Hey Mat! I'm currently pursuing my MS in Structural Engineering at Georgia Tech. Your videos have been extremely helpful! Thank you so much for all your help! I've been following your channel for a while now and I would love to connect with you! Is there a way that I could get in touch with you?
@@TheDarthVader11 Literally millions of people's lives are in my hands every day. Not at all overexaggerating, just totaling up the people in buildings and cars over and under bridges I have been legally responsible for adds up to that much...I am still not a 6 figure employee though; that's the ratio. An acquaintance of mine is a computer science guy who has developed an app to more effectively market clothes, nail polish & other consumer B.S. He makes 300K a year, no liability, 30 hours worked a week. That's the idea. Personally, I take the lower pay for the rewarding work and knowing that the logistics of society could not go one without engineers like me. We are the unpraised essential workers.
I very much agree with your view on salary/compensation and how its important to market the value of yourself or your company. I think most owner's/developers don't value what engineers do because they don't fully grasp what we do and the risks involved. So in order to ask for higher fees, we have to find ways to better educate people about what we do and why it's valuable. I think this is a pretty key factor that can make or break the structural engineering profession because compensation can have a trickle down effect to stress and work-life balance.
As an structural engineer for almost 20 years already, I think that a big problem with our industry is the culture. The impossible deadlines for me come from trying to please the Developers, the Architects and the Owners, and trying to get that contract against the other design company. Most of the big jobs come normally from RFP and bidding against other design companies. That force the inevitable short time to design and to lower price to get the job. That trickle down to us structural engineer hard. Specially when most people don't realize that when we put something into a drawing, a lot of work and an immense amount of knowledge goes into determine that steel section, that bolt, that weld, that reinforcement distribution, that size of foundation. They only see the drawing, not the work that is behind it. Plus the liability/reward ratio that almost unfair. If you think about it, without Civil and Structural Engineering we wouldn't have civilization as we know it, no roads, no water management, no buildings, no houses, etc. But the guy that sell the house makes way more money that the one that makes it possible in the first place 🤷
As a structural engineer. I agree 100% the fact that everyone is trying to outbid each other and lower the prices and then the ridiculous deadlines. Along with the liability that we take on. All that being said, I am switching careers! This is as an engineer 4 years in. Just don't see a good future in this field. PLEASE, ANYONE INTERESTED IN THIS FIELD, DO INTERNSHIPS.
@@arlstream551 hii sir, I'll be studying mtech in structural designing, and I'm very interesting in designing,so it is the best job or not in future.p/s give me the suggestions.
yeah, I've been always wondering how a real estate made 50 times more on the sale of that 4 story beach front mansion with a pool on the roof than what my office made on providing structural engineering services for the whole building.... After they close the sale, they walk away without any responsibilities. And yet our names will always stay on str. set of plans that are to provide a safe long lasting structure for the occupants...
With 43 years of work experience as a structural engineer I can attest that there is no work life balance - only work life management. One must learn to delegate and also learn to say NO regarding project load and schedule. The worst projects that I have worked on were for architectural firms. The best projects were as a prime consultant working directly with an owner in the industrial setting. Building projects can be a mess and a time drag - working on systems and components are the way to go. The next best projects were working directly with contractors and design-build projects. Large projects are necessary, but small projects executed well can be gravy. Become a master of small projects in a wide variety of systems and components (i.e. foundations / geotechnical, conveyor systems, crane systems, warehouse systems, ME / EE components, etc.). Decide early if you want to be an engineer or be a manager. If taking the management path one must learn to let go of much of the technical side and develop many of the soft skills involved in managing people / projects. Engineering used to be a noble profession that has been cheapened into a commodity because engineers let others make the hard decisions, and by technology itself. Sad but true.
facts for the level of responsibility and oversight the pay is not worth it. I work in a design firm and we take on so much in terms of having to design review, monitor, and report on projects for our clients. Some weeks I work 6 days a week. It always feels like you're working from deadline to deadline and it's very stressful sometimes.
Hey there! I was planning to do my Masters in Transportation. So I wanted to ask, should I go for it ? Is it demanding in civil sector ? And the question for which everyone wants the answer, what's the pay grade ? Thanks
By the way, when i did work as a structural engineer - i worked in mining/industrial projects. Generally speaking we earned about ~10%-15% more than the guys doing residential or commercial projects. There is definitely a hierarchy in the industry. In aerospace my job title is "stress engineer", and i do very very similar work. There is huge demand for structural engineer skillset but you won't get the $ doing buildings.
