CSWP Test very off base in my opinion 11

[TitaniumLeg]

I took the CSWP test and I was disappointed in the overall format. I have never used the default SW hotkeys so why would I know what hotkeys do what (multiple choice). Can you use the flex and deform commands on the same part? No idea, never used either one. Never got to the assembly or drawing parts because I spent a bunch of time on a SW provided model to fix and the model was corrupted, even the instructor could not fix it. I got the actual modeling parts perfect and the assy and drawing sections would not have been an issue if there would have been time to do them. Seems to me that the test should be two different tests. One directed toward someone who primarily does industrial design (consumer products) and one directed towards mechanical design (building machines). I have been using SW for over 3 years on a daily basis and can usually do whatever needs to be done without issues. I am a mechanical designer and will probably never change fields to building telephones and toilets. In fact, I think it would be a better description of your skills to be able to be certified in different fields of SW expertise (sheetmetal, molds/dies, weldments, mechanical design, industrial design, etc.) I believe that there are many people out there that have a very focused line of work and those people should be able to be certified for those fields. Some things do cross over, like assembly modeling and drawings. Those are things that would be common to all tests. The way it stands now is someone who has no idea how to make a weldment could easily pass the test if they know other aspects of SW.

Did I fail - Yep, I sure did ($300 bucks down the drain). Honestly I not complaining because I failed but now that I have taken it, I do not believe that it is a good meausre of someones SW actual skills. It's just too broad. Maybe there could also be a CSWPM (Certified Solidworks Professional Master) for those people who work with all the aspects and functionality of SW.

Comments welcome....

 

[SBaugh]

That’s what being a CSWP is all about... knowing all of the SW and not just what you do... if that was the case everyone would be a CSWP for their own areas. That would be pointless... CSWP Means "[red]C[/red]ertified [red]S[/red]olid[red]W[/red]orks [red]P[/red]rofessional" Professional... you have to understand and know multiple parts of SW and not just what you do on an everyday basis... I have seen many people think that it's just about what they know and its not... You should have contacted your VAR, they would have prepared you for it.

It’s not a waste of money because now you know what you need to learn next time if you decide to take it... I was the 2nd person in Indiana to get mine as a user. Now I not only still have my CSWP, but I also have my CSWST (Support Technician) and you think the CSWP is hard its double everything and you didn't get your choice of models you have to do them all and they have to correct without any mistakes or very few mistakes.

Regards,



Scott Baugh, CSWP

http://www.scottjbaugh.com

faq731-376

 

[ctopher]

You could chalk it up as a $300 learning course. Now you know what to expect, take it again.
I do agree that maybe there could be separate degrees of the exam. I suggest sending them your suggestion.

Chris
SolidWorks 06 5.1/PDMWorks 06
AutoCAD 06
ctopher's home (updated 02-10-07)

 

[smcadman]

I've never taken it, but you can download a CSWP planning sheet at

http://www.solidworks.com/pages/services/Training/CSWP.html

Note training is emphasized.

There are free training files at

http://www.solidworks.com/pages/services/Training/training.html

I do not use animator, cosmos, surfaces, fastening features, mold tools, weldments, and many other tools. I wouldn't even take the test until I knew what was expected. $300 isn't a cheap lesson to learn.

SW07 SP2.0

Flores

 

[TitaniumLeg]

Pointless? I strongly disagree. How many users out there would need to know things from the whole spectrum of SW functionality to perform thier job duties? How does knowing the default SW hotkeys make me a better designer? Maybe I use my own HKs or none at all. That is absolutely a personal preference and has nothing to do with a persons SW skills.

Having a CSWP is supposted to be a reassurance to the prospective employer that they are hiring someone with an advanced knowledge of solidworks and according to the SW website, this person should be able to walk into just about any typical design situation and handle it with ease. Well, if that situation is a weldment that CSWP might just sink like a rock because I do not remember 1 weldment question.

If a company that makes structural frames is looking to hire, they want to hire someone who knows weldments. They do not care if he can make a sheetmetal enclosure or if he knows the default SW hot key for toggeling the filters on and off. They could interview 10 CSWP's and maybe none know weldments and wasted everyones time. Now, if they interviewed 10 CSWWP's (Weldment Professionals) they would no doubt have 10 very qualified people for the job.

What makes more sense? Again, this is just my opinion but it seems to be a more accurate view of a persons SW skills if the exams were more industry specific. I thought this was the whole idea, an accurate reperesentation of skills.

I definatley will send the suggestion to SW.

