[BurrMan]

Adam is correct in his last post.... Having a "cert" is meaningless (hence my last post) unless you "ARE" certified.. The people hiring need to be aware of this and act accordingly... Also, "not having a cert" is by no means a degradation... A cert or college professional has "nothing" on anybody.. They (the schools) are pumping out "ex sponsors" of their school. Nothing more...

If Adam actually does a CERT, and puts in the time to actually know and understand what he is doing (Certainly not any "semester course???) Then he will be a very knowledgeable fellow.. "Cramming a CERT" leaves you with an individual that, in 2 months will be searching for menus with a vague memory of what he is searching for, with absolutley NO knowledge of why and for what reason he is looking for something that seemed familiar...

Adam, the CERT is a means for you to use your drive to become very skilled at what you want to do.. "Having the CERT", is pretty much desk clutter...

Your boss will know the difference.

[Stampede]

I just heard about this from a friend, and I'm interested. Can someone give me the run down on how this works, on be coming certified? Does SolidWorks give you how to's, and or videos?

Thanks.

[BurrMan]

Hi Stampede,
You can gather some info here:

MCAD Certification Programs for SolidWorks Software SolidWorks

But usually you would take some type of course that would prep you for the exam.. Like a colledge course.. Then just log on and pass the test...

[jupdyke]

Stampede,

It is a pretty straightforward process. The exams are offered online and are can be taken whenever you want to. You purchase a code online and then download the testing program. When you want to start you enter the code and start the exam. If you pass (score higher the 70% I believe) you will be notified immediately after the exam.

They have a sample exam for the CSWA on SolidWorks website. The CSWA exam is meant for someone who has been using SolidWorks for about a year. But to be honest if you apply yourself you could pass it without much trouble after a semester long class. The A students in my class had little trouble passing. But we had 3 classes a week for 3 hours each and without trying to brag I know much more about SolidWorks then most instructors. I am not trying to say I am very skilled, but rather that most instructors simply know the minimum to teach the class.

The CSWP is much more difficult and meant to really show that you know your stuff. I took the exam before it became an online exam. I had used SolidWorks for about 4 years regularly and really studied up before the exam.

This link should tell you everything you need to know and has a sample exam. If you can do the sample exam without any hesitation you should be perfectly fine for the CSWA.
Certified SolidWorks Associate Exam | SolidWorks

josh

[Adam Baker]

I found out this week that I will most likely be able to get a voucher from the regional salesman for the company that sells Solidworks to both the Community College where I'm taking the class and the company I work for, so I'm going to be looking into that this week. Hopefully I'll be able to take the exam in the next few weeks.

[giz]

3D Engineer is a great resource when studying for the exam.

Good luck.

[Adam Baker]

Thanks! That site is definitely helpful.

I've spent some time working on the practice exam, and I have to say it was very worth the time to do it. I learned a couple tricks I didn't know about, that will make taking the real exam a lot easier and quite a bit quicker, and will definitely help when working on drawings for work & class.

[Stampede]

What if you fail the test, can you retake it or do you have to pay for another test?

Thanks.

[Adam Baker]

You have to pay for it every time you take it. So if you take it, and fail, you have to pay to take it again.

[SSN Vet]

I run a small engineering department and hire a CAD jockey about every other year.

I think the cert. has some value.... If nothing else, it tells me that you followed through and completed something and that at one point in time somebody thought you knew something.

I can't tell you how many applications I've seen that say "CAD experience" or such. That may get your resume past HR and to my desk, but I'm going to ask you pointed questions about HOW MUCH TIME IN THE SADDLE you really have.

I'm much more interested in how much work experience you have with the applications we use daily and less concerned with coursework.

But cert. or no cert, classes or experience..... EVERYONE I hire sits down at my desk and takes my home grown basic proficiency test. They also fold up some samples to see if they can "see" in 3D, and ........ they get some shotgun math questions.

We spec. everything in fractions, and if you can't tell me what 3/4 + 1/8 = , in about 2 seconds.... the interview is over in my head (though I'll be polite and ask a few more questions). You would not believe how many people (even college graduates) can't do basic math in their head.

The guys that impressed me the most came with a portfolio of their most challenging work.

[BurrMan]

It's 7/8's, but it looks like it took me about 5 hours and 42 minutes to reply!

