[busted240sx]

I prefer proE for machining things because it has the CAM program built into the package, which is nice if your design tends to change alot. It's harder to learn though, I'm sure I can only use about 10% of its real capability.

Inventor is much easier to use though, especially for students. I first learned to CAD with Inventor and I'm glad I started there, I would have gotten frustrated if I started with ProE.