Key Takeaways:

Top SOLIDWORKS Certifications to Get a Job

If your goal is to get a CAD/Mechanical Design job, I would prioritize the certifications like this:

1. CSWA – Certified SOLIDWORKS Associate

Best for beginners and students. It validates fundamental skills in sketching, part modeling, assemblies, drawings, dimensions, and basic SOLIDWORKS workflows.

2. CSWP – Certified SOLIDWORKS Professional

Best overall certification for getting a SOLIDWORKS design job. It demonstrates professional-level skills in parametric part design, configurations, and assembly modeling.

3. CSWPA – Advanced Professional Certifications

Choose a specialization based on the job you want:

Sheet Metal
Weldments
Surfacing
Drawing Tools
Mold Making

These are particularly useful when applying for specialized design roles.

4. CSWP-S – SOLIDWORKS Simulation Professional

Excellent for CAE/FEA, simulation, and mechanical engineering positions. It demonstrates knowledge of setting up simulations and interpreting FEA results.

5. CSWP-CAM – SOLIDWORKS CAM Professional

Recommended for CAD/CAM, CNC, and manufacturing engineering jobs. It demonstrates knowledge of SOLIDWORKS CAM tools and machining workflows.

6. CSWE – Certified SOLIDWORKS Expert

The highest-level SOLIDWORKS design certification. It is intended for experienced users and requires CSWP plus at least four advanced-topic professional certifications.

Best Certification Path for a Student

CSWA → CSWP → CSWPA Specialization → CSWP-S / CSWP-CAM → CSWE

My Recommendation

If you’re starting your career, don’t try to collect every certificate. A strong combination is:

CSWA + CSWP + one specialization + strong portfolio

For example:

Mechanical Design: CSWA → CSWP → Sheet Metal/Weldments
FEA/CAE: CSWA → CSWP → CSWP-S
Manufacturing/CNC: CSWA → CSWP → CSWP-CAM

SOLIDWORKS currently lists 30+ certification exams, including design, simulation, CAM, PDM, sheet metal, weldments, and other specialties.

Top SOLIDWORKS Certifications to Get a Job
1. CSWA – Certified SOLIDWORKS Associate
2. CSWP – Certified SOLIDWORKS Professional
3. CSWPA – Advanced Professional Certifications
4. CSWP-S – SOLIDWORKS Simulation Professional
5. CSWP-CAM – SOLIDWORKS CAM Professional
6. CSWE – Certified SOLIDWORKS Expert
CSWA vs. CSWP vs. CSWE
Certification Cost & Student Opportunity

Top SOLIDWORKS Certifications to Get a Job

SOLIDWORKS certifications provide a way to demonstrate verified CAD skills to employers. The official certification program has three main levels—Associate, Professional, and Expert—along with advanced specialty certifications.

For students and entry-level mechanical designers, the most practical strategy is to build toward CSWP, while using specialty certifications to match your target job.

1. CSWA – Certified SOLIDWORKS Associate

CSWA is the entry-level SOLIDWORKS certification.

It is designed for users who have learned the fundamentals of SOLIDWORKS and want to demonstrate basic CAD competency.

CSWA (Certified SOLIDWORKS Associate – Mechanical Design): The foundational industry-recognized credential validating core 3D modeling, drawing, and basic assembly skills for entry-level engineering roles.

Skills Covered

Basic sketching
Part modeling
Basic assemblies
Engineering concepts
Dimensions and relations
Fundamental SOLIDWORKS tools

Best For

Students
Beginners
Fresh graduates
Entry-level CAD designers

Career Value

CSWA is a good first certification, particularly if you have little professional experience.

2. CSWP – Certified SOLIDWORKS Professional

CSWP is the most important general SOLIDWORKS certification to target after learning the fundamentals.

It demonstrates a significantly higher level of SOLIDWORKS modeling ability than CSWA. SOLIDWORKS describes the Professional level as being for users with a strong foundation who actively use the software.

Skills Covered

Advanced part modeling
Design intent
Configurations
Equations
Advanced sketching
Assembly concepts
Complex modeling workflows

Best For

Mechanical design engineers
CAD designers
Product designers
Manufacturing designers
Experienced students

Career Value

Very high for a general SOLIDWORKS career.

If you can obtain only one advanced general-purpose SOLIDWORKS certification, CSWP is the one I would prioritize.

3. CSWPA – Advanced Professional Certifications

CSWPA refers to the Certified SOLIDWORKS Professional Advanced specialty certifications.

Rather than being one single certification, this category covers specialized SOLIDWORKS skills. The certification catalog includes areas such as Sheet Metal, Weldments, Surfacing, Drawing Tools, and Mold Making.

Examples

CSWP-SM – Sheet Metal
CSWP-WD – Weldments
CSWP-SU – Surfacing
CSWP-DT – Drawing Tools
CSWP-MM – Mold Making

Best For

Choose a specialty based on your target job.

For example:

Sheet Metal Job → CSWP-SM

Fabrication/Weldment Job → CSWP-WD

Surface/Product Design → CSWP-SU

Drafting/Documentation → CSWP-DT

4. CSWP-S – SOLIDWORKS Simulation Professional

CSWP-S demonstrates proficiency with SOLIDWORKS Simulation and finite-element-analysis workflows.

The exam covers areas including static, frequency, and thermal studies, solid/shell elements, beams, loads and restraints, mesh controls, convergence, configurations, and result interpretation.

Best For

Simulation engineers
Mechanical engineers
FEA engineers
Product development engineers
Design engineers involved in analysis

Career Value

Excellent as a specialization, but it is not usually the first certification I would recommend for someone seeking a general CAD job.

5. CSWP-CAM – SOLIDWORKS CAM Professional

CSWP-CAM demonstrates your ability to use SOLIDWORKS CAM functionality and tools.

Best For

CNC programmers
Manufacturing engineers
CAM engineers
CNC machining professionals
Manufacturing designers

Useful Combination

For manufacturing careers:

CSWA → CSWP → CSWP-CAM

This gives you a combination of:

CAD + Advanced Modeling + CAM

6. CSWE – Certified SOLIDWORKS Expert

CSWE is the highest-level general SOLIDWORKS certification and is intended for experienced users with advanced expertise.

Skills

It demonstrates advanced ability to solve complex modeling problems using SOLIDWORKS.

Best For

Senior CAD engineers
Senior mechanical designers
CAD specialists
Engineering leads
Experienced SOLIDWORKS professionals

Important

CSWE is not the certification to start with.

For the SOLIDWORKS CAD Design Expert exam, SOLIDWORKS requires CSWP plus a number of Advanced Professional certifications.

CSWA vs. CSWP vs. CSWE

Certification	Level	Best For
CSWA	Associate	Beginners & students
CSWP	Professional	Mechanical CAD professionals
CSWPA	Advanced Professional	Specialized CAD skills
CSWE	Expert	Experienced professionals

Certification Cost & Student Opportunity

SOLIDWORKS currently lists the standard CSWA and CSWP exams at $99 USD, while several CSWPA specialty exams are listed at lower prices. Pricing can change by region and program.

There is also an important advantage for students: students at schools participating in the SOLIDWORKS Academic Certification Provider program may be able to take qualifying exams for free. SOLIDWORKS also states that purchasing a student license can include a voucher for the CSWA and CSWP exams.