What colleges offer a certificate program in Southern California
What colleges offer a certificate program in Southern California
I am in Orange County, CA
Colleges I attend: Irvine-valley College, Saddleback College, Orange Coast College
I want to learn everything Solidworks and then CATIA V6. I am inquiring as to the depth of the program that JCs go into. So many classes just scratch the surface that i don't want to waste time taking the wrong ones. I want to take the most in-depth and career transferable training possible.
What is the certification that will get me the best chance at getting hired by a company?
Any input would be great!
Jeremy,
Not the answer you are looking for, but maybe still a help. I am a fan of the Planchard series of books. Do a Amazon search for Solidworks and you will find him and others.
Every class I ever took was scratching the surface. I had to dig deeper on my own to learn the depth of the program and I do not think I got very deep. Find a local user group ( Orange County Solidworks User Group ) Go to meeting and talk with other users. I think what you are looking for is not in a nice neat package from a school but requires "elbow grease" on your part to dig into the software and plumb the depths yourself.
Cheers!
John,
I thank you for your comments on my question. I am currently learning at a traditional college along with online tutorials! I have joined the OCSWUG that you linked to as well!!!! Thank you greatly for taking the time to help me out. SW is what I've been looking for in a career for most of my adult life, and I just realized it. Again, thank you for taking the time to share your wisdom!
What kind of "Certificate" are you wanting?
Colleges offer "Degrees" such as Associates, Bachelors, Masters..
There are also "Certificates" for completing certain courses or requirements that can be anywhere from learning a simple task that will take a few hours to learning and mastering a field of study (like Air Conditioner repair, or Automotive repair...) or a software package (like SolidWorks).
I am assuming, since you asked on the SolidWorks Forum site, that you want some level of training or certification in SolidWorks.
You can take classes to learn the subject at a college and may get a certification from them. - Many on them will have you get a SolidWorks Certification (From SolidWorks) as part of the coarse. In that case, you would take one of the Solidworks Certification tests - from SolidWorks for CSWA, (certified SolidWorks Associate) CSWP, CSWE and other more specific certifications.
What exactly are you wanting to achieve?
I think I heard that Mt. San Antonio College and Santa Ana College have a program to get students CSWAs.
Most college courses are going to scratch the surface, it takes practice to get good at using Solidworks. The key is to learn the basics of solid modeling, which is pretty universal across most of the major packages. The individual commands might be slightly different but an extrude or sweep is still the same in most 3D packages. Once you learn how to model then you can get good at using a specific package such as Solidworks. Most of us are still learning new things the software can do even though we have been users for years.
At Chaffey College in Rancho Cucamonga we offer several SolidWorks courses as a part of our Drafting and Engineering Technology programs. In one of our courses, DRAFT 43, we prepare and get students through the CSWA exam. In our more advanced course DRAFT 78 we prepare students for the CSWP and they are expected to pass it before the end of the semester.
I suspect all do....
In the program you desire is the question. Can't tell you that since you have not given us much on what you may wish to pursue your certificate in.
SolidWorks is a tool, among many tools/skills a particular certificate program teaches you.
Also tell us where in Southern California you are located? That will help us give you a better answer to your question.