My experience with SolidWorks

Before looking into possible universities that I wanted to attend, I'd never heard of SolidWorks and when I was told it is often the software that is used in industry, I was more than nervous. So when, after only 3 months at University, we were told we would begin using SolidWorks, I was worried I'd really struggle, especially since I'd already struggled with the Adobe Suite previously.

Being completely honest, I struggled with SolidWorks the whole time we were using the software. At first the whole process was overwhelming, dealing with different planes and extrusions and all the new things got really confusing fast and it was hard to keep up at first. I had used a similar software at Sixth form and so the very basics weren't too bad as the general idea was pretty much the same. This meant, once I had a few hours practice, i knew how to start a sketch, extrude it and create simple forms. I even quickly picked up on how to fillet objects to create smoother corners. Therefore, after the first 5 or 6 weeks, i was feeling much more confident with my CAD work and could keep up fairly well.

However, that quickly changed once new things and steps were introduced. Myself and my friend relied on each other a lot to keep up and understand what to do. We would work through the steps together, taking it slow to ensure everything was done correctly. Without each other's help, I really think we would have both struggled so much more with the new software as we both had similar backgrounds when it comes to CAD.

Once we hit steps such as paths and creating new planes, things changed. Dealing with completely new territory meant it was easy to get lost and not know where to start. Even though we had help and went over the steps time and time again, practicing the skills, it was still so much harder than I expected. Unfortunately I never got chance to perfect these skills as my time to practice was cut drastically short by Covid-19 In March 2020, meaning weeks of using the software were gone and the experience to build up my understanding of SolidWorks were halted.

Although I personally feel like I really struggled to use this software and am yet to feel anywhere near confident in using the software independently, I'm genuinely looking forward to using SolidWorks again in my second year of university as I learnt so much in 3 months with the software and I'm excited to learn more and feel much more comfortable with the CAD designs. Hopefully, by the time I start my third year of university, I hope to be much more confident and willing to try the software, even if it does go completely wrong as I know having a skill such as SolidWords under my belt will really boost my career prospects in the future and help convey my ideas in a more understanding nature!

I look forward (and somewhat dread) using SolidWorks again, but hopefully it's a skill I will be able to use more in the future!