Advice for a prospective newbie. . .
 

Hello Fluent users,

I could really use some advice from engineers in industry who have attended Fluent's 5-day training for beginners.

I am a BS Mechanical Engineer with years of industrial process/fluid experience. Though I have always had an affinity for fluid mechanics, I never taken advanced courses or undertook CFD modelling.

I have been given an unusual opportunity to learn Fluent and apply it to several industrial design opportunities (in my small business). I am quite motivated to learn, and feel it would fit me well if I could get over 'the hump'. I am reading Versteeg's Intro to CFD, though I confess the 10-term vector equations aren't doing a lot for me. I think of myself as an extremely fast learner and am planning on putting in hundreds of study hours after returning from the Fluent course (hopefully study material will be supplied).

My question is this: Is the 5-day training + Fluent telephone support + intensive self-study enough to become somewhat productive over the first few months (devoting about half time to CFD?) Or is the learning curve for non-academic beginners steeper than that?

Does anyone have personal experiences similar to my proposed path?

Thanks very much for your assistance.

J. Jennings