Some students ask why we use solidworks in our programs. The answer is simple:
- It’s the most affordable general CAD package for us;
- It’s well-known to be particularly easy to learn compared to most other CAD packages;
- It’s very popular in all kinds of different industries.
Some students will occasionally challenge that last point based on their own anecdotal experience; they’ll tell me that as they look for work, they find AutoCAD, not Solidworks, is required. Unfortunately, even though anecdotal evidence may seem indisputable to those who experience it directly, it is not sound evidence. If you look here, you’ll see that Solidworks is very popular, but not enough information is given about the nature of the survey to know if the statistics gathered are robust. So then, look here, and while I would never expect you to fork out the $2,500 for the full report, the key result is given for free: “The key vendors dominating this market space are Autodesk Inc., Dassualt [sic] Systemes SA, PTC, and Siemens PLM Software Inc.”
Dassault Systemes is the parent company of both Solidworks and CATIA.