Should I learn Pro/Engineer or SolidWorks?

[echo196]

Dear all,

I checked job numbers on indeed Canada, and when using Pro/ENGINEER and solidworks as search words, I got 74 and 338 respectively, which means 4.56 times as many solidworks jobs.

Can I learn Pro/engineer and be employed in a solidworks job? because if not, the jobs for pro/engineer are not so many at all.

Since Pro/engineer is supposed to be more high end, I expected better salaries, but when I checked the salaries (in indeed UK), it does not show a big difference.


So, what do you think guys?

Thanks a lot for any help

 

[xxChrisxx]

CAD is CAD is CAD. You aren't going to get any more or less money depending on the CAD system you learn.

Just pick one. Pro/E is just a total pain in the arse, so I'd do SolidWorks.

 

[echo196]

Thanks a lot mate for the kind reply.

but why are universities and companies use different cads?

What I read is that the most advanced cads are Catia, then Pro/E, then solidworks.

And I know two universities, the better one uses Pro/E, the lower one uses solidworks.

So I thought I would get more benefits (money) if I learn the more advanced one.

Thanks a lot again for the reply

 

[xxChrisxx]

It's all down to preference and mostly money. If a Uni gets a good deal with PTC one year, they'll have Pro/E. If Dassault are cheap they'll use SolidWorks.

It really, really doesn't matter, learn the most user friendly (ie SW). The only time i'd advocate someone learn anything else is if they are going into the automotive industry. Then CATIA is the best bet.I'll start by saying I'm biased, as I really really hate Pro/Engineer. Mainly becuase of the dreadful interface.

 

[KrizG]

I've used both Pro/E and SolidWorks. Pro/E, as mentioned above, is a TERRIBLE program to use; it is not user-friendly at all. SolidWorks, on the other hand, is very easy to use, and relatively easy to learn because of its intuitive interface. I have never used Catia before, but apparently SolidWorks is actually made by the same company, I don't know what the differences are. I have also heard that SolidWorks is gaining popularity very quickly, so it's probably the better one to learn. You should consider doing some of their training courses; they are somewhat expensive, but definitely worth it!

 

[MRFMengineer]

I learned Solidworks in college and easily transitioned to Pro/E in the professional world. SW is probably easier to learn at first. The Pro/E interface is much better now than when I learned it (Pro/E 2001). I was shocked at the power of Pro/E when leaving Solidoworks, much more stable, but I have not used SW in years, probalby better now.

 

[xxChrisxx]

The Pro/E interface is much better now than when I learned it (Pro/E 2001).

Yeah it's gone from complete and total crap, to just crap. WF5 is still woefully annoying to use.

 

[MRFMengineer]

Haha, tell us how you really feel:)

 

[xxChrisxx]

I just can't convey my hatred for it without swearing and feeling the banhammer.

It's not just the interface, it's just really annoying to model with. Unless you do everything is a very specific order, using very protracted routes (millions of clicks). It just slaps you and shuts everything down until you sort the 'error' out.

 

[MRFMengineer]

The latest WF5 (M060, maybe earlier revs too) is much better about dealing with regen errors, FYI. Allows you to still do stuff with failed parts, much better than it used to be.

I am not a big Pro/E advocate, I have just learned to go with it out of necessity.

 

[KrizG]

I just can't convey my hatred for it without swearing and feeling the banhammer.

Everyone else feels the same way. For me, the worst aspect is the constant inability to undo one's mistakes.

 

[enigma]

I will add my voice to the 'Pro/E is garbage' crowd. Sure, it's powerful, but it has no worthwhile tutorials, it constantly crashes and breaks files, and the user interface is one of the most poorly designed pieces of trash I've ever seen.

If I ask a coworker 'how do I do X' , and that X is something that should be simple like modify a GTOL callout on a dimension, and he says: "let me come over; I need to muscle memory it", you haven't properly designed your interface. (The answer to that real life question: left click the dimension, right click somewhere away from the dimension, left click the GTOL, right click and hold the GTOL, select modify from the dropdown, make changes. It baffles the mind.)

I wouldn't be surprised at all if the thing was designed so poorly to fund training classes. I hate the software with the passion of a thousand burning suns.

 

[jwhendy]

I'd agree with these comments, especially xxChrisxx's that "CAD is CAD is CAD." For the most part, I'd agree. If you learn one, you'll get a vast majority of the concepts. Sketch -> feature -> repeat as needed -> make drawing.

