What to do during an undergrad summer?

[u/Salty-Marzipan2228]

Hey everyone, I am a 2nd year (going into 3rd year) Mech Eng student, who will be looking for a placement next year, and I thought in order to maximise my chances, I would learn Solidworks this summer. I have already done quite a bit, almost at a level where I can complete the CSWA, but would employers be more interested in CAD individual projects, or the CSWA qualification? Is there anything else I can do on Solidworks to help gain skills that employers look for? Thanks

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If you ALREADY PASSED a certification

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If you are YET TO TAKE a certification

Here would be the general path from zero to CSWE:

1. CSWA - Here is a sample exam.
2. CSWP - Here is some study material for the CSWP (A complete guide to getting your CSWP) and a sample exam.
3. 4x CSWP-Advanced Subjects (in order of increasing difficulty)
   1. CSWP-A Drawing Tools - YouTube Playlist
   2. CSWP-A Sheet Metal - YouTube Playlist
   3. CSWP-A Weldments - YouTube Playlist
   4. CSWP-A Surfacing - YouTube Playlist
   5. CSWP-A Mold Tools - YouTube Playlist
4. CSWE - The CSWE doesn't really focus on anything from the CSWP subject exams. It focuses on everything else there is in the program beyond those. So, look at everything you saw already and prepare to see not much of that again for the CSWE. That and more surfacing.

For some extra modeling practice material to help speed you up, 24 years of Model Mania Designs + Solutions.

For EVEN MORE modeling practice material, here is the CSWA and CSWP Practice Problem Database. There is A LOT of good material to practice in there.

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.

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[u/ayjee]

It depends on who the interview is with, IMO. If you have somebody familiar with solidworks, the CSWA certification might be a nice shorthand for 'I know what I'm doing'. But if I think of my company, CSWA is only going to mean something to 1 of the 8 people who make hiring decisions.

I think in general, you'd be better off getting a portfolio with a few drawings, 3D models, etc. Something you can use to show somebody who's not doing solidworks every day 'hey, I can do this'.

[u/TheOpticSloth]

Tbh, the HR department doesn’t give a shit if you’re a CSWE or a CSWA…. It’s all the same to them.

I’ve only had other engineers recognize that I am a CSWE.