Would learning AutoCAD in high school be beneficial to me in college? Or will it really matter if I learn it now? I'm just curious if it will help me save money (by not having to take classes) if i learn programs that I will have to learn in college or not.
JeromeS
May 2, 15 7:06 pm
I took CAD in HS way back when - it sucked. The teacher was also the autoshop teacher- what did he know about CAD. It was a big goof-off, tool around period. Later, I took AutoCAD as part of an Adult Education being offered at the local Vo-tech. It was really a widget drawing class- problem was I already knew how to draw widgets. What I wanted to know was how to do it using AutoCAD. The instructor, while knowledgeable, I'm sure wasn't able to TEACH AutoCAD.
The best 'class' I had in AutoCAD was OTJT- using it everyday, asking questions, learning key commands, practical techniques and applications where more than any class could offer.
Try a class- if you're in HS, what do you have to lose...
sameolddoctor
May 3, 15 12:07 am
Long story short, yes learn AutoCAD when you can. There will be people who will tell you not to, as Rhino, Revit etc will take over CAD. I call Bullshit. CAD will be around for a while and it is an invaluable software to learn.
I was one of the first in my peers to learn cad back in '96, and that was probably one of the most useful classes I ever took.
Driko
May 3, 15 12:51 am
Learn photoshop and illustrator instead. You will learn Autocad on the way.
JeromeS
May 3, 15 8:18 am
^^that seems like good advice...
toasteroven
May 3, 15 9:29 am
The most important thing to learn early on is how to draw/draft by hand. You can pick up software eventually, but you really need to develop strong graphic skills if you want to get the most out of the software. I'd say the other useful things to pick up before college are photography, some kind of hand-craft (wood or metal working, knitting, etc...), and narrative writing.
CAD/Revit is only really useful if you're looking for a job - but for school, you'll mostly just want to understand how to make something visually compelling - and how to use graphics/drawing (and eventually software) to effectively communicate your ideas.
gruen
May 3, 15 11:03 am
Yes. Free class + more skills early on cannot be a bad thing
sameolddoctor
May 3, 15 5:17 pm
Yes, learn photoshop and illustrator so you can be an intern for a starchitect and make minimum wage. Idiot
Driko
May 3, 15 6:58 pm
I'm just saying learning Photoshop is more fun. It's hard to get good at cad software when you don't have a project to work on. The really difficult things that you will learn on those softwares will be because you have a time limit so it's either fail or learn. I agree with what toasteroven said to learn other crafts. Photoshop and illustrator are more transferable if you end up not liking architecture anyways.
Carrera
May 3, 15 7:48 pm
Been waiting to use this photo (best part is cut off) - CAD has transformed architecture, but it seems that everything now has an arc on it...CAD makes it too easy....go to my grave believing that “The Music” is in the fingers. Would suggest SketchUp, playing with shapes and mass model studies (no arc's, please), not unlike Wright with his Froebel Blocks.
curtkram
May 3, 15 9:33 pm
if you learn photoshop, you can enter fark photoshop contests, and the world will be yours
what are you going to do with CAD? be an underemployed architect drawing toilet details for the rest of your life?
sameolddoctor
May 3, 15 10:42 pm
curtkram, touche!
I thought the OP wanted to go into architecture, and hence posted on this forum. But oh yes, if you can be dissuaded from entering this cesspool of a profession, I would like to do so!
anonitect
May 3, 15 10:55 pm
Take a drawing class. For someone who is a teenager these days, the computer stuff will come easy. Concentration, patience, and critical thought are the things you should be developing. (I second toasteroven.)
toosaturated
May 4, 15 1:32 pm
Doesn't hurt to learn CAD in HS. I did and it put me ahead of my peers. While everyone was struggling to understand what a section was, I was in class getting feedback about my design/work instead of how to draw a section/elevation.
Non Sequitur
May 4, 15 1:51 pm
Any fool can pick-up drafting software in an afternoon. Learn how to sharpen a pencil using an olfa blade and how to sketch proper shaded perspectives.
no_form
May 5, 15 1:40 pm
If you take autocad in high school you may exempt out of it in college. *may. But you should learn Revit and the Adobe creative suite. These tools are used in almost all offices not just the big name places. They will also help you get work.
