Possibly the most well-known CAD program in the world is AutoCAD. It was first made available by Autodesk in 1982, and today a variety of uses, such as architectural plans, layouts, and product production drawings, make use of it. Because of its adaptability, AutoCAD has become the norm in various sectors. If you're interested in learning AutoCAD, you can search online for lessons or classes that best meet your requirements. You might want to check out YouTube videos or sign up for an online course if you learn best visually. Try reading books or blogs that provide step-by-step directions as well.
AutoCAD for Beginners: How To Start?
Almost everything is easier with a computer, and design is no exception. Due to its accuracy and speed, AutoCAD is the choice for engineers, architects, designers, and everyone. Learning how to use AutoCAD doesn't have to be complicated or expensive. With the help of free online learning tutorials, courses, videos, and other free learning materials, finding the help you need can be easy. Here is a list of the top online AutoCAD courses for beginners based on our research.
AutoCAD 2023 Essential Training (LinkedIn Learning)
Even though this course is taught using AutoCAD 2023, most of the tools and techniques can be learned in older versions since the basic concepts remain the same. As a beginner, you’ll learn the essentials of AutoCAD and explore practice tips so you can be more efficient and productive with AutoCAD. A one-month free trial is available.
The course is broken down into 20 modules. Each module involves about 25 minutes to 1 hour of work. Concepts are taught through videos, practice exercises, and quizzes. Shaun Bryant is an Autodesk Certified Instructor in AutoCAD and Revit Architecture with over 30 years of industry experience.

AutoCAD 3D Tutorial for Beginners (CAD CAM Tutorials)
This course focuses on building mechanical components in 3D using AutoCAD. You’ll learn commands commonly used in mechanical drawing, put them into practice using simple models, and create basic shapes in 3D. Furthermore, you’ll also learn how to model daily objects in 3D, such as doors, windows, glasses, chairs, and more. The course is broken down into 57 videos. Each video involves about 5 to 15 minutes of work. Concepts are taught through video lectures only.
Autocad Tutorials – Full Beginners course (CAD in black)
This is the longest and most extensive course for beginners to master AutoCAD. This course teaches everything you need to know to get started with AutoCAD, complete with tips and practice exercises. However, this course is primarily for building drawings, including 2D plans and 3D models. The course is broken down into 79 videos. Each video involves about 15 to 20 minutes of work. Concepts are taught through video lectures only.
AutoCAD Map 3D 2022 Essential Training (LinkedIn Learning)
AutoCAD Map 3D toolset comes free with AutoCAD. So if you own AutoCAD, you have a GIS (geographic information system). AutoCAD’s Map 3D toolset makes your map data more visual and intelligent. This course shows you how to move from a simple AutoCAD drawing to an intelligent GIS and harness the power of GIS through AutoCAD. The course is broken down into 13 modules. Each module involves about 20 to 40 minutes of work. Concepts are taught through a combination of videos and practice exercises.
Advanced AutoCAD Courses
By allowing non-technical users to produce and draw their CAD work from the comfort of their couches, AutoCAD has revolutionized the realm of graphic design. And you can now learn all about how it works without leaving your couch! Check out these advanced courses in AutoCAD and get certified today!
The Complete AutoCAD 2018-21 Course (Udemy)
This project-based course, which includes several practice drawings, orients students to drafting and drawing in Autodesk's AutoCAD. Students learn to draw and edit, adding hatching, gradients, and layers. Students also discover dimensions, text, blocks, groups, attributes, and parametric drawings. By the end of the course, students will additionally understand options for publishing and customizing, be able to work with sheet sets, and know a range of commands for advanced designing.
Autodesk AutoCAD Masterclass: The Ultimate Guide to AutoCAD (Skillshare)
This course helps beginners learn how to draft, draw, and model with Autodesk AutoCAD. The class starts students out with navigating the program's interface and mastering keyboard shortcuts to optimize their work before moving on to working with lines, shapes, tracking, and commands. Students learn to use layers, properties, color and text, hatches, styles, and templates. By the end of the course, students will be able to use AutoCAD in projects related to design, engineering, and architecture.
NYC Career Centers / Intermediate AutoCAD
In this 2-day Intermediate AutoCad course, students with basic CAD knowledge will learn how to design and draw more rapidly and efficiently with CAD. This course covers a range of intermediate topics, including working effectively with AutoCAD, accurate positioning, parametric drawing, working with blocks, creating templates, advanced layouts, external references, and more. Students can reinforce what they learn with numerous projects interspersed throughout the course. This course also offers a free retake to allow students to revisit any concepts needing to be refreshed and walk away with a much stronger grasp of the material.