My university used SolidWorks. My internship during college used Pro/E WildFire. My first job out of college used AutoDesk Inventor. My current job offers pretty much whatever you want, but I was told that the pure engineering/design groups used Unigraphics NX... so that's what I went with. I've been using that now for 3 years.

Once you use one, you can adapt really, really quickly to any other. The main learning curve for a new package is figuring out where the various options are (start a sketch, insert a feature) and odds and ends (drafting views, changing dimension appearances, how to mate/relate parts in assemblies, etc.).

I wouldn't sweat things one way or the other. Package cost is not a good way to determine quality, user-friendliness, or how productive you can be with a CAD package.

 

[jehake12]

If you want a job as a draftsmen and the majority of the job postings nearby are looking for draftsmen with solidworks experience, then it probably benefits you most to learn solidworks.

I would not expect to earn more or less based on the CAD platform used.

For what its worth, I prefer using solidworks for day to day tasks. It reminds me of playing with LEGO's when I was a little kid because of how intuitive the user interface/experience is. That is important to me because it frees up my brain to focus on the engineering & design aspects of what I'm creating with my CAD tool.

 

[PedroJMuro]

CAD, the long-time users are going to tell you what they use is the best, this happens all the times
There're 3 major CAD's, these are: UGNX (formerly Unigraphics), CATIA and Pro/E, among these UGNX and Catia are "Friendly to use", and ProE, is very difficult...
Then there are the "Middle Range" CAD's, like SolidWorks, Autodesk, Inventor, SolidEdge, and so on...
Benefit of SolidWorks is that it's the "Younger Brother" of CATIA

If I were in your shoes I'll try to learn CATIA, then SW, then UGNX, and at last Pro E

 

[Mech King]

I HATE PROE. Takes ten hours to do 5 minute job. It's so archaic. Solid works is the best package I have used! They also have a great FEA package, which is way better than ProEs one - MECHANICA. I'm a massive solid works advocate :D

 

[VinitK]

Depends whom you are asking.
I use Pro E so i will suggest Pro E.

But for sure , as you mentioned , pro e is high end software. so obviously it does make some things that solidworks can not.

Few of points are

1.large assemblies handled efficiently
2.Analysis/Measurement of your product and utilizing that result to further improve/work on your design
3.its ability to catch errors prior to failed designed.

and many...

Hope this was useful.

 

[Mech King]

But Solidworks can do all of those things also!

 

[FAlonso]

I tried my hands on both during my university. Although I have used SW more than Pro/E (now Creo). It doesn't matter which one you learn, you can easily transit to other once you have enough understanding of any of them.

From my experience, Pro/E is hard to learn than Solidworks. It's abilities are not going to be revealed unless you have spent considerable time on it. It's stable and performs well with large number of components. However, SW is very easy to learn and understand. It's surfacing features are far more powerful than Pro/E. Basically it's more useful designing small products or assemblies with limited parts. Pro/E will offer you more tools to do analysis on your designs, a thing SW isn't that good at.

For starters, I would advise to learn Pro/E first (not too much). As it is easier to learn SW after you have done Pro/E. If you start with SW first, and then you have to work on Pro/E, it's going to be frustrating as Pro/E interface and concepts are a bit complex

 

[sgb27]

We are forced to use ProE at work and everyone hates it apart from the one guy who has never used anything else. I used Catia in my previous job and it was powerful and easy to use, plus much faster than ProE with large assemblies.

If you want to take the hit, learn ProE and then you'll be able to pick up SW and Catia easily after that. FWIW no companies cared that I had experience of the wrong CAD system, the concepts are all the same, just different names and buttons and menus in different places.

 

[PhanthomJay]

Different strokes for different folks. Of all the engineering companies I have worked with, in civil /structural/enviromental engineering, all have used either AutoDesk/AutoCad or Bentley Microstation, AutoCad mostly. I can't speak for other engineering or architectural disciplines, or for the civil engineering firms I have not worked with.

 

[shanren]

pick anyone you can get easy

For a beginner, you may want pick Solidworks for now. There is not better software or less good software, just like cars.

Dear all,

I checked job numbers on indeed Canada, and when using Pro/ENGINEER and solidworks as search words, I got 74 and 338 respectively, which means 4.56 times as many solidworks jobs.

Can I learn Pro/engineer and be employed in a solidworks job? because if not, the jobs for pro/engineer are not so many at all.

Since Pro/engineer is supposed to be more high end, I expected better salaries, but when I checked the salaries (in indeed UK), it does not show a big difference.


So, what do you think guys?