@@hellothere8812 I have a BS in mechanical engineering, and a MS in structural engineering. The mechanical background helped but wasn't required. There are a lot of civil/structural guys who go into aerospace, specifically into "structures". My official job title when i transitioned over was "Stress Analysis Engineer" and I mainly dealt with stress/structural analysis of large factory machinery (think cranes that can pick up your house, or work stands that can hold a jumbo jet). From there I moved on to aeronautical engineering. It's pretty easy to make the shift if you catch the industry on an upswing. When recruiting is booming they will take anyone qualified in related engineering fields :-)
@@cosmo9560 BSMechE 2008; MSCE (Structural) 2013. There are lots of structural engineers at Boeing, Northrop, Lockheed, Bombardier.ect. It's generally not that difficult to make the transition, but on aerospace side they are often called "Stress" engineers, although structural or structures engineers is also a common job description. Not sure there are too many opportunities for other civil branches though (no need for geotech engineers at an airplane company for example).
Very interesting take on the civil engineering career path, Mat. I hope students that love civil engineering stick with it and see how rewarding the industry is.
@@alfonsoperez1762 You've got this! Remember to make your study space distraction-free! But remember, it's ok to take a break sometimes to prevent burnout!
Same! Knowing both the pros and cons can help students make an informed decision on their careers. The pros and fulfillment obviously beat out the cons for me :)
9 years as a structural consultant. For the most part, I like my job. Stress is mostly avoidable with proper planning and honest client communication. I work from home often and pick my schedule, so no issues seeing family and taking time off when preferred. My major issue with the industry is pay, and the engineers who undersell their services thus lowering our industry value as a whole. And for a minor issue, the contractors who place blame when errors occur, and our inability to defend ourselves.
Well you can easily determine who's responsible for the errors. If they don't follow the plans you layed out for them then they can't blame you, since the evidence will be in the drawings and specs, but if they follow your drawings and instructions to a T and there's problems then it most certainly is your fault.
Problem is, so much of the structural plans we’re getting these days are horrible. The experience level isn’t there in the engineering stage and as a contractor we’re basically helping design it during the preconstruction process.
Structural engineers are mostly not business oriented. High school drop outs contractors make by far more money. That is the reality and I'm a structural engineer.
Civils make good money but not justifiable for what we put into it. When you can integrate inflow and outflow curves to determine a stormwater pond size and your neighbor doesn't know what a square root is....but he sells a widget....well there is something boozed up here.
Yup. Been thinking about building my house and thought thus as well, no clue why they make more money for the easier job, I'd rather an engineer help me with my project.
Hi mat, your channel it's really good. I've been working as a structural engineer since 2013 you're totally right about the stressful part due to the deadlines, some of the time impossible deadlines and you have to work 15, 18 hours a day. Another thing is when you work in a very populated area, such as LA, Miami, NY, Boston, those cities have very strict building codes, and that makes the work harder than other places. Great job with your channel
I work as a designer & cad for both structural and civil works for government projects... More than 40++ hour has been spend within a week (site visit + design+drawing) as to meet the deadline of the projects. Sometimes, it was really stressful but I enjoyed it. :-) thx for the video...
Took my structures education and am doing bridge design for state government. Low stress, utilizing many structural concepts applicable to both horizontal and vertical structures, great internal continuing education program, and able to pursue residential and other structure design opportunities if I so choose. Plan to go back to get a Master's next year.
@@harvestingseason2725 Pension deductions mean take home is less than private. For licensed engineers gross pay around 90k, with room to grow over 120k. Senior positions get more, of course. The time and freedom to do work outside of the 9-5 gives supplementary income
I've been practicing for about 18 years in the San Francisco Bay Area. I went off on my own about 12 years ago. Wonderful video my friend. We as a profession need to demand more pay, but not so much more that we exponentially increase our stress rate. In the end, I'm ok with what I make, much more than if I was working for someone else. Thank you
@@rezaalishahi396 Not sure. Since I exited the corporate route I've never looked back. The video had a good graphical breakdown of salaries with respect to years of experience. Hope that helps
@Mahmoud Galal My dear friend, my best advice would be to decide whether you want money or a fulfilling career. In a perfect world, the two are one in the same, but we know now more than ever, this world is far from perfect. I think dentist make much more than engineers so if you don't want to be a poor engineer, definitely make the switch. But I don't know what kind of stress dentists are under. I've actually stopped going to the dentist because the ones I was going to were only providing temporary solutions requiring me to keep going back for more fillings, capping my teeth and one or two root canals which has destroyed parts of my mouth. I simply stopped eating so much manufactured sugar and switched to fruits and vegetables, floss and brush regularly and haven't needed to the dentist in more than 8 years. At any rate, I enjoy structural engineering so I decided to stick with it and it turns out working for yourself is much more lucrative, but I still find myself having to deal with engineers that keep undercutting the profession and selling our services for cents on the dollar. Not sure if this has helped you, but I'm also slowly making the transition to agriculture in my own country because in the US system, you'll find that it's never quite enough. The "poor" people are doing everything to get rich, and the rich people are doing everything to stay rich. In the end, you begin to realize, this system will not be able to sustain itself on credit, debt, and fictions wealth because the banks own most of everything and the second you don't make those payments, they have no problem taking what ever it is right back and lending to the next line of people trying to get a slice of the American dream. It's a good country with many opportunities, but many of us never stop to think at what costs are these opportunities come with until we're knee deep in debt and have to keep playing the game. I don't own my house out right, but am on course to pay it off much faster than the 30 year mortgage and that's mainly because I work for myself. Dentistry might get you money much faster so it's a good plan if you ask me, but I'm not into needles and anatomy of the mouth so if you think you can swing it, I wish you all the best. Just do everything you can to not get caught up in this sneaky and sinister game of credit and debt. Best of luck my friend.