Also, learning how to hand draft is basically a waste of time. People on here will tell you otherwise but go visit a few local architects and you will see what the industry does now.
If we have to go back to hand drafting as an industry we will also be milking cows every morning and riding horses.
Hand sketching details, conceptual plans, etc is useful. Being able to sketch buildings and places on site (not from photos) is also invaluable.
Good luck. It's not too late for you to go into finance and just hire us to build your new office building and 3rd home in the Barbados.
anonitect
May 5, 15 9:13 pm
^I don't think that anyone was recommending hand drafting, although I wouldn't consider learning hard line drawing by hand to be a waste of time. It teaches craft, and an understanding of projective geometry.
Sketching is not enough, in my opinion. The OP should take drawing classes in the art dept. of a local college. It's great training - a way of seeing the world better, and people who can actually draw well stand out from the crowd.
Telling a high school kid to learn Revit is perverse. That's a vocational skill that can be picked up in studio. Illustrator and Photoshop could be good to learn, but understanding how to make a drawing by hand will give the OP the foundation to do better work in those programs.
And, I'd love it if I could ride a horse to work. That would be the best.
Carrera
May 5, 15 9:50 pm
Knew an architect that drove his boat to work, does that count?
anonitect
May 5, 15 11:17 pm
^That could be pretty great, too.
3tk
May 7, 15 9:45 am
Take proper coursework in software - CC is probably a better option, but if your teacher is good, high school will suffice. If you can find one, take a more general computer programming course: it's important and helpful in the long term to understand the logic of software (they're all coded with similar language, so the logic is the same - this will help you learn new software and troubleshoot existing ones.
I advocate for formal training in software b/c I see so many designers who know how to get things done in a software, but not necessarily in the most efficient/effective process. I also can't believe the number of people that can't troubleshoot basic technical problems.
Drawing classes in HS are more likely to be taught well and it's a skill that never gets obsolete.
no_form
May 7, 15 9:57 am
If you drive a boat to work you've pretty much won.
proto
May 7, 15 1:50 pm
learning to draw is valuable -- by hand
[never thought I'd have to qualify that...but times change]
learn a major software package: Autocad Archicad Revit Microstation...doesn't matter
when it comes to a particular job, you will at least be familiar with the strategies of how CAD and CAD drawings work, and any interviewers will acknowledge that you can transfer these understandings to new skills which are, by contrast, easily taught in a few days.
Would learning AutoCAD in high school be beneficial to me in college? Or will it really matter if I learn it now? I'm just curious if it will help me save money (by not having to take classes) if i learn programs that I will have to learn in college or not.
I took CAD in HS way back when - it sucked. The teacher was also the autoshop teacher- what did he know about CAD. It was a big goof-off, tool around period. Later, I took AutoCAD as part of an Adult Education being offered at the local Vo-tech. It was really a widget drawing class- problem was I already knew how to draw widgets. What I wanted to know was how to do it using AutoCAD. The instructor, while knowledgeable, I'm sure wasn't able to TEACH AutoCAD.
The best 'class' I had in AutoCAD was OTJT- using it everyday, asking questions, learning key commands, practical techniques and applications where more than any class could offer.
Try a class- if you're in HS, what do you have to lose...
Long story short, yes learn AutoCAD when you can. There will be people who will tell you not to, as Rhino, Revit etc will take over CAD. I call Bullshit. CAD will be around for a while and it is an invaluable software to learn.
I was one of the first in my peers to learn cad back in '96, and that was probably one of the most useful classes I ever took.
Learn photoshop and illustrator instead. You will learn Autocad on the way.
^^that seems like good advice...
The most important thing to learn early on is how to draw/draft by hand. You can pick up software eventually, but you really need to develop strong graphic skills if you want to get the most out of the software. I'd say the other useful things to pick up before college are photography, some kind of hand-craft (wood or metal working, knitting, etc...), and narrative writing.
