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Re: I want to get certified in solidworks, but I don't plan to get an engineering degree. Will I be able to have a good career?
so what you wanna be ??? it's like purchasing a car and you don't know where to go !
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Re: I want to get certified in solidworks, but I don't plan to get an engineering degree. Will I be able to have a good career?
I don't know exactly what I want to do with solidworks. I just want to do something with solidworks. I haven't looked much at all the different options. Are you implying that you must have an engineering degree to do anything with solidworks?
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Re: I want to get certified in solidworks, but I don't plan to get an engineering degree. Will I be able to have a good career?
After I get certified I just plan to look around until I find something that looks interesting and then apply.
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Re: I want to get certified in solidworks, but I don't plan to get an engineering degree. Will I be able to have a good career?
Not really ... There are many designers don't have any engineering degree
My point is: SW is just a tool and you need to find out how to apply it
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Re: I want to get certified in solidworks, but I don't plan to get an engineering degree. Will I be able to have a good career?
You may not need an engineering degree but you most certainly will need in-depth knowledge of whatever field in which you intend to use SolidWorks. There is an abundance of button pushing CAD jockeys out there who have trod the same path you are planning to take.
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Re: I want to get certified in solidworks, but I don't plan to get an engineering degree. Will I be able to have a good career?
Amen to that! I've seen many a mouse-driver designing stuff in various CAD systems that were not familiar with the manufacturing processes they were inherently specifying, injection molding, for instance. I'd ask them about their draft (there wasn't any), wall thickness uniformity (again, none), where the parting lines would be, where the gates would be. When I got blank looks in response I'd point them to a direction where they could spend a year or two learning about this stuff. Until then they were just cartoonists, designing things that had no consideration for their manufacture. Okay, I did give them a break, they were 3D cartoonists.
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Re: I want to get certified in solidworks, but I don't plan to get an engineering degree. Will I be able to have a good career?
I just want to know what will be available with my plan.
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Re: I want to get certified in solidworks, but I don't plan to get an engineering degree. Will I be able to have a good career?
In my area, I doubt you'll find a job without having more than a Solidworks certification. Other areas of the country may be different.
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Re: I want to get certified in solidworks, but I don't plan to get an engineering degree. Will I be able to have a good career?
I don't have a degree, nor am I certified...... I have worked in CAD for almost 20 years now and I had to work my way up to where I am.
I think what you really want to know is, "will you be able to get a high paying job right after you are certified?"
The answer is this: People who don't have work experience in the workplace rarely start with high paying jobs no matter if they have a degree or not.
So, get out there, pick up something that will give you the experience that you want/need and work at it. You won't get anywhere unless you get out there in the workforce. Sure, get certified. That might look better. It might take a few years, but life really isn't about happiness and money.
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Re: I want to get certified in solidworks, but I don't plan to get an engineering degree. Will I be able to have a good career?
Yeah I don't expect to get a very high pay as a newbie in the work force. Your answer is exactly what I hoped would happen with my plan. Thanks. I don't need a super high pay like a doctor, just a decent salary. Something that can support a family.
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Re: I want to get certified in solidworks, but I don't plan to get an engineering degree. Will I be able to have a good career?
You need to be prepared to deal with a job that pays only slightly more than minimum wage. That is what you can realistically expect to be offered, for the skillset that you will be offering in return.
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Re: I want to get certified in solidworks, but I don't plan to get an engineering degree. Will I be able to have a good career?
What Dan Pihlaja said (no degree or certification), though I've only been doing CAD for about 8 years instead of 20. I expect the certification might help you get hired instead of someone else with otherwise equivalent qualifications but who didn't have it, but I doubt it will get you a job by itself. And knowledge of SolidWorks is very near useless without knowing something about the product you'll be using it to design. It's just a tool. Knowing how to swing a hammer doesn't make you a carpenter. Find an industry that you're interested in and get some practical experience if you don't already have it.
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Re: I want to get certified in solidworks, but I don't plan to get an engineering degree. Will I be able to have a good career?
Dan Pihlaja wrote:
but life really isn't about happiness and money.
Dan Pihlaja, I've been searching for the meaning of life and you just scratched off two top candidates! So, what is it really about?
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Re: I want to get certified in solidworks, but I don't plan to get an engineering degree. Will I be able to have a good career?
Dan Pihlaja, I've been searching for the meaning of life and you just scratched off tow top candidates! So, what is it really about?