@Mahmoud Galal Hello my dear brother. Feel free to send your email and let's continue the conversation by email. You'll see my contact information after I respond. Thank you
It's all fine until the day you decide to study for a PE (or maybe even SE!) exam. This is when you really get stressed and your work-life balance is completely destroyed because one part of this equation should be substituted with the study... Since we all have bills to pay, the balance equation becomes work-study and life is temporarily eliminated. This was the most stressful time in my str eng carrier.
Thanks for highlighting NCSEA and SE3, two great groups that support and improve the SE industry. You get out what you put in, and Structural Engineering is no different. Thanks for your candid stories Mat!
Working as a structural engineer in Dubai for 9 years leads me to a pool of depression, anxiety, panic disorders.. And that refer to lower amounts of money, extraordinary stressful work environments, not easy to meet the deadlines
I left the consultant industry as a Highway Engineer. I spent 8 years in road design. I don’t miss working OT and not getting paid. Currently, I work as a facilities engineer for tech company. With a civil engineer degree and background, a lot of companies are hiring facilities engineer. The pay is much better. One of college friend who graduated with a finance degree is making twice as much.
I tried a placement for structural engineer and I found the clients were my major downfall, I'm not a people person and OMG they are a pain in the ass. The travel time for me was horrible too and deadlines were a little stressful too it was a 60+hr type thing and I nearly dropped out.
Even if you're a people person like me, the client's level of sophistication can really drive a relationship. Those difficult conversations such as out of scope requests and changes can get brutal if the client doesn't understand or is able to navigate contractual relationships.
I've been in the structural eng business for over 20 years. I'm in the "satisfied" column, but I've told my own kids to avoid civil eng completely unless it's the only thing that would get them up in the morning. And the primary reason is item number three. No matter how much I enjoy performing engineering tasks, from a business perspective the risk to reward ratio has felt thrown off to me since the crash in 2008. I have also had to completely leave behind private sector clients--including owners--for risk/reward reasons. As fun and challenging as those projects were, it just hasn't made much business sense to me.
I totally agree. I'm invested, I'm here, I'm likely sticking with structural engineering. But I wouldn't recommend kids follow my path unless they really think this is their dream job. I went this direction largely because of assumed financial plusses, and turns out there aren't too many here.
Financial and job stability reasons were two draws for me. And on its face I'm paid well. But over my career the liability demands and effort to earn that living have seemed to outpace the earned value. On that survey, I also think respondents are being low on their hours. It's not uncommon for every structures engineer I know in both my company and market- especially management - to work at least 50 hours if their firm has work. And if you're on design build projects I've known some bridge designers to work 60+ for multiple weeks straight. I don't want to discourage anyone, but stress again this is a job you have to want to do.
@@erichansen2860 hey Eric, Could I help from your experience? I am undergraduated civil engineering student from Slovakia and I had focused on BIM before; Naviswork simulations, 3D modeling, Mep Design and more.. But now i am more dealing with structural part and trying to practice on ACI and Eurocode standarts and writing my graduation project in this field. What do u suggest, which field is mainly better for finding job in Europe/US?
Great overview of some of the challenges engineers have to face. I definitely try my best to keep a good work life balance and be as zen as I can be, but as a new engineer it's necessary to put in more time to get over that learning curve. And that learning curve is HUGE lol thanks for the video man!
If you love it, keep at it. We need good structural engineers. And there are managers out there who will help with work-life balance. You just need to find them and advocate for your needs.
One of my best mentors told me that "Engineering is too much of a grind to not love the work." And we never stop learning, that's the best part of the job!
