Today Melissa works as a fire safety advisor in Toowoomba, producing evacuation diagrams, zone plans and block plans across everything from domestic builds to major industrial projects. The more of that work she did, the clearer it became where her real interest was. 

| “The more I was doing it, the more I liked the drafting side of things over the compliance side. I really do just like sitting in front of the computer and drawing things out.” 

Why Melissa Chose an Online Drafting Course 

She looked at other training providers first, including TAFE, but the fixed timeframes didn’t suit her schedule. What tipped the decision was the flexibility to pay as she went, plus consistently good reviews. 

| “I looked at TAFE, but the timeframes didn’t line up for me. I liked that I could pay as I go. I did some research on BFDA and it was all great reviews, so that’s what attracted me to it.” 

Studying Around a Full-Time Job (and a Few Curveballs) 

Melissa completed the Certificate IV in Residential Drafting in around 10 months while working full-time as a fire safety advisor, close to BFDA’s standard full-time study load of nine months at 20 hours a week, but achieved on top of a full-time job. She fit her study in after work, on weekends, and even on holidays. 

| “A lot of late nights after work, I’d be smashing out assignments, up late, submitting right before midnight.” 

|“I literally took my laptop on holidays with me. I’d tell my partner, I’m just going to do this for a few hours, this is my relaxing time.” 

It wasn’t always smooth. Melissa faced some personal health challenges along the way, particularly on weekends when she’d planned to study, and she needed extensions at times too, once when her brother visited from Canada, and again when her car broke down over the Christmas period. Despite it all, she still finished well ahead of the standard timeframe. [6] 

Overcoming the Tricky Parts of Learning ArchiCAD 

Melissa found the theory straightforward thanks to her industry background, but ArchiCAD itself came with a learning curve, particularly the fiddly details. 

|“Getting railings right was tricky, and sometimes the stairs would just play up.” 

|“I tried a few different ways to build a garden bed. I ended up doing it as a slab, then converted that into a morph, and at one point I somehow ended up with a pool instead of a garden bed!” 

She also got stuck for a while on parapet walls, until a tutorial video cleared it up. She leaned heavily on BFDA’s student Facebook groups when she got stuck, flicking between the main group and the Design Scene group to see what other students had already worked through. 

|“I felt very supported, and it got me all the way through.” 

Keeping Her Own Notes 

One habit stood out: drawing on her admin background, Melissa kept her own written procedures for every new step she learned, building her own reference library as she studied. 

|“Because I’ve got an admin background, I’d end up creating my own procedures, little snapshots of every single step. I found that really helpful.” 

Career Plans After Completing the Certificate IV 

Since finishing, Melissa has been teaching herself Revit, after noticing most drafters she found on LinkedIn use it rather than ArchiCAD. She’s picked up on how differently the two programs think: ArchiCAD, built by architects, is more visual and easier to design freely in, while Revit, built by engineers, expects a clearer plan before you start. She’s rebuilding one of her BFDA projects in Revit to round out a portfolio that already includes her polished original ArchiCAD work. 

She’s applying for drafting roles, including reapplying to a firm that interviewed her before she’d finished the course, and keeps a close eye on architecture firms’ LinkedIn activity to see who’s active and hiring. Her fire safety background has also given her a sharp eye for building classifications, knowledge she expects will serve her well when she eventually takes on the Diploma’s more complex projects. 

| “I will at some point do the diploma. I want more experience actually working in the industry first, with my skills down pat. It’s about getting my foot in the door first, and then going from there.” 

For now, her certificate has pride of place on the wall at home, in a frame her partner picked out to celebrate.