[cncwoody59]

It seems like around here the employers that are wanting to hire all are looking at only one thing is that you have at least 5-10 years experience in the field and are a machinest and cnc programmer whether it be one like Mastercam or any else they use.
If you have the certification on top of that than it is fine. But they are bundling the two titles together to lower the wage and still require you have the years in the field doing it.
The only problem that is the recruiters are finding is there are people that have the programming CAD/CAM experience and knowledge whether being certified or not but don't have the 5 to 10 years in the field to back it up. So they will not consider you.
Good luck

[Adam Baker]

Just thought I'd post back up that I successfully completed the CSWA certification exam this evening. Made a 100% on it.

Hopefully by the end of the year I will be able to complete the CWSP certification exam.

[Adam Baker]

Correct. If you fail, you have to pay for it again.

[BurrMan]

Congrats Adam!

[bdcoburn]

Hello-
I work in a small, tool & die shop that designs & makes mainly thermoforming and injection mold tooling. I spend probably 75% of my time designing, detailing prints, or programming G-code. I've been using Solidworks and Mastercam since the late 90's when I was getting my BS in Mech Engineering. When I was in college, we had a crash course in solidworks which took about 2 hrs. We were expected to learn it and other software on our own. I can not recall one engineer or tech that I have dealt with over the last 10+ yrs that had a SW certification.

[mafitch7479]

I decided to get a certification just because it was free with our SW subscription at work. So I went through it the last two evenings and passed my CSWP! Now all I gotta do is figure out if it's actually worth anything lol

[SirDenisNayland]

It seems like around here the employers that are wanting to hire all are looking at only one thing is that you have at least 5-10 years experience in the field and are a machinest and cnc programmer whether it be one like Mastercam or any else they use.
If you have the certification on top of that than it is fine. But they are bundling the two titles together to lower the wage and still require you have the years in the field doing it.
The only problem that is the recruiters are finding is there are people that have the programming CAD/CAM experience and knowledge whether being certified or not but don't have the 5 to 10 years in the field to back it up. So they will not consider you.
Good luck

The reason employers have jumped to prerequisites of five to ten years experience in X program or Y skill is because of the stated dilution in this thread. I can't tell you how many twenty year machinists are eclipsed by myself, someone with barely three years at it. What they are doing is hopefully guaranteeing that someone worth their while applies. Youd be surprised how many twenty year veterans spent those twenty years plugging parts on a machine doing minimal set up, yet they can claim they have been at it that long and with such a number comes confidence that they truly know everything like the back of their hand which isn't the case. Now take that same guy at his two year point and obviously he will know even less. The same applies to any form of software. A guy may have ten years of Solidworks experience but he used it maybe once a week and only used it to do simple 2.5d solids or even less, with minimal thought or actual use of the capabilities and then imported it into a cam software which produced code, all in a longer time span than it would take me to take the print and manually program the part at the machine.

For this reason I personally always ignore such prerequisites, I know why theyre there, and with the confidence I have, which anyone with true real applicable skills should have, I am able to work around such things. If you really have the stuff you should be able to fully articulate this in an interview. Interviews are simply conversations, many people look at them the wrong way, as if you have to mold yourself and answer every question they ask correctly. Actually talk about yourself, back up things, and if the person isn't that technical, dumb things down to a manner they can understand, that alone shows you know your stuff.

Never short sell yourself. If you truly know what you are doing, no years experience prerequisite should affect you, it should not make you feel uncomfortable. I can't tell you the number of interviews ive gotten over the years with a simple detail of myself, my abilities and my goals, all without even forwarding a resume. The way you carry yourself speaks more than anything.

[Jagrolet]

This is an old thread, but I really don't care about the certification. I work in the Aerospace and defense world, and have been designing spaceflight hardware, commercial aviation hardware, and military hardware.
What I want to know is if you can design to requirements that satisfy the statement of work.
Let me use my "famous" analogy on you guys....

So, you can use Microsoft word right? (your nodding your head yes and smiling) Now go write me a best selling Novel.

Just because you can use the tool, does not mean you can design. I would rather have an uncertified but great designer, than a really efficient certified guy who dosnt know how things go together. (Yes, I've seen it...)

[aarggh]

That might be true for your preferences, or a smaller shop, or a shop where the people who hire don't have to answer to bean counters and have a lot of flexibility, but for the majority of companies the certifications are the per-requisites for your resume to make it from the "applied" pile to the "follow-up" pile.

Increasingly over the years the people hiring have decreasing skills in the area they are responsible for hiring people in, and are dictated to by HR and personnel management as to what the criteria are, so the easy option is to demand industry standard certs, so the blowback doesn't hit them if the hiree doesn't work out.

It's like the old adage in IT, "No-one ever got fired for buying Microsoft or Cisco!".

cheers, Ian