Every graduation season, the Institute's lecturers get one question more than any other: which software should a new civil engineer learn in order to be employable straight away? And the most common wrong answer, from the students themselves, is "all of them: AutoCAD, Revit, ETABS, estimating, MS Project, Tekla".
Learning all of them is the surest way to be able to use none of them six months later. This article proposes something else: pick the role you are going to apply for, then learn exactly the three tools that role demands, in the right order. The table in the middle is the part worth printing out.
Why "learn everything" is the most expensive mistake
The market does not hire "civil engineers" in the abstract. It hires structural engineers, estimators, site engineers, BIM technicians, MEP engineers — and each role tests a different set of skills at interview.
A new structural engineer will be asked about ETABS and how to read the force results. An estimator will be handed a drawing and asked to measure part of it. A BIM technician will be asked to model something small in Revit on the spot. Nobody is asked all three at once.
When you spread yourself thin, every tool sits at "I can open it", and that level passes no test. Concentrating on the three tools of one role for three months takes you to "I can do the work", and that is what employers pay for.
There is one more reason people rarely mention: software is only a tool, and each tool rests on its own body of knowledge. Learning ETABS without solid structural mechanics leaves you pressing buttons; learning estimating without being able to read a drawing means the figures are wrong from the start. Learning by role also tells you which part of your degree to revise, instead of revising all of it. The Institute's courses are likewise organised by job role rather than by software name — the Revit route, for instance, is aimed at technicians and engineers heading towards BIM.
Software for civil engineers: the priority table by role
The table answers the question role by role. It comes from the requirements in job advertisements at design firms, contractors and project management units, checked against what our lecturers see after many courses for people entering the workforce. The order is the order to learn in, not the order of importance: what comes first is the foundation for what comes next.
| Role applied for | Learn first | Learn second | Learn third | If there is time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Structural engineer (design) | AutoCAD (enough to produce drawings) | ETABS – SAFE or SAP2000 | Revit Structure | Robot, Tekla |
| Estimator, QS | Reading drawings fluently | An estimating package (G8, F1, Eta…) | Advanced Excel | Revit, for model-based take-off |
| Site engineer, supervision | AutoCAD (read and amend drawings) | MS Project (programming) | Reading BIM models (Navisworks) | Basic estimating |
| Architect, architectural technician | AutoCAD | Revit Architecture | SketchUp + Photoshop | 3ds Max, Lumion |
| MEP engineer | AutoCAD | Revit MEP | Discipline calculation software | Navisworks |
| Infrastructure, highways engineer | AutoCAD | Civil 3D | Estimating | Revit, GIS |
| Contractor's technical department | AutoCAD | Estimating and take-off | MS Project | Revit |
Three notes on using the table:
- AutoCAD appears in nearly every first column not because it is modern, but because it is still the common language: drawings from partners, older records and 2D details are all CAD. The level to reach is being able to produce a drawing to the presentation standard, not knowing every command.
- Revit sits in the second or third column, but it is moving forward. At large design firms and on state-funded projects of category II and above, Revit is already a condition of submission. Those projects must apply BIM under Decree 217/2026/ND-CP, which covers new works of grade II and above from 1 July 2026.
- Reading drawings is not software, but it heads the estimating column for a reason: an estimator who misreads the drawing gets wrong numbers out of every package downstream.
How employers test new graduates
Knowing how you will be tested tells you what to concentrate on. These are the formats our students report after interviews.
A test at the computer, 30–60 minutes. Most common for technician and structural roles. You are given a drawing or a small brief and have to produce something on the spot: lay out a plan in AutoCAD, model a small frame in Revit, or run a simple beam in SAP2000. What is marked is not only the result but the method: are the layers right, did you use objects rather than loose lines, do you check your own output.
A question about a real problem. "These are the forces in the beam — do they look reasonable to you?" "How would you measure the steel here?" This is where people who understand are separated from people who press buttons. No software helps if the underlying knowledge is not there.
Looking at work you bring. Your graduation project, a model you built, a set of drawings you produced. One complete Revit model of your graduation project usually convinces more than three certificates.
Which leads to the rule: learning software has to be tied to producing one complete piece of work, not to watching every tutorial.
A six-month plan: what to learn first and what later
Suppose you have just graduated, are not yet working, and have chosen a role. This is the plan our lecturers usually recommend.
Months 1–2: the first tool, and one complete piece of work. For most roles that means AutoCAD. The goal is not "finish AutoCAD" but to produce one full set of drawings — the structural drawings of your graduation project, for instance — to a proper presentation standard. If you already used AutoCAD well as a student, cut this to two weeks and spend them standardising your habits.
Months 2–4: the second tool, with the underlying theory alongside. This is the tool that earns money in your role: ETABS for structural work — the content of the ETABS – SAFE high-rise design course — estimating for QS work, Revit for technicians. In parallel, revise exactly the theory that tool needs: structural mechanics, norms and unit rates, or building construction.
Months 4–6: start applying, and learn the third tool while you wait. Do not wait until you feel "good enough" to send applications. With two tools at working level you will pass the test at most companies. Learn the third once you are employed, when you know precisely what the company needs.
On this plan, most of our students find work within four to six months of graduating. The ones who "learn everything" usually take twice as long and still have a thin portfolio.
The three most common mistakes
Learning the newest version instead of the one the company uses. You learn Revit 2027 while the company you are applying to is still on 2022 and cannot open your file. Ask first, or learn on the common version and update later — changing version takes an afternoon.
Collecting certificates. Five certificates at introductory level are worth less than one complete piece of work. A certificate matters when it comes with real ability and is issued by a credible body; Which BIM certificate is worth having in Vietnam? goes into this.
Skipping Excel. It is not a discipline tool, but estimators, QS engineers and site engineers use Excel more than any other program. Lookup functions, pivot summaries, cross-checking quantities — this comes up at interview and almost nobody prepares for it.
Advice from people who have been through it
Many of the Institute's former students are now lead structural engineers, heads of estimating departments or BIM managers. Asked "what would you learn if you started again", the most frequent answer is: "fewer things, but properly, and make something real as early as possible".
They stress one more point: new graduates consistently underrate drawing-reading and overrate software. On site, the person who reads a drawing quickly and spots the error in it is worth more than the person who builds a handsome model. If that is your weak point, How to read construction drawings is where to start.
In one line: choose the role, then learn the three tools of that role in order. And produce one complete piece of work before you go to an interview.
If you want to follow that path with practising engineers teaching, the Institute's courses are arranged by job role. New structural engineers usually take AutoCAD course and then ETABS – SAFE for high-rise design. Estimators take Construction Cost Estimating. Technicians and architects follow the Revit route.
Frequently asked questions
Is it too late to learn software after graduating?
No. Most of the people on our courses have already graduated; some have been working for a year or two in another field. What matters is choosing a role and following the order, not the age at which you start.
Should I learn Revit or AutoCAD first?
AutoCAD, for almost every role. It is faster to reach a usable level, and every company still handles CAD files. Revit comes second, and for BIM-oriented roles it becomes the main tool.
Is a certificate necessary to apply for a job?
Not necessary, but useful for getting through the CV screening, especially for candidates from other fields. What decides the interview is the work you bring and the answers you give about the underlying theory.
Can I learn from free material online?
For basic operation, yes. What free material does not give you is somebody correcting your habits, a complete real project to work on, and an answer to "is this result plausible" — the three things that separate operating a program from doing the job.
How much does software knowledge affect starting salary?
Less than people expect at entry level, and more than they expect after two years. A new graduate who is genuinely usable in the first month tends to be given real work sooner, and that is what moves the salary.