Landscape Architecture Resource

Many students and those interested in landscape architecture ask, "do I really need to learn AutoCAD?"

Yes. It's true. You will need AutoCAD. You may work for a firm that uses VectorWORKS or even end up using MicroStation, but the overall global industry standard for producing working drawings (blue-prints) is AutoCAD. And without working drawings, things don't get built.

It's doubly important to learn cad today because it seems that some of the older generation of professionals in their 40's+ are not learning cad, and so it falls on new grads even more to be the so-called "cad monkeys" in the office. As central a tool as cad is, it seems to follow the same age-dependent distribution as other technology adoption. This means you may spend more time drafting than you'd like (although many people enjoy drafting) but your cad skills will be that much more valuable. It wasn't this way before computers when everyone used pen and paper, and it won't be this way in 20 years when everyone is more or less computer savvy. So learn cad and enjoy the edge it gives you. It only gets easier the more you learn, and it can actually be fun.

Of course there is much work that will happen using SketchUp, Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, MSOffice, and good old faithful pencil and paper. Most of these applications are overwhelming at first and can seem frustratingly un-user-friendly. But the best way to learn is to just jump in and start pushing buttons to see what happens.

It's also a life-saver to have others around that you can learn from and ask questions. You can also find online tutorials like this or this, the official AutoCAD help site, or you may prefer a how-to book that you can dog-ear, make notes in, and (from time to time) throw across the room.