hello there,

I have been using solidworks for a couple of years now and have learned how to make is spin pretty good. the copy I was using was not exactly legal..... I thought to myself that it was time to purchase the program because it had lived up to all my expectations and actually can do alot more that I thought possible. Well you can imagine my surprise when I learned what this program costs!!!!! It costs 4000 for basic, 6000 for pro and 8000 whopping dollars for premium, with an additional 2000$ if you want any tech support and updates for a year. Now I understand that this program could be worth it for a company that is making money and I am not complaining about the price. but I am not a company and am not making any money with my new found skill. I want to know could it be worth it??? could I purchase this program and somehow freelance some design work in order to pay for the program if nothing else? It seems that it could take a long time to earn that much cake. Maybe I am wrong....

what is your experience? Is anyone here a freelance designer? could I earn this much in a timely manner(like within a year). where would I even find work like this? The reseller told me that 5-15% of his customers are private joe blows like me, and that it seems to work for them. This sounds like a sales pitch to me.

I want to be all legal with this program but I am not sure if I can. I would have to finance a purchase like this and would hate to lose my money.

maybe I should be thinking of alternatives?

what do you think??

thanks for your reply in advance.

mac