It's all about the number 42
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Re: I want to get certified in solidworks, but I don't plan to get an engineering degree. Will I be able to have a good career?
Kelvin Lamport wrote:
It's all about the number 42
You forgot the units.
Over and over again I have to drill into my students that when you give a number - you must also give the units for the number to have meaning.
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Re: I want to get certified in solidworks, but I don't plan to get an engineering degree. Will I be able to have a good career?
J. Mather wrote:
Kelvin Lamport wrote:
It's all about the number 42
You forgot the units.
Over and over again I have to drill into my students that when you give a number - you must also give the units for the number to have meaning.
Will it take another 7.5 million years to determine the units?
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Re: I want to get certified in solidworks, but I don't plan to get an engineering degree. Will I be able to have a good career?
For this reference, I believe it is "slugs per fortnight"
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Re: I want to get certified in solidworks, but I don't plan to get an engineering degree. Will I be able to have a good career?
Todd Blacksher wrote:
For this reference, I believe it is "slugs per fortnight"
Are you guessing, or do you know the answer?
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Re: I want to get certified in solidworks, but I don't plan to get an engineering degree. Will I be able to have a good career?
I'm going to need an extra large pan galactic gargle blaster to do the math on that one . . .
don't panic
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Re: I want to get certified in solidworks, but I don't plan to get an engineering degree. Will I be able to have a good career?
Don't forget your towel.....towels are very useful things.
"A towel is just about the most massively useful thing any interstellar Hitchhiker can carry. Partly it has great practical value. You can wrap it around you for warmth as you bound across the cold moons of Jaglan Beta; you can lie on it on the brilliant marble-sanded beaches of Santraginus V, inhaling the heady sea vapours; you can sleep under it beneath the stars which shine so redly on the desert world of Kakrafoon; use it to sail a miniraft down the slow heavy River Moth; wet it for use in hand-to-hand combat; wrap it round your head to ward off noxious fumes or avoid the gaze of the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal (a mind-bogglingly stupid animal, it assumes that if you can't see it, it can't see you — daft as a brush, but very very ravenous); you can wave your towel in emergencies as a distress signal, and of course you can dry yourself off with it if it still seems to be clean enough.
More importantly, a towel has immense psychological value. For some reason, if a strag (strag: nonhitchhiker) discovers that a hitchhiker has his towel with him, he will automatically assume that he is also in possession of a toothbrush, washcloth, soap, tin of biscuits, flask, compass, map, ball of string, gnat spray, wet-weather gear, space suit etc., etc. Furthermore, the strag will then happily lend the hitchhiker any of these or a dozen other items that the hitchhiker might accidentally have "lost." What the strag will think is that any man who can hitch the length and breadth of the Galaxy, rough it, slum it, struggle against terrible odds, win through and still knows where his towel is, is clearly a man to be reckoned with.
Hence a phrase which has passed into hitch hiking slang, as in "Hey, you sass that hoopy Ford Prefect? There's a frood who really knows where his towel is."
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Re: I want to get certified in solidworks, but I don't plan to get an engineering degree. Will I be able to have a good career?
My most recent User Group meeting was on "Towel Day"
- I had planned to give a special prize to anyone that brought their towel . . . I was the only one.
Completely confused everyone at work that day.
On a good note, Don't Panic Labs (down the street from us) did some awesome stuff for the City Mission
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Re: I want to get certified in solidworks, but I don't plan to get an engineering degree. Will I be able to have a good career?
...or it could be the domino game.
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Re: I want to get certified in solidworks, but I don't plan to get an engineering degree. Will I be able to have a good career?
J. Mather, I wish there were more like us that advocate for the units. I DRILLED that into all five of my kids in their high school science classes. In college they not only thanked me for it because it saved their bacon, but they also taught others the value of that as they tutored their classmates.
If you know the units of what you are trying to solve for and the units of what you are starting with then you can pretty well setup the problem. Good habits serve a person throughout their life!
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Re: I want to get certified in solidworks, but I don't plan to get an engineering degree. Will I be able to have a good career?
Did you know 42 is the ascii code for *, when using the asterisk in search it means "whatever you want it to be"
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Re: I want to get certified in solidworks, but I don't plan to get an engineering degree. Will I be able to have a good career?
I've always stuck with:
"If it isn't fun, it isn't fun."
(It won't always be fun, but if you enjoy learning new things, you should be pretty happy, because there is so much to learn.)
