What is AutoCAD?
Think of AutoCAD as the ultimate digital drawing board that lets designers, architects, and engineers bring their ideas to life on a computer screen. Instead of using traditional pencils and rulers, professionals use this powerful software to create super-precise technical drawings and 3D models of everything from building blueprints to machine parts. It's basically like having an entire engineering toolkit at your fingertips, but digital!
The story behind AutoCAD is pretty interesting. Back in 1982, two tech pioneers named John Walker and Dan Drake had this game-changing idea: bring professional design software to personal computers. Before this, if you wanted to use computer-aided design (CAD), you needed access to massive, expensive computers that only big companies could afford. AutoCAD changed all that. Since then, it's kept evolving—adding 3D modeling in 1990, throwing in tools for automation, and now even letting designers work from their phones or tablets through cloud apps. It's come a long way from its early days and has become the go-to tool for millions of professionals who need to design with precision.
AutoCAD Classes Near Me
In VDCI’s CAD Certificate Program, you will spend 280 total hours learning necessary skills for construction design and will learn to create, manage, and organize CAD drawings with precision. This opens doors to careers in fields like architecture, engineering, and construction. You’ll study industry practices and develop mastery in 2D drafting and technical design with AutoCAD. Through projects and practice, you’ll be able to apply the best practices for file organization, document creation, and project management. With the skills you acquire, you’ll recognize the importance of accuracy and standardization through the technical drawings. The course ends with a capstone project. You’ll earn a certificate of completion and other resources to help you truly succeed.
Likewise, the CAD/BIM Certificate Program from VDCI is a part-time, ten-month course that allows you to learn at your own pace. In this certificate-granting program, you will explore AutoCAD for drafting construction documents and Revit to design 3D models and create 3D parametric families. Additionally, you’ll practice creating construction documents for commercial sites and learn to provide plan, section, and elevation views of the project for sheet layout. This certificate allows you to specialize in AutoCAD Construction Documents, Revit MEP, or Revit Structure so you can get the education you want to succeed in the field of your choice.
VDCI also offers an AutoCAD Certification Training Bundle, which focuses on providing students with the skills they need to complete the AutoCAD professional certification exam. This is a career-focused course that aims to help students get hands-on AutoCAD training and guided support through exercises that are modeled after the kinds of questions and tasks that they will need to pass when sitting for the exam. This is an ideal course for anyone looking to work with AutoCAD at a professional level and students will have the option to complete the exam as a part of their course tuition.
The AutoCAD Fundamentals Fast-Track Program provides students with foundational CAD skills, including drafting symbols, kitchen and bath fixtures, and floor plan creation. Through projects and activities, you will learn more complex skills like working on residential projects and understanding paper and model space. In particular, you will create and insert blocks, externally reference files, and determine the appropriate time to apply those skills. You’ll demonstrate file management, apply layer management skills, and create sheet layout environments. Once you successfully complete the course, you will receive a certificate of completion.
Noble Desktop also offers an AutoCAD Certification Program that takes students through three levels of advancement and provides six additional hours of private tutoring. In this program, you’ll learn what it takes to become certified in AutoCAD, including how to use the basic tools for drawing to more complex skills like incorporating blocks and attributes. The course comes with a free retake of the class within a year as well as proctoring for the Autodesk Certified Professional exam, which also comes with a free retake. By the end of the course, you’ll feel like an AutoCAD pro and have the credentials to prove it.
AutoCAD Corporate Training
VDCI delivers customized corporate AutoCAD training programs both onsite at client facilities and through interactive online sessions. Programs can be tailored to your organization's specific AutoCAD needs, from specialized curriculum development to flexible scheduling that works for your team. Expert instructors provide hands-on AutoCAD software training with real-time guidance, ensuring employees develop practical technical drawing and modeling skills that align with your company's design and documentation requirements.
For maximum flexibility, organizations can purchase discounted bulk vouchers allowing employees to attend VDCI's regular public AutoCAD courses. This option enables staff to select class times that fit their schedules while accessing VDCI's comprehensive AutoCAD curriculum and experienced instruction. For more information about corporate AutoCAD training solutions, contact partnerships@vdci.edu to discuss customized onsite, live online, or voucher-based training programs.