SolidProfessor - Comments 1

[MDGroup]

Has anyone used the SolidProfessor training courses?
The price isn't too bad, so I think learning just a few tips or the correct way to do some things will make it worth it.

Is it easy to work thru? Well set up?

Our company is looking into getting it. Can it be shared by all CAD users, or is it intended for the license to be for just one person?

Any feedback on your experience with it is appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[ctopher]

It has been a few years since I used it, but was good back then. I worked with some new-comers to SW that learned a lot from it.

Chris
SolidWorks 11
ctopher's home
SolidWorks Legion

 

[Eltron]

I think it is great for new users. As far as power users go, there isn't much that they will gain unless they use it to get familiar with parts of the software they don't use very often. It's worth a call to the guys at SolidProf. I've always found them to be very helpful.

Dan

http://www.eltronresearch.com

Dan's Blog

 

[DanStro]

Like ctopher it's been a while since I've used it, though I do get their monthly(?) newsletter that has video snippets.

I loved it. I got up to speed much better that I would have if I had just taken the intro class.

Han primo incensus

 

[JMirisola]

I agree with Dan and Chris, especially about the power user comment. I recommend it over VAR training as well.

Jeff Mirisola
My Blog

 

[MDGroup]

Thanks for the comments.

Jeff, that is what we were thinking. The VAR training for one person was ~$2500 and classes were limited to when they had enough people, so SolidProf seemed like a much more reasonable approach.
The highest end SolidProf was only ~$800 and I think it will be much easier to fit them into our schedules and therefore we will be more likely to get more out of it.

 

[mjcole]

I'd Recommend anything over VAR training which is based on making as much money as possible with as little Value Added Training Info. Some VARs are exceptions to this rule and will customize the SolidWorks training classes to teach the software and not read from the book.

The default SolidWorks training classes teach in a very point and click fashion for how they designed the software for use and tries to get you to buy a bunch of training classes when you are only looking to learn a few of the chapters of a Drawings or Advanced Assemblies class. Another thing about VAR training is that you'll be taking a class with people from several different companies with differing needs.

I would also not recommend the SolidProfessor training even to medium level SolidWorks users and definitely not advanced users. It's pretty easy to learn a lot about the software from help materials and forums like this one and the SolidWorks forums. The training approach by Solid Professor is in depth and may help out if basic trial and error methods are not getting you up to speed in time.

If you can answer most of the posted questions for the free emails they send out then it's probably not worth it for you but other people at your company may find it useful.

I used to work at a VAR and was disappointed at the skill level of many of the Application Engineers even ones who'd been there longer than I had been. There are some great VARs that are exceptions to that but not many.

Some VARs may allow you to get the training books for their classes without signing up for a class if you have an Advanced User at your company who'd be able to learn the material and teach it so you might want to check with them about that possibility. SolidProfessor would be a better deal if you are looking to learn topics from several functionality areas at a much cheaper overall cost.

Michael

"It's not the size of the Forum that matters, It's the Quality of the Posts"

Michael Cole
Boston, MA
CSWP, CSWI, CSWTS
Follow me on !w¡#$%
@ TrajPar - @ mcSldWrx2008
= ProE = SolidWorks

 

[JMirisola]

If I remember correctly, SolidProfessor has a multi-user training package that allows the CAD Admin, or whoever ovesees training, to track users' progress.
I disagree with Michael about mid-level users. There are specialized segments that SP offers (Simulation) that I think would be beneficial to mid-level users. Also, sometimes muddling through isn't the best course of action even for advanced users. Another benefit is that you can always go back and review. Especially useful when you haven't used that feature/tool/option in a while.

Jeff Mirisola
My Blog

 

[clarmr]

It is an excellent resource for those moving from another version of cad, new to solidworks, haven't used solidworks in while, don't use Solidworks much but you need to use it occasionally, or working on some new portion of Solidworks you have never worked before. Lastly, some of the videos are on you tube and go engineer has a channel as well which will have a great deal of these videos. I have it but have not used it in awhile. I was told that it is good for training purposes within a company. They have a web and cd/dvd version.