 

[ctopher]

"How does knowing the default SW hotkeys make me a better designer?"
You will never know until you start using them ... or any other function.
I think it is a good suggestion to turn in ... any suggestion from a user to SW is good for them.
It is good to know as much as possible of all aspects of SW. Just because there is the sheetmetal tools doesn't mean you have to be a sheetmetal designer. You can use the SM features for a lot of features in other designs. The same for other tools.
So, my suggestion, read up and take courses, then retake the exam. You will find that there is a lot you will learn that you wished you knew before.

Chris
SolidWorks 06 5.1/PDMWorks 06
AutoCAD 06
ctopher's home (updated 02-10-07)

 

[TheTick]

The CSWP test is to evaluate mastery (or at least journeyman-ship) of SW. This includes knowing things you may not use. The "P" is for "Professional". There's nothing very professional about being content with just a narrow band of operating skill.

 

[josephv]

Hi TitaniumLeg,

Sorry to hear about your CSWP experience.

But I do think Scott, Chris and The Tick make very good points.

When I wrote the CSWP, I found out which areas I needed to improve on.

You did mention having different levels of certification. FYI CATIA does something like this (they have Specialist and Expert levels):

http://www.3ds.com/education/certification/how-do-i-get-certified/catia-users/

Best wishes,

Joseph

 

[msjames1]

The Engineer In Training Exam - aka FE Exam - (an exam for professionals) is broken into two parts:

1) general engineering content
2) discipline specific content

If SolidWorks wants to design and market their product to a wider field of customers, they should do the same with their form of certification.

 

[zuccus]

I fired the only CSWP person working for me when I found out that he did't know what the hell he was drawing.

Sure he knew the software and could talk the talk, but that didn't cut it.

I know, different animal, but I don't put much faith in those test. My interview process now consit of walking out into the shop and the canidate has to tell me what he is looking at.

I can make time to show people things in the software that they may not have used before, but I don't have time to teach somebody how to be a designer.

Zuccus

 

[rikonen]

If I can ask without getting ripped a new Ahole, Are there employers who really care if your certified? I guess if your trying to get a job with a VAR or with Solidworks it would matter but in real life industry I don't see the relevence. I as an employer would be more interested in specific skills rather than broad knowledge though the overlaps do help at times. I make it a point that when I'm not very busy to take at least one thing I don't know how to use in Solidworks and learn how to use it at least a little bit. I printed out the customize keyboard list(which shows about everything there is in Solidworks) and pick things from that list that I don't know how to use. The list is long and covers many different industries. I am a mold designer, and don't care much about sheet metal but it was neat learning the specific functions primarily for sheet metal. I too ask potential employees to explain or show that they know what they are doing.

 

[SBaugh]

Then if you have a specific skill thats Great... but at this time don't think your going to get a CSWP because you only know one area of SW. Its been like this since the CSWP came out. It might change later, then again it might not.

None-the-less your opinion is your opinion, but you won't get sympathy from me, because a CSWP may not get me a job, might look good on a Resume, but like zuccus pointed out, if you don't know how to design, then what's the point of having a CSWP license... I guess its a good thing I can design then... or I would be screwed... and the cool thing is I have enough education that I can design using all the options in SW... it broadens my skills and allows more access to other job markets for me, besides just sheet metal or weldments... if the job requires some surfacing, imported files then hey I have a better chance then you at getting it, not because of my CSWP, but because I have had experience in it and use it more often.

Your right it's your Opinion and you can make your suggestions to SW, but don't complain about something that you should have researched more before dropping $300 dollars.

Regards,

Scott Baugh, CSWP

http://www.scottjbaugh.com

faq731-376

 

[SolidAir]

I also have to agree with Scott, Chris and The Tick. While at SolidWorks World I attended a breakout session on repairing imported models. I do not deal with the surface tools in my job but I found they can be very useful when trying to get an imported iges file to turn into a solid.

SA

 

[sldwkmin]

Zuccus did you fire that employee b/c they didn't know the software or they couldn't design? All a CSWP says is you know SolidWorks and you know it quite well in a lot of areas. My question to you would be. If you walk two people out on your floor and they prove their design ability and one has a CSWP and one does not and you only have one position, which would you hire? The CSWP is way to prove you don't need software training. I would like to know that about someone I am hiring.

Cole M
CSWP, CSWST, CSWI, CPDM
SW06
SW07
IBM T42p, 2g proc., 1g RAM,ATI Mobility Fire GL T2
HP XW4100, 3g proc., 3g RAM, Nvidia Quadro 980 XGL
HP XW4300, 3.4g proc, 2.5g RAM, ATI Fire GL 3100

 

[TitaniumLeg]

Scott -
WOW, nothing like getting bent out of shape. Maybe with your extensive SW knowledge you can use the flex and deform tool to straighten yourself out again. I am not sure how you misunderstood my intention here and I do not recall asking you for anything much less your sympathy.

