Orlando or Bust…Why You Need To Be There!

As many of you know by now the SolidWorks WORLD 2009 website is up and running and registration is open. Last year I did a series of posts on my attempts to get my employer to send me to San Diego for SolidWorks WORLD 2008. This year I am going to be doing a similar series with hopefully more insight now that I have been to one of these events.

The first step in any proposal is convincing yourself that it is worth the efforts and/or costs. There are many reasons to attend this annual event that SolidWorks hosts every year. Last year, before I had attended a SolidWorks WORLD before, I had an idea of what to expect but was completely unprepared for what I experienced as soon as I arrived in sunny San Diego. The buzz around the convention center and in the hotel that I stayed at was vibrant. I immediately felt that sense of community that I had heard so much about. Friendships that had been idle for a year being rekindled and friendships that were being made at that very moment. And this was just at the hotel. Being a part of a community such as this is a very, very big reason for you to attend SolidWorks WORLD 2009. I am sure that there are hundreds of business deals that develop each year because of a relationship that was built at SolidWorks WORLD. This event is a great way to give your company a face in a community/market that is growing at unbelievable rates. This is just 1 of many reasons to attend. Where else can you go where you can communicate with any and all of the blog squad, or Jeff Ray (CEO of SolidWorks), or Jon Hirschtick (1 of guys that started SolidWorks) or any of the SolidWorks employees. One thing that I found out last year was that everyone is open to talk to. There are not security guards escorting the CEO around, he is walking amongst everyone else.

What better a place to advance your SolidWorks skills than at a convention that offers over 150 technical sessions that you can jam pack into 3 days. These sessions cover almost every nook a cranny of the software. Is there a tool that your company uses every day? Why not go to a session that deals with that tool and see how others use it, I bet you will pick up something new. Is there a tool that you think you company can take advantage of but no one really know how to use it effectively? Here’s your chance, you can come back after SolidWorks WORLD and be the “expert” at your company for that tool. These sessions are given by some of the brightest SolidWorks users out there including SolidWorks employees themselves. Last year I attended a session that not only taught me how to do something SolidWorks related but taught me something that I implemented company wide so that engineers and non engineers alike benefited from it.

Here is a list of some of the reasons to attend SolidWorks WORLD 2009

Choose from over 150 technical sessions to attend that will increase you skill level with SolidWorks.
Network with other users, whether they are in your industry or in your neighborhood, by attending the birds of a feather lunch time gatherings.
See the latest and greatest SolidWorks add-on’s, partner products, and tools to assist in your everyday SolidWorks usage.
Talk to SolidWorks employees to pick there brains about the things that you think about as you run the software on a daily basis.
Get a sneak peak at what SolidWorks 2010 will include.
Test your skills against other users in the Model Mania competition and win awesome prizes.
Hear great motivational speeches from some of the best speakers that are out there in the engineering/computer line of work.
Become a CSWP at SolidWorks WORLD and attend the private CSWP only event.
Attend the unbelievable off site event that SolidWorks hosts every year.
Make friendships that will continue outside of Orlando, Florida.
Introduce yourself to the bloggers…LIKE ME!

There are so many opportunities that present themselves at SolidWorks WORLD that it doesn’t make sense not to go. If you use the software for more than 10 hours a week, you or someone from your company must attend this event. So sign up today and experience for yourself what SolidWorks WORLD is all about.

Check out this highlight video from SolidWorks WORLD 2008.

Stay tuned for the next post in this series of how to convince you management to send you to SolidWorks World 2009 at the Swan & Dolphin Hotel in Orlando, Florida.

Important dates to remember:

September 15, 2008 – All presentation proposals must be submitted for consideration (All presenters will receive free admission into the conference).
October 10, 2008 – Early Bird Special #1 ends.
January 9, 2009 – Early Bird Special #2 end.