I've also said:
"If you are in it for the money, you will never be happy. If you are in it to be happy, you probably aren't as concerned about the money."
todd
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Re: I want to get certified in solidworks, but I don't plan to get an engineering degree. Will I be able to have a good career?
Dan Pihlaja, I've been searching for the meaning of life and you just scratched off two top candidates! So, what is it really about?
Everyone knows that the answer to life, the universe and everything is the number 42!
But seriously:
I know that this sounds wishy-washy and maybe you weren't really looking for a serious answer.....but life is about love and relationships.....and I don't mean $ex.
1 Corinthians 13:1-13.
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Re: I want to get certified in solidworks, but I don't plan to get an engineering degree. Will I be able to have a good career?
Reality ... it'd be hard to be happy without $$$$$$$$$
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Re: I want to get certified in solidworks, but I don't plan to get an engineering degree. Will I be able to have a good career?
Christian Chu wrote:
Reality ... it'd be hard to be happy without $$$$$$$$$
Happiness is a choice. You choose to be happy. It has very little to do with your situation. If it were situational, then the same litmus test would work for everyone: do this and it will make you happy.......that is simply not true. Head to any 3rd world country. The only thing most people see about those countries is from the news. But people are happy there for the most part.....and they don't have the resources we do here in the states (or wherever).
The constant striving for bigger and faster and flashier things will just result in frustration, because enough is never enough for those who pursue those types of things. Its easy to be happy with little or no money. You just have to stop comparing yourself and your things to other people and their things.
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Re: I want to get certified in solidworks, but I don't plan to get an engineering degree. Will I be able to have a good career?
Money can't buy happiness...but it can rent if for a while.
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Re: I want to get certified in solidworks, but I don't plan to get an engineering degree. Will I be able to have a good career?
It can't buy you love either according to John, Paul, George & Ringo.
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Re: I want to get certified in solidworks, but I don't plan to get an engineering degree. Will I be able to have a good career?
Kevin Pymm wrote:
It can't buy you love either according to John, Paul, George & Ringo.
While I agree with them, I wouldn't consider them an actual authority......on anything. LOL
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Re: I want to get certified in solidworks, but I don't plan to get an engineering degree. Will I be able to have a good career?
Keep think I need to buy a Boat Everybody around me has one and I am surrounded by lakes. Then I get to thinking when I would use it. Never. Too many other things I am doing.
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Re: I want to get certified in solidworks, but I don't plan to get an engineering degree. Will I be able to have a good career?
David Nelson wrote:
Keep think I need to buy a Boat Everybody around me has one and I am surrounded by lakes. Then I get to thinking when I would use it. Never. Too many other things I am doing.
You don't need a boat. You need a friend with a boat.
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Re: I want to get certified in solidworks, but I don't plan to get an engineering degree. Will I be able to have a good career?
Surrounded by lakes? Are you in Minnesota or Michigan (assuming you are in the US)?
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Re: I want to get certified in solidworks, but I don't plan to get an engineering degree. Will I be able to have a good career?
David Nelson wrote:
Oregon.
LOL....Ok then. I guess I am a Midwest junkie. LOL
On a side note, I will be in Portland, Oregon in July on vacation.
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Re: I want to get certified in solidworks, but I don't plan to get an engineering degree. Will I be able to have a good career?
But it's much nicer to cry in a Mercedes than a cardboard box...
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Re: I want to get certified in solidworks, but I don't plan to get an engineering degree. Will I be able to have a good career?
Eric,
The right attitude and a willingness to learn are huge.
Degree or no if a job is asking for certain requirements and you don't meet every one, but you think it might fit. APPLY.
"We" are looking for someone to fill a need.
You might not be the perfect fit, but getting in the door just might get you a job as an entry level detailer, which in turn can lead to bigger and better opportunities down the road.
There really is no 1 perfect job, but in the design world, knowing how the software works and file management are huge. A mechanical aptitude is also a good thing to have.
Do you like to work on your car, bike whatever? If so list it in your hobbies on your resume, "we" as employers look over your resume for things that point us in the direction of whether or not you will be a good fit for our company.
Try to find a company in your area that does something you are interested in. Cold call dropping a resume off never hurts anyone. We very rarely advertise openings because usually we can find 3-4 resumes in the last year that fit for what we are looking for.
Most importantly stay upbeat and positive during the interview process. Ask questions about anything you need clarification on. Nothing makes me question a candidates aptitude more than if he/ she doesn't ask a single question during the interview.