I am not trying to offend anyone here but I see I have failed. This was supposed to be my opinion regarding an overview the the CSWP exam and how I feel it represents a persons actual skills.

At this time I am just saying that I think seperate tests would more closely represent a users true skills for the area of industry they are in, nothing more. The CSWP is probably great for those who have a broad knowledge of SW. However, that is not everyone.

 

[zuccus]

Slkwkmin,

Actually mostly about the design side, but some on the Solidworks side also. Our company is making the transition from AutoCAD 2D to Solidworks, I partially hired him hoping that he would help guide us in the right direction. He was also not very good about interacting in a multiuser enviroment with any CAD package.

We choose to go with solidworks because of the strong weldment package (2/3 of our work) it has and the pipe routing (1/3 of our work) seemed to be ok. He had no idea how to use either despite his claims.

I am guessing that they don't test either of these on the CSWP exam. I could be wrong here.

Zuccus

 

[ctopher]

TitaniumLeg,
You don't need extensive SW knowledge to use the flex and deform tools.

Chris
SolidWorks 06 5.1/PDMWorks 06
AutoCAD 06
ctopher's home (updated 02-10-07)

 

[Heckler]

There's nothing very professional about being content with just a narrow band of operating skill.

Good point.

So who is the most knowledgeable CSWP...someone that past the test five years ago or someone that past it in 2006? I firmly believe in continued education or recertification. This is a requirement for a lot if not all fields that have some form of professional certification.

Best Regards,

Heckler
Sr. Mechanical Engineer
SWx 2007 SP 2.0 & Pro/E 2001
Dell Precision 370
P4 3.6 GHz, 1GB RAM
XP Pro SP2.0
NVIDIA Quadro FX 1400
o
_`\(,_
(_)/ (_)

(In reference to David Beckham) "He can't kick with his left foot, he can't tackle, he can't head the ball and he doesn't score many goals. Apart from that, he'

 

[MadMango]

... I do not believe that it is a good meausre of someones SW actual skills.

The CSWP test gages your level of familiarity (not even mastery) with all areas of the program; it is not intended to concentrate on specific areas only. I think it is a good measure of a person’s familiarity with SolidWorks. I do not think it is an indicator of a person’s design skills, thought processes, or work experience.

I am not sure what lead you to believe that this test would not cover all areas of the program. Did you do any research into the CSWP exam before taking it? I know there are a few sample tests out there that provide good indications on what to expect when taking the CSWP.

I agree (to a point) that it would be nice to have more specific certifications available that were geared towards specific industries. The downside is that these specific certifications would do nothing but place limits on you as a perspective employee. Are you designing the same things you did 5yrs ago, 10yrs ago? When I see someone with a CSWP I see someone that has reached beyond their comfort zone to learn about all the capabilities of SW. It is something that I haven’t had the time, desire, or necessity to accomplish, but I respect it.

"Art without engineering is dreaming; Engineering without art is calculating."

Have you read faq731-376 to make the best use of Eng-Tips Forums?

 

[SBaugh]

TitaniumLeg,

You are complaining about the exam... that to me is a person that wants either sympathy or for everyone to agree. It's not going to happen, because there is too much gray area. I don't need to deform myself into anything... because I now voiced my opinion about this and you don't like... and I don't like yours... so see your not any better then. I choice my opinion that the CSWP exam is fine and if the break it out in specific groups that's their choice, but at this time its not if you don't like you know where to go... go complain to SW. But for now if you think the CSWP is that important you know what you have to study for next time.

We all have our opinions and you got mine twice... you don't have to agree with it either!


I am always expanding my knowledge of the software and the add-ins... with all the experience I get day in and day out I still have to get re-certified as a CSWST ever 2 years, but I think they changed that to 1 not sure at the moment. Supporting SW years ago was a piece of cake compared to today's standard. There are so many add-ins and stuff that comes standard with just standard SW that I have to keep up with it changing 2 times a year. Continually training is a necessary and should not be avoided. I am required when a Customer calls to know the answer well and you can't do that if you only knew a small portion of the software... yes I have been using the software since it came out in 95-96, but the changes compared to then would blow your mind if you could see it today. I know some of you remember the old SW.

Well TitaniumLeg that is my opinion about this CSWP and just because you didn't like the way they gave the test I don't think complaining about it here is going to really do much good. Because SW has done a lot for me and I have always protected it. So maybe I still have that chip, but it’s a great piece of software and I support it fully and have for the last 11 years. Now I do it as a job and get paid to help people with the software. Being on this site is what helped to understand the skill I have a problem solving and how much I enjoyed it. So good luck if you decide to take the test again... and as an Engineer hopefully next (if there is one) you will investigate your purchases better before making such a large commitment.

Best Regards,

Scott Baugh, CSWP

http://www.scottjbaugh.com

faq731-376