Hey I'm a 3 years of experience civil designer in the greater Boston market that works primarily in AutoCAD Civil 3D. Lately I have been looking for new jobs since I work at a large firm that doesn't promote people in a timely manner and it is holding back my career growth relative to my peers elsewhere. Additionally, I am looking to get paid a rate that appropriately reflects my work.

Got offered by 3 places and passed on two for various reasons but the most recent one offered me and it all seemed really good until towards the end of the 2nd interview I found out they utilized Carlson instead of Civil 3D. This sent up some alarm bells for me because literally none of their direct competitors utilize this software.

I have talked with maybe 20 different companies over the past few months and none of them have used this software.

My question is: would abandoning a software like AutoCAD that is ubiquitous in the industry for a software (Carlson) that no one uses be a bad move? I don't mind learning a new software but it seems weird that no one uses it.

I fear that this will eventually lower my market value 5-10 years down the line or whenever I might be looking for my next position as companies find out I haven't been working in AutoCAD. Feels like this company is cutting corners on cost and gets Carlson licenses. Can anyone confirm this gut feeling that this is a bad idea? Is this an overreaction? Would you hire someone with Carlson experience if you used AutoCAD when every other candidate uses AutoCAD every day?