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Archive for April 17th, 2009

That’s right! I’m giving away ten coupons for a free SolidWorks certification test. Five will be given to readers of this blog and the other five to readers of SolidWorks para Todos, my blog in Spanish.  Now the really neat thing is that once you win one of these coupons you can actually choose which of the five certification tests available you want to take:

• CSWP-Core Modeling Specialist: (8,329 certified professionals worldwide)
• CSWP-Advanced Sheet Metal: (457 certified worldwide so far)
• CSWP-Advanced Surfacing: (61 certified worldwide so far)
• CSWP-FEA (Simulation): (35 certified worldwide so far)
• CSWA (Education): (8,086 certified worldwide and growing every minute)

Usually, you would have to pay up to $100 dollars to take a certification test, but today ten lucky readers will have it for free!

You can find more information about each of these tests and what you need to know in order to pass by visiting the SolidWorks Certification Homepage.  

Let me tell you, I’ve taken and passed both the CSWA and CSWP-core exams, and I’m currently preparing for the Advanced Sheet Metal test.  I see obtaining that certification as an important milestone in my learning process, as a way to have something to show for all the effort I’ve put in training myself, and as a “secret weapon” that can even open a few doors when it comes to job search. Last year, for instance, when a local reseller called me about a job as an Applications Engineer, they told me that one of the things that made my resume stand out from a list of possible matches for that position was precisely that I was a CSWP. I didn’t apply for that position because it wasn’t a good match for my own crazy life back then, but see? Right there, there was a job and all because I was a CSWP!

And I’ve heard that the certification process has been greatly improved ever since I took those two tests. Now it’s even easier than ever to access the certification center to take the exam and also to access information about your results and other certifications previously obtained. And if you manage a team of users, you can set up certification tests for all of them and even track their progress.

OK, so this is how you can get the free test… First I thought about making you guys design the perfect pet door for me. See, I have this little Chihuahua mutt that keeps soiling my carpet, and I bought a pet door that was supposed to work fine with my sliding glass door to the backyard… Err… Never mind that! All you have to do is leave a comment here saying, in your own words, why you want to get certified. That’s it! Very simple! The winners will be chosen at random from all the entries. Hurry up! Winners will be announced by Tuesday 21^st at 11:00 am PT.  You can also send an email or use the contact form, just remember to use a valid email address so I can contact you back and give you information about how to redeem your coupon for the free test!

Good luck!