CSWP errors

[Manifolddesigner]

Howdy guys,
I'd like to get your $.02 on this.
I took my CSWA and all 3 CSWP tests yesterday. I noticed there are some serious problems with all 4 tests.
First, I’ve got about 8000hrs of solidworks seat time. I placed in the top 3 in the international design competition several years ago. I’m more than competent. I didn’t realize the certifications were so cheap or I would have done those years ago.
There were several multiple choice questions where my answer kept coming up off by several decimal places, which would freak me out. On the CSWA I finished the test over 2 hours early, but spent nearly 20 minutes going over several questions EXTREMELY carefully and I would finally throw my hands up and click on the closest one. I got all the CSWA questions right. Even though my answers were slightly different than the options presented.
During the CSWP there were questions that weren’t multiple choice e.g. “put your answer in the box”, and these really freaked me out, because if I was getting answers off by a little bit in the multiple choice, how could my answer be correct???

I have to imagine this is an issue w/ x64 having a higher mathematical accuracy.
I run windows xp x64 and I just got the stimulus student version x64.

Also, I think it was question 1 of the CSWA “which unit system is available in the welcome screen options” or something like that. My solidworks kept my settings (thank god) from a previous version and I don’t have a normal welcome screen. So I had to guess.

Also on the CSWP#2 the design table caused solidworks to crash several times and give an error, something about excel 2003 too old? This put me seriously behind on time and this was the only question I missed. Not cool.

I've reported the problem to sw, waiting to hear back.

JM

 

[SBaugh]

This is one reason they should have kept the 8 hour test at SW world or through the VAR's At least then you had someone there to see or help out with a computer issue.

The 8 hour test I took in 2001 at the time I had 6 years of experience and I only finished 45 minutes early and was the 2nd one to leave. Even though the test is only 2 hours now... I think its still easier than the 8 hour one, still hard for some users.

Usually if you crashed or something during your test contacting your Var is the first action then they will get with SW to help you take care of the issue.

Regards,

Scott Baugh, CSWP

http://www.scottjbaugh.com

"If it's not broke, Don't fix it!"

faq731-376

 

[Manifolddesigner]

Update,
I sent a similar message to the one posted to the solidworks certification guy, and he repsonded within 20 minutes w/ a phone call and was gracious to go over everything with me. He's the guy that designed and maintains the test.

Good to know there are some people out there that take pride in their work.

I'll let you know what we come up w/.

JM

 

[Manifolddesigner]

Note,
I do REALLY like the idea of online CSWP tests. And cheap!
SCREW going to SW World to take a test!

 

[ctopher]

JM,

I tried the test a few years ago, same problem. I have not tried since.

Chris
SolidWorks 09 SP4.1
ctopher's home
SolidWorks Legion

 

[JMirisola]

Like Scott, I took the 8-hour exam and think they should have stuck with it. However, the only way they could make it as cheap/free as it is today was by going online. The guys on the certification team are pretty adamant that the current exams are just as hard, but I'm not convinced. Sweating out an exam for 8 hours seems more trying than 3 2-hour exams, or whatever the length is.
That being said, units are a system setting, controlled by your templates, so that CSWA question makes no sense to me. As far as the decimal place issue, there is a known issue with dimension accuracy and an SPR is being worked on.

Jeff Mirisola, CSWP, Certified DriveWorks AE
CAD Administrator, Ultimate Survival Technologies
My Blog

 

[Gurjjeet]

I worked with a VAR for a breif period of time in 2006. they wanted me to go for CSWP. I saw my colleagues sweating to prepare for test(it was that old 8hours test. And their feedback was that the test was really tough & had a variety of questions from modelling to assembly & complex features etc. I never did thest as I left the VAR job for good.

But I did my test a year ago & to be honest, it is not about SolidWorks Proficiency or anything. They had some isometric pictures which were terriblly confusing. In the nutshell, it didnot test my SolidWorks skills but it only tested the determination to solve the isometric puzzle & ambigous questions within specified time.

It is one big money making excercise, i have heard in long term, SolidWorks want to make CSWP certification obselete with every new release. Now that is silly.

 

[SBaugh]

If you watch the Solidworks Blog at all you would see that they are looking at making some sort of master test that is suppose to be bigger and better than just having a CSWP its suppose to test all your skills. However that was all that was said because the rest of it was top secret. They will probably announce it at SW world I bet.

Regards,

Scott Baugh, CSWP

http://www.scottjbaugh.com

"If it's not broke, Don't fix it!"

faq731-376

 

[TCThornberry]

I had an issue to with part 3 of the CSWP. I called my service rep. and he said that not many people have been complaining about this issue. But he did mention this, sometimes the values of the Evaluation copy the materails are set to 3 decimal places(.XXX) not 4 like they say in the question. So he said u ma have to creat a custom materail to answer it. So if the volume is about 13000mm^3 times .0003(cause it is it s .0027g/mm^3 not .003g/mm^3) your going to be off by 3.9 grams that is almost 800% off. But they gave me another chance and said to take it after the 15 of this month so as not to have a repeat of the test and it was the same test. I did it in half the time and redid everything and practicly aced it. It is very strang. True it is nice to take it online but they should say what went wrong, not just say ohh your wrong, cause how else can we improve to pass it.

T.C.Thornberry
Mechanical Designer/Drafter

 

[fcsuper]

For the questions where are value is entered, there is a tolerance range within which the answer must fall. There isn't actually a precise number that must be hit.

I'm not sure of the value of the CSWP (older hard one or the current test). My assessment of the test pretty much matches the OP. They are supposedly fixing some of that in the newer versions of the test. But even the old 8 hour test did not go into all the skills necessary to use SW, and often focused way too much on minutia, from what I've heard.

Matt Lorono
Lorono's SolidWorks Resources & SolidWorks Legion

 

[TCThornberry]

FCSUPER,

The tolerence range is .5 grams plus or minus.

T.C.Thornberry
Mechanical Designer/Drafter