How I would learn AutoCAD if I could start over

when I first started learning AutoCAD it was in a training center called into Danish tool room where I enrolled for a six-month program and AutoCAD was allotted 15 days in 15 days we learned the basics of 2D and 3D tools and just nothing more than that just simple drafting techniques now the class was two hours each day so in total I got 30 hours of training in AutoCAD so was it sufficient of course not for software like AutoCAD it takes more than 15 days to learn it properly and just learning to make simple 2D and 3D drawings is not sufficient you need to learn about dimensioning annotations blocks external references layer Printing and plotting proper scale and a lot more now I literally spent two years learning AutoCAD all by myself and then I cleared the AutoCAD certified professional exam with I guess approximately 85 score that was my first attempt in those two years I developed my own roadmap of learning a new skill and I later learned a few more software and tools like gdnt SolidWorks and fusion 360 using the same roadmap so here I will share the proper strategies from my roadmap that includes getting the AutoCAD software for free sharing my collection of Best Yet free courses and learning materials my another collection of free ebooks that you can use to practice with AutoCAD and finally I'll also share resources that will help you pass the AutoCAD certification exam and in the end you'll also get some bonus material so if you stick to the end of the video there are several bonus content for you so are you ready let's get started [Music] now the step one of this roadmap is getting the software now if you have AutoCAD great if not here are some methods that you can use to get the software for free in a completely legitimate way now if you are a student you can get the student license from Autodesk with one year validity for free you just need to share your student ID or you can sign up with your school or college email and you'll get access to the software immediately the link of student version of AutoCAD is in the description of this video if however you don't have a student ID you can ask your siblings friends anyone who is willing to lend you the free student version assuming they are in a school or college and also they are ready to give you the software on their own behalf now another method is a 30-day free trial of AutoCAD which you can install for free now if you install it on a virtual machine you can gain additional free trial but remember it's only for learning the software and you should not use it commercially the last method is AutoCAD LT license which is a lot cheaper than full version of AutoCAD but it has no 3D tools so if you just want to learn AutoCAD 2D and you just want to explore 3D maybe later then you can start with LT license don't go the other way and look for sketchy ways of getting the software and I hope you are following me here has almost always these softwares are laced with malware and they are not good for your PC as well now you have the song of it the next step is finding the right course or the right learning material now I was unlucky here as I had to piece together several YouTube videos to learn a topic but you are in luck you can start from scratch using this absolutely free series of videos that will teach you the basics of AutoCAD right from scratch now this series is completely open and I have prepared it myself now using this series you can avoid overwhelm because it only contains the topic that you need for the beginner level now the link of the series is also in the description of this video okay by now you have the basic knowledge of AutoCAD and it's time to really cement your learning and you can do that with practice drawings now that's step three of this roadmap don't think that you are done learning AutoCAD once you are through the basic lessons you'll forget them faster than you learned it and I'm saying this from experience so start with simple practice drawings and make as many draw links as you can to really cement your learning I'd recommend at least 50 to 100 practice drawings here again you are in luck as I have already done the heavy lifting for you and I've prepared a free pdf ebook that contains nearly 100 practice drawings that you can make using AutoCAD once again the link of that practice drawing is in the description of this video now it's totally free so you just don't need to worry about purchasing it or anything at all now once you are done making the simple drawings start making the advanced projects from the ebook and these projects are like floor plans elevations section circuit diagram and a lot more this will give you the much needed confidence when you are learning AutoCAD and in the end you'll have several drawings that you can confidently say that you have made these drawings yourself using AutoCAD now the fourth step of this roadmap is moving to Advanced topics now you have learned AutoCAD Basics you've practiced with several drawings and you are now ready for advanced topics like dimensions and annotation tools annotative property sheet set Dynamic block data extraction so there is quite a lot to cover now this is the step where you need to step away from openly available free sources and invest in a good AutoCAD book online course or offline training now once you have the foundation you can select any of these methods to start learning if you prefer the books then you can get the Practical audit ad book from pack public education which is co-authored by me and you can also get mastering AutoCAD book by Brian C Benton and George Amira which I highly recommend now I have linked both the books in the description of this video now if you want an instructor by your side throughout your Learning Journey then you can sign up for sourcecat subscription of course this is a paid subscription but with this you get access directly to the instructor as well as several courses in AutoCAD now this will give you access to not just the courses or the instructor but you'll also get some live sessions where you can ask questions from instructor directly in real time now if however you prefer other platforms for learning then I'd recommend LinkedIn learning so if you don't prefer Source CAD you can select LinkedIn learning as it has Great Courses but the only problem with LinkedIn learning is the lack of instructor support for Q a which is almost non-existent finally the most expensive option is instructor LED training which I would not recommend I unless it's something that you really like its biggest disadvantage is condensed training for a few days where you might get overwhelmed with a lot of new Concepts and once your training is over there is hardly anyone to answer your questions so stick with books or online courses now finally the fifth step of this roadmap is getting AutoCAD certification now that you know the basics and advanced tools you have also practiced with sample drawings and it's perfect time to get certified AutoCAD certification adds real credibility to your profile and it will make a CV or LinkedIn profile stand out from the rest now certification exam is conducted by Autodesk via test portals like 30 Port so it is credible and it is recognized throughout the industry now you can buy exam voucher for certification exam and appear for it but if you want to be absolutely sure of your success in the exam then again I would recommend you take a few sample certification exams before you appear for the real one now the best place for preparing for the certification exam is of course the source get subscription which I mentioned earlier because with that you get access to again a certification preparation course which contains three practice tests that will give you hands-on experience with the software and one mock certification exam which is exactly like the real exam so you'll get a hang of what to expect in the real exam also all the other technical details related to exam the entire syllabus and everything else is covered in that Course once again the link of this course as well is in the description of this video okay so that's my five step roadmap for learning AutoCAD right from scratch I have a suggestion for you though learn the software slowly but consistently don't sit for several hours a day and then take a few days off instead dedicate a few hours every day to learning AutoCAD and you will be a professional in just a few weeks if you follow this roadmap now if you agree with this then give this video a like finally here are few bonus ebooks the first one is a collection of 200 AutoCAD commands that you can use as a reference second one is AutoCAD quiz with answers that you should use for self-assessment and finally this is an AutoCAD certification exam preparation roadmap with complete exam syllabus technical details and a lot more all of these links are available in the description of this video finally if you have questions let me know in the comments area and I'll see you in the next one foreign

Channel: SourceCAD

Views: 32,364

Keywords: autocad roadmap, how to learn autocad

Id: r-j7FTlx1bc

Length: 9min 27sec (567 seconds)

Published: Tue Jun 06 2023