don't act accusatory.  I will let them know, allow them to take a look (since, just like in a lot of cases where someone sees a 'mistake' on my drawings, I might be overlooking or misunderstanding something), and either fix or explain it (otherwise known as 'coordination' - you may have heard of it).

I do this primarily because I'm not there to feed my superiority complex, I'm there to get shit done and out the door.  In my experience, if I help keep an eye out for other people (and am nice about it), they will reciprocate.  When someone pulls the kind of shit I'm describing (especially when it's preventing me from getting done and moving on to other projects, then I'm hesitant to help them at all.

This had been one of the most serious side effects of an intentional smear campaign on the part of Revit users (and reinforced by Autodesk shills).  Insult someone until they capitulate - but it doesn't work that way.  If I had let these self-righteous shitheads cow me into joining them in the deep end of the Revit cesspool, I would be in the same fucked up situation they are in,  without the ability to get anything done on a reasonable schedule - and then STILL be at the mercy of their self-imposed limitations.

Next time we'll be talking about trying to find shit in a Revit model.  Until then, fuck Revit, fuck Revit Monkeys, and fuck your Revit model.

RevitivəЯ

Fuck the trash that is Revit.

It has become a circle jerk of epic proportions - even when I waste time attempting to start projects in Revit (several times recently), conflicting schedules, and a lack of information put me in exactly the same spot - nowhere near done, and no way to get done.

I don't know how many simultaneous projects a 'Revit Electrical Designer' should be able to handle, or what circumstances they are working under.  I don't know what an 'average schedule' looks like, I just know what mine looks like - and it's hectic, chaotic, and unpredictable (at best).

Schedules shift at a moments notice - scope creeps or jumps, and often the project that you started out with bears little resemblance to the original proposal, and the harder you tear into it on the front end, the more guaranteed you are to end up doing nearly the entire fucking project twice (or more).

The one advantage to doing it in Revit, is that you don't have to worry about doing it twice - because you'll never get it done the first time.  I've been listening all morning to people who have been chasing endless tweaks on projects that should have been 'pencils down' days ago.

When modification becomes too simple, the barriers to making unnecessary modifications are removed, and the attitude on the front end becomes 'oh - we can work that out easily later in the project', so important discussions, critical decisions, and ACTUAL coordination never happen.

Not having constraints and limitations on design sounds like a dream come true - until you realize what that actually translates to in the real world, which is:  'No end to other people finding ways to screw me over at the last minute because they can't understand the domino effect.

If I'm going to have to deal with it at that level, then I'm absolutely going to use tools that allow me to easily sketch out schematics on whatever screwed up, unplanned p.o.s. that comes across my desk, so that I can have a starting place to build what will eventually be a completed set of drawings.