NYIM Training / AutoCAD Bootcamp
This comprehensive 40-hour AutoCAD Bootcamp will take participants from beginner to advanced users. In the beginner AutoCAD class, the student will learn the fundamentals of basic drawing, modifying techniques for drafting and technical drawing, and much more. In the intermediate class, they will learn to use the more advanced tools and create a basic 2D drawing in the software, then how to edit and continue to develop those tools. Tuition includes hands-on training, a free retake, and a course manual. The course offers flexible scheduling available online or in NYC.
Cert Prep for Autodesk Certified Professional: AutoCAD for Design and Drafting – Autodesk Design Academy
With this Autodesk online training-in course, you can prove to your potential employers that you are up to the task by becoming an Autodesk Certified Professional. With this course, you will be prepared to offer an overview of the skills which match what is covered in the Autodesk Certified Professional: AutoCAD for Design and Drafting exam.
With this Autodesk course, you will create drawing objects, manage layers, apply object snaps, and work with the User Coordinate System. Further, you will also apply scale and rotation and edit objects, array techniques, grip editing, offsets, fillet, chamfer, and trim and extend.

This online AutoCAD training will help you understand the exam topics such as layouts and viewports, output formats, and drawing management. So, enroll in these AutoCAD classes and brush up on the markup tools, hatch and fill, text, tables, multileader, dimensioning, and much more.
Career Scope with AutoCAD
AutoCAD is used to create and edit 2D and 3D designs. It is used by drafters, architects, engineers, and specialists who need to create or update technical drawings. Due to AutoCAD's popularity, there is a significant requirement for knowledgeable software users. Businesses are continually looking for competent designers with AutoCAD knowledge to help create products, plans, and drawings. Therefore, if you are fluent in AutoCAD and are interested in working in this field, you should pursue a career in CAD design. Popular job descriptions for someone with an AutoCAD background include the following:
Mechanical Engineer
Mechanical engineering skills or a degree allows AutoCAD specialists to work in various entry-level to senior-level professions. They mostly focus on creating systems or moving objects, such as air conditioning units, gas turbines, generators, and various gear.
They frequently use AutoCAD to construct production processes, new machinery, improved or rearranged components, and motor parts. In addition to this, they create conceptual designs, meticulously carry out experiments, test and assess the designs, develop pertinent solutions for new issues, and regularly submit product reports and papers.
Fashion Designer
Fashion design zeal can be enhanced by developing original sketches, prints, patterns, designs, and styles on AutoCAD. The program applies it to various cloth materials and patterns and helps quickly and precisely construct various variations of a single design.
AutoCAD is a favorite among fashion designers because it enables them to experiment with various color schemes, makes correction and adjustment simple, aids in a proper design, and lowers the likelihood of errors. The entire print and collection development process is also carried out online by fashion designers using AutoCAD, which lowers the cost of raw materials, speeds up the production and development processes, and limits the need for product modification.
Civil engineer
Infrastructures like highways, buildings, tunnels, airports, bridges, sewage systems, and residential units are designed, constructed, managed, supervised, and maintained by certified civil engineers. For civil engineers, AutoCAD is a must-have piece of software. It is used to plan and build structures, make base maps, evaluate infrastructure stability, add details to elements, calculate precise dimensions and material requirements, and more.
Aside from using AutoCAD, their everyday tasks include optimizing manufacturing processes, safety protocols, and regulatory compliance. They also conduct site inspections and feasibility analyses, provide project estimates, communicate with clients or subcontractors, and provide project estimates.
Interior designer
An interior designer's professional resume benefits from knowing AutoCAD. Interior designers frequently use the program for elevation views, floor planning, plotting, dimensioning, and visualization. To give various buildings, hotels, workplaces, and other structures a distinctive, personalized, and contemporary appearance, they sketch constructs, use objects and arrange them in the virtual area, and employ various approaches, elements, spaces, commands, and editing tools.
They typically oversee the entire project from start to finish, choose the appropriate products and materials for the space, place orders for unfinished or finished goods, work with various stakeholders, including clients, architects, builders, decorators, and designers, and install the interior design following current market trends.
