Jerry
There is no real answer to your question.
As a bit of background I have worked with CAD systems in NZ manufacturing since 1985.
I have seen Inventor used in all areas of manufacturing, plastic, machinery, marine and industrial design.
I deal with suppliers & sub-contractors that use Inventor or SolidWorks or Pro-E or Solid Edge or etc etc etc.
There is no rule book that says if you design widget x you will use software Y.
A lot depends on the historical CAD systems and data created before transitioning to a modern mid range 3D modelers.
We use Inventor because the sheet-metal module is very good for the products we design, the drawing out-put suits our internal manufacturing processes and the integration with Vault Professional allows us to manage the huge amount of manufacturing history a company needs to and copy designs with ease.
My advice is that if you want to work at a NZ manufacturer you learn to do the basics well be it with Inventor or SWX etc. Learn how to construct models that are robust and allow for changes to occur without the model having to be remodeled from the very first feature. The same will need to apply to your assembly modelling techniques.
As an employer we look for CAD users that can demonstrate these skills. We can teach you how to design our products but we don't want to teach you how to do the basics you should be getting from your time at Ara or thru personal development. Every-time someone has to remodel a part to make basic changes to it you are costing your employer time and hence profit. This is not a good look and will not make you employer happy.
In a typical work day i might design a handful of new parts, 3 being sheet-metal, one being a fabricated gas manifold and the last one being a small injection molded plastic escutcheon ring. Those 3 sheet-metal parts might be used on 15 different models and be in manufacturing for 8-12 years during which they will go thru multiple engineering changes. You will now understand why robust modelling techniques are paramount.
Hopefully this helps a little.
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Daren
Dell Precision 7720 + P3418HW
Windows 10
Product Design & Manufacturing Collection
Inventor 2021.0.1, Vault Professional 2021, Showcase 2017