To sort of echo what robrenz said regarding converts, I started my university engineering career with Pro/E Wildfire 2.0 (now Creo, ugh...), then tried SolidWorks (now using 2010), and fell in love. It was, and still is, so much easier to use, and creating solid models with it is nearly effortless. The hours wasted trying to get Pro/E to do what we wanted, back in my freshman engineering days, could easily have been saved by using SolidWorks instead. To me, it's always been more intuitive -- that may be a bit of a skewed view too, coming from Pro/E -- and I can churn out much better and faster results with SolidWorks. It's just...smarter...? The only thing I've had to bust out the help file for was 'Flex'.
![Roll Eyes ::)](https://www.eevblog.com/forum/Smileys/default/rolleyes.gif)
There's even an add-in called CircuitWorks, which allows 3D/solid modeling of electrical components, PCBs, etc., with the ability to interface with Mental Graphics' PADS (which I do not currently use).
SolidWorks Premium now includes CircuitWorks as an Add-Ins which allows bi-directional IDF and PADS file interface for the SolidWorks 3D CAD system. The Priware Limited company was acquired by SolidWorks in March of 2008.
CircuitWorks is designed to bridge the gap between SolidWorks and Electrical Computer-Aided Design (ECAD) systems by providing an intuitive tool that allows users to import and export Printed Circuit Board (PCB) designs between SolidWorks and ECAD systems.
Source:
http://www.hawkridgesys.com/products/circuitworks/