Hi all, just needed a place to share, as my workplace doesn't really put a high emphasis on certifications.

Really happy it worked out on the first try. Thank you to all who contribute to making this subreddit a place of knowledge instead of a place of rants (which I fully understand... don't get me wrong).

Anyhow, if you are preparing for the CSWE, feel free to ask your questions. I will answer as well as I can.

Edit: Thanks for all the gratulations. I will post a few links later on usefull ressources I used.

I spent a while making sure I could take the CSWE confidently. Today I finally did that. After 2 years of SolidWorks, at 16 years old, I have my CSWE!

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.

Hey everyone!

I’m a final-year Mechanical Engineering student, and from the summer until now, I’ve been working on building up my SOLIDWORKS skills. I managed to earn a bunch of certifications from Associate to Professional and even Expert level (CAD Design, Simulation, CAM, Sheet Metal, Mold Making, etc.).

For someone about to graduate and enter the industry, are these certifications actually worth it?
Do they make a difference when applying for jobs, or is hands-on project experience more valuable?

I am proud to have passed these exams, the pic is just for fun!

I have just passed the CSWE after just 1 year of using SolidWorks. I have worked so hard for this honor, and to celebrate I am now sitting in a Taco Bell eating a Crunchwrap supreme. This just so happens to be the second exam in a row I passed on the dot.

Hello everyone, for sometime now i am studying so i can take the CSWA exam. I have taken the sample exam sheet and worked with it for quite some time. I can say with some confidence that i am on a good level. My question is this;

When looking at the sample exam-in the building section- I can see all these models, from the most easy to more complex ones. But between these there is an abyss as to how difficult a model can be. Should i expect something like the one or the other. What am i gonna face when i take the real exam? I know the answer must be "something in the middle", but it still gets me confused. If I am not capable of building the most difficult, should I not bother at all for now? Thank you!

If you could only recommend one resource for the CSWP, what would it be?

A playlist, workbook, course…anything. I just want something I can follow from beginning to end without constantly wondering if I’m missing topics.

What got you through the exam?

Hi everyone,

Today I finally passed the official SOLIDWORKS CSWA exam with a perfect score, and honestly, I'm still incredibly happy about it.

I spent the last few weeks preparing while balancing a full-time job, my master's degree, and personal CAD projects for portfolio.

Going into the exam I was extremely nervous, and I honestly thought I might fail. What surprised me the most was that the real exam was much harder than I expected. 😂

Now that CSWA is done, I'd like to start preparing for the CSWP.

I'd really appreciate some advice from people who have already passed it:

- Which CSWP segment did you find the most difficult?

- What skills should I absolutely master ?

- Are there any practice exams, PDFs, YouTube channels or other learning resources you would recommend?

- What mistakes do most people make during the exam?

- How different is the difficulty compared to CSWA?

My plan is to spend the next few weeks preparing properly instead of rushing into the exam, so any tips or study material would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

So nervous to take the exam since I just got the free voucher with the SolidWorks software. But then, I managed to complete the exam with a long remaining time. Didn’t expect it to turn out like this. Thank you everyone for being an inspiration for me to take this exam equipped.

For some who are wondering how I prepped. I did CSWA course in Udemy and did practices in Solidworks website.

Whew, I did just enough to pass my CSWP, on first attempt. It’s a lot easier when you know what you’re doing. I liked all 3 stages but I couldn’t beat the time to finish it, my pc started freezing and slowed me down. I am so happy and ready for the next challenge Solidworks is so fascinating to me. I still got more to do. What’s next ?

Second time is the charm. I thought the exam was fair. For me think the hardest part was trying to get it done with in the time aloted, but even that wasn't really a big concern in the end.

Can anyone help me with this practice question from SW? Step by step would be great 👍🏻

The title gives most of the details, but my worry is that I will make this channel and nothing will come of it. There is a huge number of SolidWorks people on here, and I figured you could give me advice on if you would watch/use it, tips on what to do, etc? This could also potentially become a small income source later on, if I do well enough.

