Learning is a highly subjective art form. You wish to learn how to use—or at the very least ABOUT how to use—Revit. To add to your skill set, to appease your boss, to stay up to date on industry standards, but ultimately you’re here because you want to build something beautiful. You want to make art and you wish to learn new methods for doing so.
Well just as there are several different methods for creation, there are also several different methods of learning. So when the question, “How long does it take to learn Revit?” comes up, I always respond, “That depends on you.” It depends on your personality, your best ways of learning, your experience, and of course, your work ethic.
So when asking, “How long?” there are several factors to keep in mind.
Those Who Came Before
The internet is littered with forums offering help and advice to users just like you—brand new to Revit and looking to build their skills quickly. Some users claim you will be able to achieve basic competency after only a week—possibly higher levels if you enroll in an online course to take you through the entire software.
After a week of experience, you should be able to pick up basic redlines, and you might even be able to model your own house as a personal project, not an industry standard. Everything else, like customizing an office template and starter files or doing an office standard multi-building custom project, will require much more experience than a simple course and trial and error.
Most users would agree that if you have experience with architecture software and a hearty work ethic, Revit will take about 3 months to be able to navigate with confidence. Of course, mastery of any skill requires years of dedication and risk-taking.
As you’re learning the material, stay true to the rules until you know enough to break them. Then—with discretion—break them to your heart’s content and watch yourself begin to break creative barriers to create something really special.
AutoCAD and Other Software Experience
When transferring from AutoCAD and other software experiences, sometimes users face difficulties with file compatibility. Far more often though, users experience frustration translating old knowledge to a new system. Anyone who learned Windows before Mac knows EXACTLY what I’m talking about!
You’re used to a specific button being in a specific place, and often things have different labels or layouts. This means mistakes are more likely to happen simply because old mental shortcuts are being challenged with a new interface. This is perfectly normal and needs to be met with many deep breaths. Give yourself some grace as you’re learning new software. Anyone could have hit that “Cancel Render” button when the project only had .05% left to go.
One of the easiest ways to transfer over from AutoCAD in an office setting is to begin your work step by step. Do your smaller projects in Revit in the beginning. This allows you space and time to learn new skills in manageable chunks. Once you’re competent with the basics, move up to medium-sized projects. This will help prepare you to scale into larger projects.
This transition phase can take anywhere from 3 months to a year depending on how quickly you advance through your projects. Again, be patient with yourself and do not rush from small to medium projects, or from medium to large. You want to be confident—not just competent—by the time you’re ready to go full swing in Revit.
As you’re working through implementing these baby steps, be sure to keep supplementing your learning with courses, articles, and plenty of practice!
Personal Learning Style
In addition to personal experience, you need to take yourself as a person into account in order to gauge how long it will take you to reach your Revit goals.
- Are you a quick study or does it take you time to absorb information?
- Are you a procrastinator or are you immersive?
- Do you learn by reading, listening, or through a hands-on interactive course?
- Do you need a personal tutor to guide you through or can you do this by yourself on a 3-day binge?
- How coachable are you?
- Do you learn from mistakes?
- Are you a planner or a doer?
- How are you under pressure of deadlines? Do they motivate you or terrify you?
Think about what strategies work for you whenever you are thrown into a new circ*mstance. How do you cope? What do you do to succeed—or at the very least avoid embarrassment? Do these strategies get you the results you want? Why or why not?
Document your observations here and really think about if you know your personal style of learning. If you have a method that typically works for you: go for it! Implement it when learning Revit, making the necessary tweaks along the way, and you’ll be off to a great start!
If you realize that you don’t have a method in place or that your current method really isn’t working for you, I encourage you to do some research on the different learning styles to find what best suits you. Often we think we “can’t” do something when really we just haven’t found our personal way yet.
Albert Einstein said, “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” Take this lesson to heart and realize that you, sweet fishy, may not learn the same way your counterparts do.
This uniqueness is part of what makes you who you are and is why your architecture is so special. Everyone is different. So while it may take some 3 months to learn Revit well, others it may take 3 years before they actually get it through all the way. But the end result is the same: a new skill, a new way of creating beautiful masterpieces.
Work Ethic
After that last paragraph, this one really goes without saying. Learning a new skill requires a solid work ethic. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and it sure as heck wasn’t built without a Coliseum full of tenacity. If you want competency in Revit, put in minimal effort. If you want to be up to industry standards, put in the same effort as your peers. If you want to do something truly incredible with this tool, eat, breathe, and drink its software. Remember: a poor workman blames his tools, but a great workman knows he could never do it without knowing his tools.
Know your tools, both your software and your mind. You’ll succeed if you learn to work with, by, and through those two things. In the end, you’ll be a Revit wiz, but you’ll have so much more. You’ll have projects to be proud of, and you’ll know yourself a little bit better too.