Electrical engineer
Designing, developing, producing, and testing electrical equipment are all part of electrical engineering. AutoCAD knowledge is needed for electrical engineers to create and modify electrical and electronic diagrams, schematics, control circuit diagrams, and documentation.
Its additional functions enable automating processes like numbering wires, creating circuits, and creating invoices. AutoCAD is preferable over hand drawings because all electrical designs must adhere to industry standards.

Electrical engineers with experience and practical AutoCAD knowledge may design a wide range of equipment, including power generators, communication devices, navigation systems, and electrical systems for cars, airplanes, and other vehicles.
Salary of AutoCAD Professionals
Here is a complete breakup of how much you can earn as an AutoCAD professional. specializing in different fields.
Project Manager
In India, the average annual income for a project manager ranges from 3.5 to 20 lakhs. A project manager creates a plan, implements it, and oversees projects that involve contract negotiations with clients, evaluating building standards and regulations, and hiring personnel to fill labor requirements.
Project Engineer
The annual compensation range for a project engineer in India is between 3 and 15 lakhs. A project engineer organizes, directs, assembles, evaluates, and plans the activities of the designing division, venture, or company. In addition, they are responsible for setting project goals through meetings with executives and project proposal and plan audits.
Mechanical Design Engineer
The annual salary range for a mechanical design engineer in India is between two and ten lakhs. Mechanical engineers use assembly and mechanical framework knowledge to build, enhance, and test new plans. Additionally, they communicate proposal and gathering systems with sellers, clients, and other plan group experts.
Electrical Engineer
Electrical engineers in India can earn salaries between 2.3 and 6 lakhs rupees annually. An electrical engineer designs and manages examination programs to evaluate electrical frameworks, things, parts, and applications. also ensuring product quality by organizing electrical testing procedures.
Urban Planner
The average annual income for an electrical engineer in India is between 4 and 8.5 lakhs. In their recommendations for plans, urban planners consider an enterprise's purpose, scale, and geographic details. Metropolitan planners may be responsible for reviewing land for additional lodging complexes, extending the city framework, or constructing throughways while working with privately owned companies or public agencies.
Project Architect
In India, the average income for a project architect ranges from 4.2 lakhs to 12 lakhs per year. The senior coworker responsible for the overall course of events and the execution of a specific structural endeavor is the project architect. They oversee the timely and successful project completion as group leaders.
Architectural Technologist
In India, the average annual income for an architectural technologist ranges from 9 to 35 lakhs. Professional planners and common plan engineers receive specialized assistance from architectural technologists for leading examinations, creating drawings and structural models, making decisions and agreements, and managing development projects.

Interior Designer
The average annual income for an interior designer in India is from 1.8 to 9 lakhs. By fusing aesthetic considerations with practical ones, interior designers work on everything from retail establishments to office buildings. Additionally, architects consult with clients to conduct feasibility studies and create detailed plans that address a variety of plans, furnishing styles, materials, and the placement of each item.
Computer-Aided Design (CAD) Drafter
The annual compensation range for a Computer-Aided Design (CAD) Drafter in India is between 1.5 lakhs and 8 lakhs. Drafters who employ computer-aided design create detailed schematics for constructing structures and assembling parts. These itemized specialist drawings specify elements, codes, materials, and creative procedures by combining the work of designers, modelers, and assessors.
Computer-Aided Design (CAD) Technician
The annual compensation range for a Computer-Aided Design (CAD) Technician in India is between 2.5 and 9 lakhs. A computer-aided design (CAD) specialist creates configuration plans for hardware and constructions using CAD frameworks. Experts create 3D demonstrations of a part or design that specialists may use by working with 2D and 3D plans.
Best Books For AutoCAD 2023
- "AutoCAD 2022 and AutoCAD LT 2022 Bible" by Ellen Finkelstein
- "Mastering AutoCAD 2022 and AutoCAD LT 2022" by George Omura
- "AutoCAD 2022: A Problem-Solving Approach" by Sham Tickoo
- "AutoCAD 2022 and AutoCAD LT 2022 Tutorial First Level: 2D Fundamentals" by Randy H. Shih
- "AutoCAD 2022 and AutoCAD LT 2022 Bible" by James Leach
- "AutoCAD 2022: The Complete Guide" by Tom Shaughnessy
- "AutoCAD 2022 3D Modeling" by Ascent - Center for Technical Knowledge
Please note that these books are based on the 2022 version but they are also useful for AutoCAD in 2023.