I came to know about Internshala in the first year of my college when I registered for the free online web development workshop. Certificates were provided to all those who completed the modules and attempted a short questionnaire containing 20 MCQs on the topic.
Fast forward a couple of years – I was in the sixth semester, planning to do a training on AutoCAD. I had been exploring online courses on AutoCAD provided by different platforms including those provided by Autodesk itself. It’s obvious that the courses provided by the parent company will be much more elaborate; however, only those who have some background knowledge with very high levels of motivation would be actually able to complete all those tutorials. I remember the first course that I started had over 25 topics, with about 50 videos for each. I went through 5 videos that day and it was enough for me to decide that I didn’t wish to continue. I don’t think I’m an exception; any beginner would have easily lost their interest.
Around the same time, I came to know about a contest by the platform. They were organising a James Bond Contest on their Facebook page which had four stages. All stages had different types of competitions and the winner of every stage was going to receive one of the trainings provided by them for free! I was intrigued by the contest and started following it. In the second stage, James Bond had to decipher a code using cryptography. As I had participated in a few cryptography competitions before, I used that knowledge for the second stage. I was eagerly waiting for the results, and finally, I was declared as the winner of that stage! They sent me a message to know which training I wanted so that they could wave off the training fee. I didn’t waste any time in selecting AutoCAD, and neither did they in approving the request. I must say, the team is really fast in responding!
The training started on April 15. The training content was divided into different modules, dedicated to absolute beginners. The topics were very precise and basic; I could actually start from scratch. I planned those six weeks properly and completed all the modules on time. I submitted the assignments too and received feedback from the instructor. The certification and the online support were the cherries on the cake. Everything went smoothly and I finished the training. Though I wanted to use AutoCAD, I had always used Fusion 360, a cloud-based software, in my projects before this. Thanks to this training, I learned AutoCAD which helped me complete all the assignments of my Machine Design Lab in the sixth semester as we were required to do all those only in AutoCAD.
The training will teach you all the basic topics you need to know, but it won’t teach you everything. You need to go the extra mile if you want to utilize the training completely.
Honestly, this training taught me all the important concepts and gave me the motivation to further explore the software. It urged me to go back and complete that course which I dropped out of. So, I resumed that Autodesk course and this time I could understand everything.
I got certified in Building Performance Analysis from Autodesk and could even use the unique AutoCAD learning portal accessed only by Autodesk Student Experts and Autodesk Ambassadors. I’m also reported to be the only Indian female who has been awarded both the statuses!
I look forward to doing more training with Internshala, especially if any training on 3D printing, SOLIDWORKS, ANSYS, or MATLAB comes out. I’ve already recommended Internshala Trainings to my friends and will keep recommending it to the juniors as well.
About the Author: Tania Alam is pursuing B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering from Techno India University, West Bengal. She joined Internshala Training for learning AutoCAD and talks about her journey of becoming an Autodesk student expert. This article was first published on Internshala, an internship and training platform.