Thanks a lot for any help

 

[ragul]

Depends whom you are asking.
I use Pro E so i will suggest Pro E.

But for sure , as you mentioned , pro e is high end software. so obviously it does make some things that solidworks can not.

Few of points are

1.large assemblies handled efficiently
2.Analysis/Measurement of your product and utilizing that result to further improve/work on your design
3.its ability to catch errors prior to failed designed.

and many...

Hope this was useful.

I agree with you... when handling large assemblies ProE (now Creo) is very efficient. I've been using ProE for 5 years and but there are things that are better be made in solid works especially design and concept making.

 

[DrBwts]

I love SolidWorks but there are (as with any package) some irksome things like the way it uses Boolean operations or editing in assemblies but other than that its very easy to use.

I tried to use Pro E but gave up, they won't be getting my money.

 

[nytrojen]

The basics of all CAD packages are generally the same. Once you learn the system of modelling and design, it's not too hard to apply them to different software. Where it gets tricky is when you get used to or reliant on certain features or proprietary technology that transitioning and figuring out contemporaries becomes a real PITA. I'm completely ignoring UI and other things here, as that's pretty subjective really

Basically learning the PROCESS of using CAD is more important than which package you use

 

[stevemilw]

i use solidworks, and most companies are starting to now as well.

The add ons are really usefull, you can basically simulate everything in the real world, any movements, gears etc including friction, torque required etc, and flow simulation, and heat, stress etc.
Its almost like an artificial reality all in one software package, pretty useful when you know how to use it properly.

 

[buell23]

hello

I have used Inventor, Solidworks, ProE, Creo (replacement to ProE), and at last CATIA V5 R19.

I mean its up to you. If you are designing simple devices, machines without too complicated surfaces, so use Inventor or Solidworks. It's easy to learn. You can handle both, designing assemblies and single parts in less than 1-2 weeks. You can also use ProE/Creo or CATIA V5 for that, but many companies do not use such software because of costs and licences (CATIA).

If you need software for more complicated surfaces and machines so use ProE, it is stable and more efficient in assemblies etc.

But if you want to design very complicated parts and if you have huge assemblies and above all for example if you want to change, spin or turn some parts of a gear housing made of aluminium casting very very fast then use CATIA V5. The last mentioned thing is the power of CATIA V5.

In the end CATIA V5 or ProE is useless if the most companies in your surrounding generally use Solidworks.

 

[WK95]

I think what software you choose to learn also is based on what industry you are interested in. For example, last I checked, CATIA is quite common in Aerospace and Automotive industries probably because of it's surfacing capabilities.

Until October 21st, you can get the student version of CATIA v5-6R2013 for free for a one year license. I'm currently playing around with this since I'm interested in the aerospace industry.

Solidworks has a easier interface though by which I mean easier to learn from. By contrast, CATIA's interface doesn't show icon labels unless you hover your mouse. But I'm getting used to it.

 

[Amr Ali 33]

solidworks is far more simple than any cad software in my opinion , but it always depends on what your job requires if your company uses another software than you are obligated to learn that one

 

[WhatIsGravity]

ProE is more a package designed to let you make flowing things, Industrial Design; Solid Works is more engineering based. If you just want to make things work, Solid Works is the way to go. If you want to make them look good too, then ProE.

 

[krithika]

In my opinion all CAD softwares are similar interms of logic they use to build a model, its only the GUI that differs. Just start learning a standard CAD software, Once you've done it I am sure you will be able learn other softwares in no time.

 

[Harshit puri]

i had training on PROE and CATIA but not on SW still i prefer to work on SW.. PROE has excellent part module and rendering but its very complex to use ( i never used it again) . CATIA is comparatively friendly but you have to know what each icon depicts if you want to work faster hence i prefer it only for surfacing modules, it has maximum precision but SW is like amazing its so friendly and easy that its like playing with mouse moreover you can change the previous drawn sketch without changing its children but in CATIA it wasn't so easy u might need to isolate the parent sketch before.. There are limitations with every software but you are too new to get limited by them.
therefore i recommend Solidworks.. its very friendly ad very easy. u won't lose interest and will master soon.

 

[George Zucas]

There are a lot of replies but I wanted to chime in since I learned Pro Engineer while I was a student and nopw using Solidworks. Solidworks is much easier and most of the time it'll suit most people's needs just fine. However, it has strange bugs and it can be painfully slow. I have i7 laptop and when I use Solidworks on it and sometimes it drives me crazy. I used Pro Engineer on a really old ( and I mean it) computer and it was just fine, never experienced much slowness.

