SolidWorks Reviews

Pros

People are intelligent, hard workers, nice at SW

Cons

VARs are clueless and a lot of turnover in channel that you have to deal with

Advice to Senior Management

Take back SW as a culture from DS. Business is great so pay back to employees more by raising salaries to levels in line within software industry. Make work fun again.

Pros

can learn both Parasolid and CATIA

Cons

life could be tough sometime.

Advice to Senior Management

ability should take priority over experience

Pros

The team is very talented and motivated to deliver functionality to the customer base. The rule has always been to give >80% of the what the big products deliver for <50% of the price. The teams will always work together to solve problems.

Cons

The solutions are regularly rejected by Dassault management without explanation or compromise. The upper management fails to understand that the Solidworks product line addresses a different market than the Catia brand. They insist on applying large market methods to Soldiworks product line.The employees are no longer afforded status within the larger company. There is no certainty of how the Brand will continue. Automony is lost on all levels under and One Company mantra.

Advice to Senior Management

Let my people go! The Solidworks brand team knows how to produce and sell to the middle CAD product market. You've hired the best, let them make money for the company.

Pros

There are some really talented and great people scattered amongst the nuts!
Great products, great innovation and some depts know how to do it right.

Cons

HR is the laughing stock of the company and senior management refuses to acknowledge the depths of the dysfunction. Favoritism abounds in many depts and apathy from Sr. Management to address issues and resolve conflicts creates frustration at all levels. DS is now running the show and has instituted socialistic rules at the new headquarters in Waltham.

Advice to Senior Management

Start over! Listen to your employees and to their ideas. After all they are the ones who make a company great!

Pros

Great vacation allowance for salaried employees. Laid back atmosphere. The company is very willing to try out new technologies and is very progressive on the whole.
Interns are treated very well.

Cons

When I left it seemed like SolidWorks was losing its independence within Dassault and was integrating with the rest of the daughter companies. I am not sure if this is a good thing or not.

Advice to Senior Management

The management is great. From my position as an intern I had very positive experiences with all of my superiors, so my advice is to not change anything.

Pros

Great people
Great benefits
Interesting products
Potential is the carrot...

Cons

Good amount of favoritism
Upper management is highly disorganized and inexperienced
Little support, innovation or chance for growth
The company will tell you what to do. The parent company has stepped in an they are pretty much driving the ship, beware.

Advice to Senior Management

Set the tone by telling the truth.

Pros

nice people to work with

Cons

parent company has too much control

Pros

The culture started by the founders one of which was in the MIT poker club and who one millions off the casinos is alive a well. Work hard and play hard. Respect your competitors and beat them. Be humble and do outstanding work and opportunities will open up.

Cons

Transition to work more closely with parent company is challenging but also full of potential and opportunities.

Advice to Senior Management

Stay SolidWorks and spread our culture to dassault not the other way around.

Pros

SolidWorks Management philosophy: "The most-important thing we do is hire great people." They encourage employees involved in the hiring process to take their role very seriously. Always try to hire the "best" - never settle for the "best available." Everything else, good or bad, derives from hiring decisions.
Company is completely committed to the success of their channel partners. A great place to work for channel professionals.

Cons

There are no negative aspects to working here. It's difficult to list any “cons” at all. There is uncertainty about the future being negatively impacted by cultural changes made by the parent company, Dassault Systemes (DS).

Advice to Senior Management

DS should be careful not to mess with a good thing. "SolidWorks" has an impressive track record of success. In 2010, DS began directing some product development decisions. These intrusions have slowed new product development and risk breaking the entrepreneurial spirit of the American R&D team. If the trend continues, this incredibly talented team will begin to dissolve.

Pros

This was a very friendly place to work, where the atmosphere was very casual. People generally knew each other well and the focus of the company was towards product development.

Cons

There seemed to be a lot of down time at work. Many of the employees may have not been as serious about working as they should have been.

Advice to Senior Management

Solidworks breeds a very enjoyable work environment although perhaps at a cost of maximum efficiency and production. I think they could tighten up incentives.