Good luck on your search.
P.s. I graduated college when I was 38, by that time I had been a shop supervisor, shop foreman, & a project manager with 3 different companies. I started off hand grinding frames for semi trailers out of high school, and worked my way through welding and machining up to doing tool and die work. There is no 1 set path how to get somewhere.
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Re: I want to get certified in solidworks, but I don't plan to get an engineering degree. Will I be able to have a good career?
I've done a bunch of interesting things in my career and have some new and exciting opportunities about to open up for me. I've got a BS and MS in engineering, but I didn't learn how to do the things I've done in my career in college. Well, at least not directly. The two best things I learned in school are: how to learn and how to think.
I learned to slow down on my thoughts, slow down on advocating for my "brilliant" ideas and humble myself to really listen. It took me some time to not be so aggressive at insisting I was right. My insistence served me poorly because folks would stop helping me (since I apparently knew better than they did, or at least that was the message I was projecting).
Eric Eubanks, my advice to you is to keep your mind more open than your mouth. Learn everything you can. HOW something is made, WHY things are done the way they are, ALTERNATIVES and their pros and cons. Take advantage of formal and informal learning: SWX tutorials, YouTube videos, user group meetings, researching the answer before asking the question, local classes, etc.
Degrees are nice, but I would MUCH rather hire someone with drive and capability than someone expecting things to be handed to them because they have a fancy piece of paper.
Find a local SWX user group and go to their meetings. This is a fantastic way for you to find mentors and develop leads for opportunities. Good luck.
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Re: I want to get certified in solidworks, but I don't plan to get an engineering degree. Will I be able to have a good career?
Got this job half cause I had a basic Understanding of solid works and half from life experiences. 20 Year Marine Heavy equipment Mech. another 8 years as a Panel Manufacture Job as the plant supervisor. Built RV's Monaco, Build Horse trailers Silverlite with living Quarters and Built large Chipping and grinding machines Peterson Pacific. Hell I even had worked at this place as the 1st Job after retiring from the Marines. But I quit the job they wanted me to work a 12 hour shift and I was just starting College at the U of O. Plus I did not need a job at that time still had 2 months to go before I was fully retired.. Good thing this place now has a management team that tries their best to work with employees.
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Re: I want to get certified in solidworks, but I don't plan to get an engineering degree. Will I be able to have a good career?
I agree 100% - Remember, you can learn EVERYWHERE!
(You might not always learn the "right way", but hopefully you will begin to recognize bad practices, and "learn" the pitfalls of doing something the "wrong way" - It's way less painful if someone else makes the "mistake" for you!)
You can learn a ton from the people running the machines and making the parts - don't be afraid to ask them for help.
(This is something that a lot of people with degrees will not do, and they are truly missing out on a wealth of knowledge!)
As soon as they realize that you are getting their input so that you can make their lives easier, the floodgates of information will open!
Two ears/one mouth - you should listen twice as much as you talk.
I am starting to see more companies hiring for attitude and training for the job - if you have basic skills, but really want to put in the effort, somebody will snap you up.
Good Luck!
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Re: I want to get certified in solidworks, but I don't plan to get an engineering degree. Will I be able to have a good career?
Eric Eubanks, my advice to you is to keep your mind more open than your mouth. Learn everything you can.
This is so true. I see interns come in all the time thinking that they are Captain America and going to change the world.
Once I had a new guy come in with no experience except for school and he went to one of the most veteran welders in the shop and commenced to tell him how the welder was doing it wrong and basically called him an antique. I had to pull him aside and tell him that he'd do well to keep his mouth shut because that man that he had just belittled had been welding and doing that job for longer than he'd (the new guy) been alive. Eric Eubanks You can learn a lot from experience....and not just your own if you get my drift.
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Re: I want to get certified in solidworks, but I don't plan to get an engineering degree. Will I be able to have a good career?
I think Dan and Glenn have about the most realistic answers in your thread here. I don't have an engineering degree but I do have a degree. That's just paper. In some professions it will take you places but in the world of CAD, your skills will take you there. You need a map of where you're going. You can't just say "I want to do something with CAD" and expect a career. You need to find something your passionate about working with and make it grow. Become proficient at one thing and then explore out from there.
Get experience. Work for different industries. the amount of work you'll have depends greatly on what industry your in at any given time.
Bottom line...Find your compass and go.
