AutoCAD is one of the world’s most popular and widely used computer-aided design and drafting programs, also known as CAD programs. Learning how to use AutoCAD can be a daunting task, with a wide range of courses available at varying levels of difficulty.
With the rapidly expanding universe of technology and the increase in remote working opportunities, working and studying from home is more popular than ever.
This article will guide you through what AutoCAD is, how to start your AutoCAD journey and what online courses to look out for and start with.
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What is AutoCAD?
As mentioned above, AutoCAD is a CAD program used worldwide in many professional industries. AutoCAD is developed and marketed by Autodesk. It was first released in 1982 as a software application that ran on microcomputers with internal graphics controllers. AutoCAD is used in many different industries around the world.
From architects to engineers, project managers, graphic designers and many other professions. With so many uses for AutoCAD, it can be difficult to know where to start learning or how to use it for yourself or in an industry you are interested in.
This article explains in detail how to download and use AutoCAD.
AutoCAD Online Courses
With AutoCAD having such a wide variety of uses, it is vital to get a solid base of knowledge at the beginning of your AutoCAD journey. Having worked with AutoCAD for many years and being exposed to a variety of different online courses.
The perfect AutoCAD beginners course on offer at the moment is CADLab’s “Practical AutoCAD Online Courses”. This course offers great in-depth details about AutoCAD’s user interface (UI) and how to navigate it and also walks you through all the basic features of AutoCAD and how to use them.
This course is over 2 days, and in that time, you will have mastered the basics of AutoCAD. You can purchase this course on their website and get further information.
The course itself will teach you the following:
- AutoCAD screen operations and initial settings
- Create objects (line segments, circles, arcs, polylines, rectangles, centerlines, etc.)
- Select objects (basic, quick selection, similar selection)
- Using drawing aids (grid and snap, object snap tracking, etc.)
- Editing objects (move, offset, rotate, trim, fillet, stretch, etc.)
- Layers and properties (layer settings, object properties)
- Reusing content (shapes) (block definition, placement, editing, attribute definition)
- Annotative text (text entry, multi-text, editing, styling)
- Annotative dimensions (fills, multileader, edit, style settings)
- Annotative hatches (create, edit)
- Layout usage (page setup, create viewport, control panel)
- Annotative scaling (settings)
- Drawing comparison functions
- Templates (create drawing templates)
- Data management and utilization (external referencing, linking DWG files)
Once you have completed this beginners course in AutoCAD, you are now ready to move on to more advanced courses, or even start working in any of the areas mentioned above. Yes, you can start working in an engineering or architectural firm with online AutoCAD courses.
If you want to develop your AutoCAD skills, building up a portfolio of sketches and drawings to show to potential employers and taking more advanced courses is a great way to do this. Knowing which advanced or progressive courses to take can be tricky, but there are a few ways to find out which courses suit your interests and skill level.
When you start looking online for more advanced courses, don’t just choose the first course you see, as you will most likely end up wasting your money. You will either end up buying or following a course that is way beyond your ability in the programme, or you will end up following a course that covers subjects/parts of the programme that you already know.
The first thing you need to do is search online for courses that are ongoing. In other words, look for companies or websites that set up a series of courses or seminars that can take you from the basics of AutoCAD to advanced levels.
To find out if a company offers this, look at their website and try to understand if they offer a full range of courses, from beginner to advanced or mastering AutoCAD.
Some websites may not offer a full range of courses from beginner to advanced, but sometimes you can see if the company is busy creating or developing more courses in the near future. You will be able to see this on the main page of their website, as they will advertise upcoming courses or state that they are working on more advanced courses.
AutoCAD Authorized Online Courses
Another note to be aware of is the label “Authorized Autodesk Training Centre”. This label needs to be applied for by companies who provide AutoCAD training. Companies go through a process of having Autodesk scrutinize and thoroughly review a company’s coursework in order to determine if it is of a high standard.
Once they have reviewed the course outline and details and determined that it is sufficient for the students/clients to learn at a high level through the course, they give it their approval. This approval is very important to look out for when identifying courses because it is verified by the developers of AutoCAD themselves.
Further details about the AutoCAD course can be found in this article.
AutoCAD Course Reviews
Always look for reviews. Knowing what others have to say from their experiences of particular courses is incredibly important. This gives someone who is looking to start a course some perspective and confidence that the course they are considering starting is the right course for them.
The last thing you want is to start a course that is poorly laid out and explained, far too expensive for the type of experience you get because in the end you will be wasting your time and money.
AutoCAD Course Price Point
Doing your research in order to understand what AutoCAD is and is capable of doing is important because when you read what a course covers at least you will get an understanding of what you are paying for. When you are researching courses to choose you will be inundated with all kinds of words and jargon that you have never heard before.
This is important because you do not want to be paying for a very expensive course purely because it is expensive.
There are so many courses available that you need to do research and compare in order to get the best product for your money. You will find that there are some courses that cover the exact same work but are more expensive than others. So, make sure that you are aware of what you are paying for.
AutoCAD Certification
Some courses provide you with a certificate of completion when you have finished their particular course. This is something important to look out for if you are looking to get certified proof that you completed courses with respect to AutoCAD.
These certifications can help you when you are applying to work because you can include these certificates as part of your CV or Resume. This will most certainly give you an advantage in the working environment during the interviewing process because it shows you are willing to put in extra work independently from your work life.
Some courses that offer certification will be more expensive but if the certification is what you are after then paying that bit extra may be worth your while.
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Conclusion
AutoCAD is a phenomenal CAD programme that is popular in many professional industries. You can work in engineering, architecture, design and much more. When taking online courses for AutoCAD, it is important to do your research and start with the beginner courses, even if you have some experience with the program.
Always remember to check reviews of a course to make sure it is worth your while and up to standard. You never know what new tricks you might learn. You need to assess if it is certification you are after as this will affect your price point when you are looking to buy or join an online course.
