Brian, My thoughts:
1. If he is working towards his fitter’s license, make him complete that. He will learn a lot of good stuff there. 2. To learn basic cad, i would recommend something with an instructor to whom you can ask questions. YouTube if fine but you will learn more in a classroom setting. I took adult ed classes in Autocad at a local community college when I started doing cad design. Helped me through the learning curve. This type of learning could be exceedingly helpful now that you also have Revit and BIM to learn. 3. When he starts doing designs on his own, make him go out for a week or so and do the install. He will see if his drawings works or not and learn what changes are needed. One of my previous employers did this to me and I learned a lot. 4. To learn fire protection, on line or in person seminars are great. He should already have a basic understanding of NFPA 13 from his fitter training. 5. Attend a designer training program such as AFSA or Sprinkler Academy. That will tie everything together. 6. Realize that design is more than running a computer program. A lot of the computer functions will be taken over by AI in the next decade or so. The designer’s role will then be applying the design to the field. Hope this helps Todd G Williams, PE Fire Protection Design/Consulting Stonington, CT 860-535-2080 (tel:860-535-2080) (ofc) 860-554-7054 (tel:860-554-7054) (fax) 860-608-4559 (tel:860-608-4559) (cell) > > On Jan 15, 2026 at 7:44 AM, <Brian Harris > (mailto:[email protected])> wrote: > > > > > > We have a young fitter/helper that is interested in transitioning from > install to design. He’s been studying to take NICET-1 and is looking for > “what next” to do. Looking for some input/recommendations on some type of > path forward to help him along. > > > > > > > > Thank you, > > > > > > > > Brian Harris, CET > > > > BVS Systems Inc. > > > > bvssystemsinc.com (http://bvssystemsinc.com/) > > > > Phone: 704.896.9989 > > > > Fax: 704.896.1935 > > > > > > > _________________________________________________________ SprinklerForum > mailing list: > https://lists.firesprinkler.org/list/sprinklerforum.lists.firesprinkler.org > To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] >
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