I think that learning Solidworks first and having an idea of what to do with an another program is the best option. Solidworks is used a lot, it is easier, and you'll have less difficulty even if you want to learn a new program later on.

 

[king_me]

Using Solidworks will be less stressful & boost your confidence. It's so simple to make your first parts with all the tutorials on the InterWeb. Just try to avoid using two programs at a time. Had to do CAD in school while using SW at work. The two programs kinda merged together in my head and well... try looking for a SW function in CAD or vice-versa.

 

[Carloss]

Hi everybody!
I think ProE is better than Solidworks but in my experience Solidworks is more common in the industry than another.

Yeah! My first answer in this forum

 

[mohammad amin]

it is hard to use proE but if you learn it you can learn other software so easily .
I recommend you to learn solidwork basically and then learn ProE professionally.

 

[ddelaiarro]

I started in AutoCAD (drafting table really, but that's showing my age), moved into ProE in college. First job out of school used Autodesk Inventor, then SDRC I-DEAS, ProE (again), SolidEdge and now, for the last seven years, SolidWorks.

What I'm getting at is that they're all the same. Once you learn the basics of one, you can adjust to another rather quickly. I haven't touched ProE or I-DEAS in almost a decade (I'm not sure I-DEAS even exists anymore...) and I'm sure I could be fully functional within a few days.

Learn the concepts on a more user-friendly interface - SW or Inventor - and more on from there.

Your hypothesis that you'll make more money if you use a higher end CAD package is invalid. Employers don't care. CAD can be taught, rather quickly, and isn't worth paying more for (believe me, I know - I don't care if my interviewees know SW, just that they have CAD experience). The only thing you may get more money for is higher end FEA programs...

 

[ecfedele]

I see this is a little bit dated, but I'll still offer my two cents as a current CAD user if it'll help give some perspective.

I see a bunch of people referencing CATIA and other systems, so I want to clear up some discrepancies before the wrong information and ideas get perpetuated.

SolidWorks, Solid Edge, et. al are CAD programs primarily. This means that they're designed to help you generate a model or part or small assembly. If you want to machine it, you would need to have CAM plugins or integration to generate machining code. If you want to analyze it, SolidWorks has limited FEA/CFD analysis tools available, but you'd most likely need to outsource a CAE solution as well.

CATIA, NX, etc., on the other hand, are PLM toolchains. This means that they are used by large or professional entities with large degrees of integration. NX if coupled with something like Nastran can be used to analyze a part as well as produce machine code in a completely in situ manner; no need for exporting. These programs are used when large assemblies or projects are created. Generally speaking (and from doing a good amount of work in NX), they are the literal embodiment of a PITA if you don't need that level of performance.

Back to the original premise, a lot of engineering firms do, in fact, have a preference for what CAD system their prospective engineers are proficient in, because so many use the same system across the board to be able to have native data exchange between departments or engineers. However, the pay grade for someone well-versed in their particular program is generally the same for the level of CAD you're working with (so, an experienced PLM CAD engineer would most likely get a better entry fare than someone working just in medium-range CAD, because of the higher level of integration and experience required).

My advice at this point is to take up SolidWorks. It's intuitive, you'll grasp it quickly, plus it's available to students and learners at a far better rate than some other packages. Also, SolidWorks data formats are well-understood by industry. Once you have a good idea of the mechanics of design, you can then decide whether or not you want to migrate to another platform. All in all, though, SolidWorks will give you a good understanding of CAD workflows, and once you get proficient at it, it can be both fun and quick to use.

 

[Designman]

ProEngineer and Solid works were written by the same man. He sold each of these companies when the platform he was working with ran full course and limited future improvements. His latest platform is Space Claim. I use it, and it out performs the previous two. So simple and fast, it's amazing.

 

[MarkJW]

...Space Claim. I use it, and it out performs the previous two. So simple and fast, it's amazing.

I like Space Claim a lot, also, but i do not see it as a full functional CAD program. It is great for working with geometry (or even creating it). I ahve not used it for a couple years, so things may ahve changed. I used it mainly for preparing geometry for finite element modelling (clean-up, assembly, and preparation for meshing).

 

[Designman]

MarkJW,

Well said. I agree. Solid works would be the first program for a student to learn. Space Claim has evolved, and is an exceptional tool. Each user will find his own use for this beautiful intuitive program.

 

[shafqut]

solidworks is a more reasonable choice for industries as it provides much more features in a single package then any other software out there. but this totally depends on your field of study and your job requirements