CAD/Revit is only really useful if you're looking for a job - but for school, you'll mostly just want to understand how to make something visually compelling - and how to use graphics/drawing (and eventually software) to effectively communicate your ideas.
Yes. Free class + more skills early on cannot be a bad thing
Yes, learn photoshop and illustrator so you can be an intern for a starchitect and make minimum wage. Idiot
I'm just saying learning Photoshop is more fun. It's hard to get good at cad software when you don't have a project to work on. The really difficult things that you will learn on those softwares will be because you have a time limit so it's either fail or learn. I agree with what toasteroven said to learn other crafts. Photoshop and illustrator are more transferable if you end up not liking architecture anyways.
Been waiting to use this photo (best part is cut off) - CAD has transformed architecture, but it seems that everything now has an arc on it...CAD makes it too easy....go to my grave believing that “The Music” is in the fingers. Would suggest SketchUp, playing with shapes and mass model studies (no arc's, please), not unlike Wright with his Froebel Blocks.
if you learn photoshop, you can enter fark photoshop contests, and the world will be yours
http://www.fark.com/psbrowser
what are you going to do with CAD? be an underemployed architect drawing toilet details for the rest of your life?
curtkram, touche!
I thought the OP wanted to go into architecture, and hence posted on this forum. But oh yes, if you can be dissuaded from entering this cesspool of a profession, I would like to do so!
Take a drawing class. For someone who is a teenager these days, the computer stuff will come easy. Concentration, patience, and critical thought are the things you should be developing. (I second toasteroven.)
Doesn't hurt to learn CAD in HS. I did and it put me ahead of my peers. While everyone was struggling to understand what a section was, I was in class getting feedback about my design/work instead of how to draw a section/elevation.
Any fool can pick-up drafting software in an afternoon. Learn how to sharpen a pencil using an olfa blade and how to sketch proper shaded perspectives.
If you take autocad in high school you may exempt out of it in college. *may. But you should learn Revit and the Adobe creative suite. These tools are used in almost all offices not just the big name places. They will also help you get work.
Also, learning how to hand draft is basically a waste of time. People on here will tell you otherwise but go visit a few local architects and you will see what the industry does now.
If we have to go back to hand drafting as an industry we will also be milking cows every morning and riding horses.
Hand sketching details, conceptual plans, etc is useful. Being able to sketch buildings and places on site (not from photos) is also invaluable.
Good luck. It's not too late for you to go into finance and just hire us to build your new office building and 3rd home in the Barbados.
^I don't think that anyone was recommending hand drafting, although I wouldn't consider learning hard line drawing by hand to be a waste of time. It teaches craft, and an understanding of projective geometry.
Sketching is not enough, in my opinion. The OP should take drawing classes in the art dept. of a local college. It's great training - a way of seeing the world better, and people who can actually draw well stand out from the crowd.
Telling a high school kid to learn Revit is perverse. That's a vocational skill that can be picked up in studio. Illustrator and Photoshop could be good to learn, but understanding how to make a drawing by hand will give the OP the foundation to do better work in those programs.
And, I'd love it if I could ride a horse to work. That would be the best.
Knew an architect that drove his boat to work, does that count?
^That could be pretty great, too.
Take proper coursework in software - CC is probably a better option, but if your teacher is good, high school will suffice. If you can find one, take a more general computer programming course: it's important and helpful in the long term to understand the logic of software (they're all coded with similar language, so the logic is the same - this will help you learn new software and troubleshoot existing ones.
I advocate for formal training in software b/c I see so many designers who know how to get things done in a software, but not necessarily in the most efficient/effective process. I also can't believe the number of people that can't troubleshoot basic technical problems.
Drawing classes in HS are more likely to be taught well and it's a skill that never gets obsolete.
If you drive a boat to work you've pretty much won.
learning to draw is valuable -- by hand
[never thought I'd have to qualify that...but times change]
learn a major software package: Autocad Archicad Revit Microstation...doesn't matter
when it comes to a particular job, you will at least be familiar with the strategies of how CAD and CAD drawings work, and any interviewers will acknowledge that you can transfer these understandings to new skills which are, by contrast, easily taught in a few days.