Professional CAD training/certification?

[cdon]

For any Engineers out there.

I have considerable working experience with Solidworks (Design and Simulation) PTC Creo/Pro Engineer and AutoCAD. University experience with ANSYS simulation and Abaqus.

I see a lot of industries using CATIA and NX and jobs often specify experience with them - normally Solids, Surfacing and Composite design.

I have student versions of both CATIA and NX software and have been working my way through their UI and features.

Whilst I don’t find them particularly difficult to use is there any benefit in completing training or a certification course in either of these? To get a piece of paper saying you know how to use them over casual experience.

[witko999]

cdon said:

For any Engineers out there.

I have considerable working experience with Solidworks (Design and Simulation) PTC Creo/Pro Engineer and AutoCAD. University experience with ANSYS simulation and Abaqus.

I see a lot of industries using CATIA and NX and jobs often specify experience with them - normally Solids, Surfacing and Composite design.

I have student versions of both CATIA and NX software and have been working my way through their UI and features.

Whilst I don’t find them particularly difficult to use is there any benefit in completing training or a certification course in either of these? To get a piece of paper saying you know how to use them over casual experience.

I'd say most companies will want to see previous working experience using Catia and NX in similar roles, rather than just a qualification in the software itself.

[joshleb]

I've asked anyone for any qualifications specific to software.

We would tend to bring in our CAD manager to discuss the technical aspects and see how the interviewee copes with them and if they seem ok get them to do a CAD test for whatever their speciality is meant to be.

[cdon]

witko999 said:

I'd say most companies will want to see previous working experience using Catia and NX in similar roles, rather than just a qualification in the software itself.

They will normally say “3D CAD Experience (preferably CATIA etc)”.

So I would like to be in a position where I can say I have the experience delivering what you want in other CAD packages but also have a solid understanding and experience of CATIA or NX - or whatever comes next.

[bucksmanuk]

I’ve interviewed plenty of design engineers in my time over the years. I’ve 30+ years of CAD on 10+ systems…..
Certificates from courses etc.., mean nothing to me.

Anything less than 3 months of work experience on any CAD system doesn’t even trouble the scorers. It is obviously difficult to get work experience on a CAD system, unless you are at work getting the experience. We’ve all been there.

A lot depends upon what the company is looking for in their design engineer. Someone basic to turn the handle and “get the models/drawings done by Friday”. Or someone to start customising the CAD system to remove the everyday drudgery.

I’ve seen plenty of graduates fresh out of uni stating they have "substantial" experience of Solidworks/Creo/NX etc.… and apparently they know how to drive ANSYS/ABAQUS etc.… the reality is usually very different.

Find out where the jobs are going to be (not easy) and in what type of company and what CAD system do they use? Then use it.

Civil aerospace is currently on its arse and will be for some time. According to 2 decent recruitment agency guys I know (yes - they do exist!) the number of people looking to leave aerospace, automotive and oil and gas is epic just now.

If it’s for contract work, then you do need to have the skills already, although for a rare system, compromises can be made.

For a staff role, I personally wouldn’t give 2 hoots as to what CAD system someone had prior experience on. I would be far more interested as to what actual work they did on the CAD system. Pan/zoom/rotate, create-a–revolve-around-an-axis etc… the usual Janet and John stuff, or surfacing, stress analysis, CFD, rendering, animation, design automation... etc... etc...

Most companies have a pool of training days available to get new people started off and then its “pick it up as you go along”.

If the company is one of those tight wads that never spend anything on training and always want someone else’s trained up people, then unless its “needs must”, you are best staying clear of them anyway.

[triggerhappy21]

I've been on CATIA for the last 12 years through automotive and aerospace tool design, contracting for most of it.

Never seen any employer request any training required for any graduates they took on. As long as you have a level of competence in the software, most would expect a few weeks/months of getting up to speed.

With most design engineering positions, using the software will just be the tip of the iceberg. The engineering application will be aspect that takes years to gain competence, and no training can prepare for that. Only work experience in your field.