Autodesk - 12 month student version of software for unemployed folks

glottis8

Thought this was worth mentioning to people out there that wanna polish their skills, but perhaps say "i don't have the money right now"

http://students.autodesk.com/?nd=assistance_home

"
In these uncertain economic times, many companies have had to let good people go. If you were one of them, you might be wondering how to advance your career in this challenging global job market.
With unemployment soaring to new heights, students and out-of-work professionals are increasing their knowledge and expanding their skills to prepare for re-entry into the job market. And the good news is that Autodesk can help you get back in the game. With the Autodesk Assistance Program you can take action today to gain a competitive advantage in your field. The program offers:

• Free* Software License: Student licenses of over 25 Autodesk® products including AutoCAD® software and other industry focused products supporting Building Information Modeling and Digital Prototyping technology.
• Free Online Training: On-demand training available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. (requires internet access)
• Classroom Training: Many Autodesk Authorized Value Added Resellers and Autodesk Training Center (ATC®) partners are offering classroom training at their facilities at a discounted price for Autodesk Assistance Program members. (Offers vary by partner, please check with your local ATC or Reseller to get details)
• Certification: Certification preparation and exams available at discounted rates through Autodesk Authorized Certification Centers (Offerings will vary, please check with your local Certification Center to get details)
• Software Discounts: Commercial product discounts are available for select products exclusively for Autodesk Assistance Program members, or employers that hire them. Contact your local Autodesk Authorized Value Added Reseller for more information about this and other programs. (approval by an Autodesk Territory Manager is required)"

Entity

I'm using one of their student licenses myself for Maya and Mudbox. Say what you want about Autodesk but this really is a good move on their part.

Tom Ellis

Yep, gotta hand it to AD for this one. I've been on their student program for a while now and it's amazing to have access to legit versions of any of their software.

Also, a heads up to those about to graduate, and didn't know about their upgrade policy: About to graduate? Thinking 'how the hell am I gonna find $3,500 to purchase a license? How does a $2200 discount sound?

http://students.autodesk.com/ama/orig/Autodesk_Graduating_Student_Discount_Program_10282009_FINAL.pdf

Cyrael

Agreed. I was a little (well a lot) concerned with most of the major industry standard 3d packages being under one roof, but they have been offering amazing promotions like these and still continue to provide excellent updates.

Poribo

creationtwentytwo wrote: »

Yep, gotta hand it to AD for this one. I've been on their student program for a while now and it's amazing to have access to legit versions of any of their software.

Also, a heads up to those about to graduate, and didn't know about their upgrade policy: About to graduate? Thinking 'how the hell am I gonna find $3,500 to purchase a license? How does a $2200 discount sound?

http://students.autodesk.com/ama/orig/Autodesk_Graduating_Student_Discount_Program_10282009_FINAL.pdf

In that PDF it says:

Who is eligible to participate in this program?
The following partners are eligible to participate in this program.
- MSD authorized direct and indirect commercial resellers in the United States and
Canada
- M&E authorized direct and indirect commercial resellers in the United States and
Canada

---

So does that mean you can only get the discount from US and Canda resellers?

Ged

sounds cool, is it possible for someone who currently has a game industry job but his company is thinking of changing to maya to get some kind of learning licence for maya for home?

Krypteia

It'd be nice to have something similar to the educational license for us who haven't started in the industry yet/hobbyists/self-learners/fence-riders-indecisive-and/or-lazy-people-who-didn't-learn-all-they-should-or-put-the-required-face-time-in-while-at-college. (ha)

I graduated from college about a year and a half ago - so I can't legitimately use the student portal. I still have the academic version of Maya 8.5 though - but I wouldn't argue with a bump up to the latest version without spending a few thousand dollars. ;-)

This is a great deal for students and unemployed industry vets, for sure.

Lamont

Krypteia wrote: »

It'd be nice to have something similar to the educational license for us who haven't started in the industry yet/hobbyists/self-learners/fence-riders-indecisive-and/or-lazy-people-who-didn't-learn-all-they-should-or-put-the-required-face-time-in-while-at-college. (ha)

I graduated from college about a year and a half ago - so I can't legitimately use the student portal. I still have the academic version of Maya 8.5 though - but I wouldn't argue with a bump up to the latest version without spending a few thousand dollars. ;-)

This is a great deal for students and unemployed industry vets, for sure.