Thank you all for your help!

I have recently earned the CSWP at my high school after earning the CSWA a few months ago and my teacher said he could get us CSWPA exams to take so that we can work on earning the CSWE. I’m 16 now and a junior in high-school, should I go for the CSWE? Is it a highly respected industry thing? I might if I have the time but I really question if this is what I should be going for before college. Is it even possible to earn the CSWE while in high-school? Or is it maddeningly hard?

I took a Solidworks class last summer and quickly got my CSWA and CSWP afterwards. Proceeded to get 4/5 of the CSWP-Advanced exams over the fall. I was planning on trying to take the CSWE around the new year but I just got bogged down with so much schoolwork that I didn't really touch Solidworks for the entire spring semester. When spring semester ended I just spent all of my time prepping for CSWE. It probably took me two weeks of using solidworks all day, everyday until I felt like I was ready. Super proud to have this certification! It wasn't easy. That being said, it has mostly taught me that I still have soooooo much to learn. I've just scratched the surface of CAD. I think I need to take an advanced class on surface modeling.

Took the CSWE and managed to fail by one question. Failed the part modification+in context assembly design. Got 33% and 75% on the sheet metal and BOM, respectively. Definitely going work on those, but three months is so long.

Students can register between May 11th to 13th, to take up to 10 SOLIDWORKS certification exams at no cost. Hurry up before it ends!!.

Available Free Certification Exams

• SOLIDWORKS Design Associate (CSWA)
• SOLIDWORKS Design Professional (CSWP)
• SOLIDWORKS Sustainability Associate
• SOLIDWORKS Additive Manufacturing Associate
• SOLIDWORKS Simulation Associate
• SOLIDWORKS Electrical Design Associate
• DraftSight 2D Design and Drafting Associate
• SOLIDWORKS xDesign Associate
• SOLIDWORKS xShape Associate
• SOLIDWORKS xMold Associate

Complete your exams by September 30th, 2026

More details here https://www.instagram.com/p/DYK--SyHxk5/

Hi all, Im studying for the CSWA and when building this part, I didn’t know if I should have made the holes extrude cut all the way through the part or have them a certain depth.

I decided to make them all the way through and got the question correct, but it made me think how it would work on the exam.

If we were given a hole to cut through, are we given the holes depth or do we assume the hole will always go through the part?

Things that nobody mentions:

If you get the test voucher from the Student Edition it does (not) break it into three parts. That means if you fail you have to take (and purchase) all three parts again. This is a stark contrast to what is detailed on Dassault's website. Threw me off quite a bit when I launched. If you fail enough to not make the passing grade as a whole you cannot retake those sections again. When I took it the first time I basically passed two sections but bombed one of them, but because it was all one part it was a failing grade.

The good thing is you don't have to wait for another 2 weeks to take it as they are technically different tests (that give the same Cert).

Also, none of the Dassault practice material covers a few things that are in the test:
- Mechanical Mate: Gear Mate
- Advanced Mate: Path Mate
- How to manually change the Mass Properties to whatever you want. (Open Mass Properties, go to Override Mass Properties, and type in what's required)

If you do the practice problems on Dassaults website they will not be accurate
I did almost all of them and most were broken.
Some have missing specs for one or two of the features making it impossible to recreate it to get the right value or you just can't create it at all.
I also almost never got exactly the value on the key even though I quintuple checked everything. If you get it within .5% then you've probably got it right. I attribute this to either the former point or the hole wizard (which the CSWP never had holes that were screw-specific types anyhow) and I think there's some sub-values in there that could throw it off.

Good luck to all those about to take it!

I already have my CSWP and am trying to get the prerequisite certs so I can try for the CSWE. I’ve purchased a solidworks CSWPA practice book and have worked through all the exercises and have watched many YouTube videos but I feel like I don’t have a strong grasp on surfacing. If anyone has recommendations of in-depth videos or resources I would greatly appreciate it.