JMichaelsJeep
GaiaExplorer
As others have said it all depends on what you're going to use it for.
I am in the architecture profession, and I actually took a class in college back in 2001-2 from one of the inventors of sketchup... it is by far the easiest modeling program to use with the least learning curve... plenty of materials and modeling plug-ins available for free/ cheap. It isn't just popular because it is free (now), it wasn't free at one time. But because it is intuitive. I see you've downloaded it and are using it. I would encourage you to learn the shortcuts, as it is a lot quicker than clicking on the tools each time.
As nwoods mentioned, Revit is where the industry is going, but AutoCAD is not yet dead. I worked in larger firms and am well versed in Revit/ CAD, (been taking/ using it since Autocad 8 in high school), a lot of smaller firms (like the last two places I've been) are still using CAD for smaller projects as it is just too much investment to use Revit (thousands of dollars in annual licenses).
There are still many modeling plug-ins for AutoCAD, but like many have said, many of the modeling programs and cad programs have large learning curves. If mechanical is what you're after, solidworks is likely where you'll want to be. I second the notion of taking a class at a community college if you're serious about learning the program(s) you decide to use. There are very knowledgable people teaching those classes.
Depending on where you live, there are also companies (like MasterGraphics in the midwest) that do nothing but sell, service and teach CAD/ Revit/ 3d modeling, but they are geared more towards companies using them.
3DS Max, FormZ, etc, are more modeling programs to use as well.
I am in the architecture profession, and I actually took a class in college back in 2001-2 from one of the inventors of sketchup... it is by far the easiest modeling program to use with the least learning curve... plenty of materials and modeling plug-ins available for free/ cheap. It isn't just popular because it is free (now), it wasn't free at one time. But because it is intuitive. I see you've downloaded it and are using it. I would encourage you to learn the shortcuts, as it is a lot quicker than clicking on the tools each time.
As nwoods mentioned, Revit is where the industry is going, but AutoCAD is not yet dead. I worked in larger firms and am well versed in Revit/ CAD, (been taking/ using it since Autocad 8 in high school), a lot of smaller firms (like the last two places I've been) are still using CAD for smaller projects as it is just too much investment to use Revit (thousands of dollars in annual licenses).
There are still many modeling plug-ins for AutoCAD, but like many have said, many of the modeling programs and cad programs have large learning curves. If mechanical is what you're after, solidworks is likely where you'll want to be. I second the notion of taking a class at a community college if you're serious about learning the program(s) you decide to use. There are very knowledgable people teaching those classes.
Depending on where you live, there are also companies (like MasterGraphics in the midwest) that do nothing but sell, service and teach CAD/ Revit/ 3d modeling, but they are geared more towards companies using them.
3DS Max, FormZ, etc, are more modeling programs to use as well.