THere is also the "I lost meh jerbs" version (same as student).

This AD program has been going on for about 2.4 years. Great stuff.

Tom Ellis

nightFlarer wrote: »

In that PDF it says:

So does that mean you can only get the discount from US and Canda resellers?

I'm looking into this. I'm about to graduate and spoke to Autodesk UK who referred me to my local reseller (BlueGFX). I contacted the reseller and they're talking to AD about it, apparently my serial came back as 'cannot upgrade'.

According to BlueGFX, before AD gave away the free licenses to students, you could upgrade from the paid student versions (about £140 for 12 months license) to the full version for £500. So hopefully something is in place for those of us outside the US.

fearian

creationtwentytwo wrote: »

Yep, gotta hand it to AD for this one. I've been on their student program for a while now and it's amazing to have access to legit versions of any of their software.

Also, a heads up to those about to graduate, and didn't know about their upgrade policy: About to graduate? Thinking 'how the hell am I gonna find $3,500 to purchase a license? How does a $2200 discount sound?

http://students.autodesk.com/ama/orig/Autodesk_Graduating_Student_Discount_Program_10282009_FINAL.pdf

Wow didn't know about that, thanks for the heads up!

I've been using the free student licence for a while now, and I'm pretty sure it's a 3 year licence. I'm graduating this year, but I assume I can still use the software for the full 3 years? Or should I have been more quiet about that... :P

man_o_mule

Sorry to dig up an old thread but i just found out about this. I've kinda moved on from doing 3D art but was looking to see if sketchbook pro had been updated when i found out about this. I think it's amazing that autodesk took it upon themselves to do this. I always hated having to be a poor student and trying to buy a $3k program just to LEARN it. I think this trend will cut down on piracy quite a bit. anyone who is actually making money using the program is going to fork out the money anyway.

Now if only adobe would follow suit. I think $200 for the academic version of photoshop is still kinda silly. Companys should stop trying to fleece money out of students.

System

man_o_mule wrote: »

Now if only adobe would follow suit. I think $200 for the academic version of photoshop is still kinda silly. Companys should stop trying to fleece money out of students.

+1.

Autodesk are very very smart for doing this. They know people are probably gonna pirate it anyway, but at least if they give it away for free then they've got their future customers locked in whist they're students.

I looked into Cinema4D earlier this year because once I graduate later this year I'll be purchasing a license of one of the big few 3D apps, but they only have like a £400 student edition, so I've gone with Maya and Autodesk will be getting my money and not Maxon for that very reason.

Lazerus Reborn

Been using the student 3ds max 2010/2012 version for the last year. Its free for university students in the Uk. Which is bloody handy.

jimmypopali

IMPORTANT: The Autodesk Assistance Program is currently available only in Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Poland, Portugal, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

[Deleted User]

Does anyone know if this applies to students who have graduated but have never been employed in the field? Their FAQ says for qualification you need to be "either a veteran or unemployed individual who has previously worked in the architecture, engineering, design or manufacturing industries". I graduated 8 years ago and I'm currently unemployed, but I've never worked as an artist. Am I just SOL?

Ben Apuna

Sorry fly_soup. I think you are SOL

Some people over on the Luxology forums were downloading and installing the software under the "Home Schooling" option (as in using the software to learn at home, while not being enrolled in a educational institution). However Autodesk says this is not ok...

IkariShinji(from the Luxology forum) wrote:

I don't want to add further confusion to the "Home Schooling" matter, but as it seems Autodesk's answers to corresponding inquiries are not quite consistent.

I sent them almost exactly the same email as Chris Puzzle Provine (posted above), but got this answer:

Thank you for contacting the Autodesk Education Community Support Team.

The license agreement states that you must be attending a secondary or post secondary school to qualify. Home schooling students qualify under secondary education. If you have surpassed both secondary and post secondary education, then you will not be qualified to use this software.

As a matter of fact English is not my mother tongue, but what I understand from that email is that home schooling in a sense of 'life-long learning' is not enough to qualify without being attended to any kind of school. No?

EDIT:

The thread:

http://forums.luxology.com/discussion/topic.aspx?id=58480