{"id":2305,"date":"2017-09-11T10:58:41","date_gmt":"2017-09-11T17:58:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.autodesk.com\/autodesk-university\/?p=2305"},"modified":"2017-09-12T09:28:11","modified_gmt":"2017-09-12T16:28:11","slug":"lola-carbajal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.autodesk.com\/autodesk-university\/lola-carbajal\/","title":{"rendered":"How AU Launched a Career Change: Lola Carbajal\u2019s Story"},"content":{"rendered":"

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In 2014, Lola Carbajal<\/a> was ready for a change. After 16 years working as a structural technician in her native Spain, she knew she wanted to move into architecture. What she didn\u2019t know was how\u2019d she\u2019d make the transition.<\/p>\n

Researching her options while also interviewing for new roles, she came across Autodesk University. \u201cIt seemed like the perfect way to learn about BIM,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

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A New World Opens<\/strong><\/p>\n

What she found at AU blew her away: \u201cI\u2019d never been to any conference before,\u201d she says. \u201cNot even a gathering of 30 people. So to see 10,000 people, it was like sci-fi, like a movie.\u201d<\/p>\n

What surprised her most?<\/p>\n

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\u201cEveryone was very open to speaking with you. In fact, they\u2019re keen to help you,\u201d she says. \u201cI took a class from a man whose book I was reading and talked to him after class. It was incredible.\u201d<\/h4>\n<\/blockquote>\n

She used her time to focus on diving deep into BIM workflows in Revit and Navisworks. On the second day of the conference, she got the big call from one of the companies she\u2019d interviewed with, Foster + Partners. She was offered a job as a BIM coordinator. \u201cI couldn\u2019t believe it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Moving Ahead with AU<\/strong><\/p>\n

Three years later, Carbajal is still a BIM coordinator at Foster + Partners<\/a>. No longer a novice, she still calls herself a learner. She routinely manages several projects at a time, most with fewer than 10 architects. \u201cI make the building in BIM, and handle 3D coordination with other team members, as well as help them collaborate and solve problems during the project.\u201d<\/p>\n

Every year she returns to AU, choosing one topic to focus on. In 2015, it was design visualization. In 2016, her focus was on how an intelligent BIM model can make building operations and management more efficient.<\/p>\n