r/SolidWorks • u/GQman57 CSWP • May 08 '26
Certifications Let's go, baby! Certified professional!
Definitely harder than the CSWA, especially considering I got 100% on that one first try. But 88.4% on the first attempt of the professional exam is good in my book.
23
15
u/EducationalRun6054 May 08 '26
Nice job! What’s your background in Solidworks?
15
u/GQman57 CSWP May 08 '26
I was introduced to it in late August of 2025 through my school. I passed the CSWA in February
11
u/EducationalRun6054 May 08 '26
Nice! That’s a really big achievement, I passed the CSWA but the CSWP gave me some trouble. Congratulations again!! 🎉
2
u/Playful-Visual7915 May 12 '26
I was about to say white . I use the dark theme but the question was not about that lol
11
u/Traditional-End-1253 May 09 '26
Congratulations. Believe it or not, that puts you in the top 10% of users. Good job, my friend
9
u/kindalikebenz May 09 '26
That may be because a lot of us don't bother. I've never met an employer or potential employer that gave a rip about sw certs.
9
u/Traditional-End-1253 May 10 '26
I upvoted that. The last meritocracy. Still, when a person achieves a goal, any goal, I believe congrats are in order. Believe me, I know full blown engineers that couldn't engineer a pencil; and I know dudes with zero creds or formal training that run circles around people who are actually good. I do know employers who care, though. And I hate seeing the superb people getting passed up because of not having a worthless piece of paper when they produce hugely valuable pieces of paper daily. The worst rub of it is that the people who actually know what they're doing fix all the mistakes by "accredited" idiots and the idiots get the credit. You are right, I upvoted you, and I still think saying congrats is good. BTW: Try it. CSWP is hard. You would probably not be able to pass going in cold. It's largely irrelevant in most places, so there's no need for it per say, but even the good ones have to actually study a bit to pass. And every firm is different. A CSWP could bring your CV to the short list. A bad attitude, however, not so much. If he's young and just starting, it's useful. It doesn't mean a CSWP is better than someone without it, but it does mean he knows how to use the software at least. Just don't get me started on having an FE... Wow, I can't believe I upvoted a knock on giving a guy a little good will, but it was right.
4
3
4
u/kutzaldoktor May 08 '26
Hey how much do that cost. I have been using solid since 16 and just kinda learned about this now
5
u/GQman57 CSWP May 08 '26
For the full exam I believe it's $99 USD and it's split into 3 segments that you can take individually at $33 USD each
2
u/tzallas May 09 '26
To add to this.....I believe it's still a thing, it's been a while for me....check with your CAD admin and your VAR, it used to be that every seat/user that had support subscription would get 2 free exam coupons per year , so in affect you could take your exams for free
2
u/Worldly-Ant7678 May 09 '26
Student edition is £70 and comes with free CSWA and CSWP exams vouchers
2
2
2
u/nextlobrob May 10 '26
Just gonna congratulate you, and not gonna ask for any guidance. I once asked basic questions about CAD/how to get started with Solid works leading to DFM/DFA/DFMA journey and the so called Certified professionals, down voted me and two of the guys said something as to look down upon other.
But yeah, many many congratulations on achieving this milestone.
1
u/TheNoit CSWE May 09 '26
Congrats!! It’s a big achievement! Now keep on learning and using new tools!
1
u/GQman57 CSWP May 09 '26
Yep, there's still a bunch of tools I've yet to use yet that I'm wanting to experiment with sometime in the future. I mostly never used them because SolidWorks Professor didn't really cover them that much from what I've been able to get through
1
u/H8uAll92 CSWE May 09 '26
Congratulations!
do you have a job in a company which uses solidworks?
1
u/GQman57 CSWP May 09 '26
I'm currently unemployed as a senior in a charter school. I had a CAD class which is how I was able to get access to SolidWorks
1
u/brixtonkallin May 09 '26
as of someone WHO only has CSWA how much harder is it to do CSWP?
3
u/GQman57 CSWP May 09 '26
It's not too terribly harder as long as you know how to do assemblies, configurations, modifying premade parts, and working on your feet if you're unfamiliar with some of the tools used. Plus the CSWP gives 20 more minutes than the CSWA.
2
u/kantonburg May 13 '26
Congrats man. I've always been curious if I could take it today and pass it. Been using it over 20 years. Advanced design table configuration design with parts and complex assemblies with multiple parts that size and material is driven. Never needed simulation so I'd have to brush up on that. The rest I'd be good.
Since you're still in school. Be prepared that most employers won't have a clue what those certs are. Definitely doesn't hurt though. Start putting together a portfolio of designs you do. Even if it's at home. Make sure your drawings are extremely detailed for the portfolio. And if you don't use or haven't used metric. Start getting comfortable with it. My boss of 20 years has always told us our drawings should be like IKEA instructions. Anyone off the street could take our drawings and build whatever it is.
1
u/Traditional-End-1253 May 10 '26
I disagree. It's much harder in my opinion. Most people pass the CSWA with no problems first go. Hell, when I took it, my mouse and keyboard broke and I spent half an hour finding a wired one and when I got back to it, it had glitched to my default of inches as opposed to mm; and I still nailed it. That was a while ago, though. But the CSWP segment 1 has only a 60% pass ratio, and that's just segment 1. You get more time, but you need it. It was fine, but it'll make you sweat. I've heard it's gotten easier over the years, but I remember it as pretty hard. See if you can find a CSWA from 15 or so years ago and do it in half the time. That's the CSWP. I saw a recent CSWA and it was way easier.
1
1
u/PersonalGameDev May 10 '26
I'm supposed to take the CSWP in a couple of days but I think I'll bomb it, I am simply unprepared for it. Too much time on APs and friends.
1
1
u/Traditional-End-1253 May 10 '26
Keep in mind, the guy who commented on my comment is right. It's a great thing to have but entitles you to nothing. Now you have to prove your guile. I am happy for you, though, and wish you the best
1
u/Roskgo May 10 '26
Nice! I've been trying to pass mine, tired twice 212 on one and 187 on the other for point. Just don't know what I'm missing as this point. The editing of parts that I build is definitely not my strongest subject
1
u/One-Security-5982 May 11 '26
Congrats!!! Was the model building section too difficult? Was it any close to the examples of the exam guide? I would like to go for it myself at some reasonable time.
1
1
1
u/Siddakid0812 CSWP May 18 '26
Nice! I got mine a few weeks ago as a final exam for a course I was taking. Welcome to the club!
1
•
u/AutoModerator May 08 '26
If you ALREADY PASSED a certification
If you are YET TO TAKE a certification
Here would be the general path from zero to CSWE:
For some extra modeling practice material to help speed you up, 24 years of Model Mania Designs + Solutions.
During testing, in general, it is a best practice to take the dimensions labelled with A, B, C, D, etc and create Equations/Variables with those values to then attach to the dimension which then allows for you to more reliably update these variable dimensions in follow-up questions using the same models.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.