CAD School Programs: Finding the Right  for You

"7 Essential CAD School Programs You Can Learn From Without Leaving Home"

If you are looking for a CAD school to kick start your drafting or design career, the first decision you need to make is whether using online CAD training sessions are your goal or learning at one of the many offline CAD drafting schools is what you are after.

Obviously some will learn better, and possibly faster, in a classroom environment compared to an AutoCAD online training program; although some who have studied computer drafting over the internet may disagree.

I for one believe there is something to be said about having an AutoCAD instructor at your disposal during class.

In addition, having access to your CAD operator peers while in a classroom can also be a plus in an offline situation.

But not everyone has the time after a busy day to venture off to a CAD training academy or community college to take classes.

Quite frankly, many may prefer the privacy and the option to work at their own pace from home.

Both offline and online drafting courses have pros and cons, but the bottom line comes down to the preference of the computer aided drafting student.

ONLINE CAD courses that you may find useful:

Free AutoCAD Tutorials - Excellent video training for AutoCAD 2011.  The first 3 chapters are free.

CADD Primer - This is a good resource for new comers to CAD.

If you haven’t got a clue about where to begin with CADD, start here.

Written in layman's terms, this interesting Computer Aided Design and Drafting e-book includes terms and definitions, exercises, advanced techniques and also details many top CAD software programs available.

ITT Technical Institution - Online Computer Drafting & Design skills can be obtained through ITT, which offers several other technical courses as well.

ICS Canada - Teaches you the skills you need to learn AutoCAD online from home.

Online Drafting Degrees - Online Degree Universities enables you to select from a wide range of web based CAD schools. Online computer-aided drafting instructors are also available with any questions you may have.

SolidCAD - Located in Ontario, Canada, this company offers online drafting education as well as hands on training (out of their three CAD school locations) and will come to your business to provide customized on-site CAD training.

OFFLINE CAD course resources:

CAD School - Located in the United Kingdom, this offline training program offers instruction on using Google Sketchup, Cinema 4D, From Z, Artlantis and Vectorworks software programs. Courses are offered as "one on one" sessions, group courses and over the phone help.

You can also earn an accredited drafting degree from the AutoCAD Computer-Aided Drafting programs offered by ICS Canada, the Penn Foster Career School or the Precision Technical Institute.

Whether you are looking to specialize in architectural, civil, electrical, pipeline or mechanical drafting, these CAD institutions can help you achieve your goal.

Community Colleges - Highly recommended.  A quick search of a community college near you may reveal an excellent CAD program being offered locally.

Instructors are often experienced CAD drafters, from the architectural or engineering community, and could have a wealth of hands on information and knowledge to share with you.

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