@@ronad1979 you hit it right on the nail head. Flexibility in what you can do makes you more valuable to your employer or your client if you own your business. Good for you.
I did that for 10 years before shifting to other businesses. However, i am saving alot of money so my kids can go to flight school instead of this course.
GREAT VIDEO... I'm a CE student from Asia and I just want to say your videos have helped me see and appreciate the actual Civil Eng side of my major and not just the academic side of things... I hope you could make a video on how we could build our productivity and skills in our University years as to prepare for the "stressful" stuff that you just mentioned in this video.... THANKS AGAIN
bacically, long working hours, less pay, huge stress and responsibilities for structural engineers. if you are really hard working, why not be a programer instead?
Nothing wrong with tech and programming, it’s a good career, but everyone is different with different priorities in pay, work enjoyment, and what they are good at. For me, I really valued engagement and fulfillment in my work (nothing like seeing a building you designed being built) and I was willling to take that knowing I wouldn’t be paid as well as doctors lawyers or programmers. But that’s me and everyone is different. If you can find a career where you can find the right balance in what makes you happy at work and sustaining your lifestyle expenses, then that’s awesome!
Hey Mat I am from India and from more than 6 years am into this industry. Here in india we used to work more than 70 Hours pre covid situation and after this Covid and lockdown we even worked 100hours from Home without any extra pay or Over time. Even after doing so much our hardwork never appreciated.. In short this industry is in very bad state and i personally don't recommend any student to start their life in this field. Pretty much everywhere same scenario
Interesting video. My opinion is the compensation is way lower than the level of stress, liability, and workload. If I knew these years ago, I would have changed my field.
I already have another path. I worked over 5 years as a structural engineer in my country, and I could realize that doing this for a living is not suitable profitable. It's a shame because this professional is vital to keep working any society, but first I need to care of my pocket because of they are empty, there is nothing to eat.
An engineering degree is one of the most popular degrees in the world. However there are a few reasons that everyone should consider whether or not a career as an engineer is a good fit for them. This video definitely helps you make that final decision. As a Mechanical Engineer myself, I agree that there are many disadvantages to an engineering degree. But at the same time, we're living in a time in which we'll get to play a primary role in developing humanity as race using our major. So, engineering is cool! And that makes up for all the disadvantages ;) I'm planning to make a similar video on my channel soon. Thanks for the inspiration Mat! Great video as always :)
I totally agree. Engineering of all kinds is a very useful field. Not to get too prideful, but I think engineers are capable of improving the world better than anyone else. Maybe not roadway guys. They just draw curvy lines and call it a day. 😁
Every high level education takes time. Doctor - 8 years. Lawyer - 8 years. Engineer (PE) - 8 years. And if you want to make money in them, you have be the best in those fields. Money doesn't come easy,
Civil engineer doing civil and structural engineering in both private and corporate sectors since 1974. (You do the math). Biggest stress factor BY FAR is the paininthesrschatect. They can be dogmatic, pig headed, unreasonable, arrogant and do not like the engineer giving any suggestions or advice. Now have my own consultancy specializing in tension membrane structures and A’s still want the unreasonable, impractical or impossible. Say no more.
Bridge design is awesome. Seldom involves architects or quantity surveyors. As the engineer you get to do the conceptual design (different bridge forms, hydrology, etc) , prelim and detailed design. Really fun and the only other professionals you deal with are the road geometric designers. Plus the time lines are decent.
Lmao ,here in india. As fresher I am working as site engineer for 12hrs a day for 6 days thats 72hrs a week. Rip me. We need serious revolution here. It sucks. Pay is less too despite working on advance project like RRTS RAILWAY 🙏
I am a 67 year old structural engineer with 44 years in. Still going strong while being well paid. I can afford to retire but I'm having too much fun. It isn't all that stressful, you can work 45-50 hours a week indefinitely if you enjoy it.
Stress is a literal killer. There have been many times I've had to reevaluate what I'm doing and whether to keep going so you're not alone there. For me, developing project management skills and getting my PMP certification helped give me some perspective. But everyone will have to find their own solution.
Its true mate, you really not alone. Today my daughter told me she wants to be engineer and show this video. Also her told me "dad why are u collecting poop?" 😂 welcome to miserable life.
I think people going into structural need to be prepared to get a masters degree in structural engineering. Every structural engineer my office has hired they at least have a master degree. It’s like an industry standard now days and you won’t be as competitive if you don’t have it. Depending on which company you work for, there is very little to no training for new grads these days. You need to be prepared to learn on your own and having that masters degree will really help.
I disagree it really depends on the location , and the position of the company your applying to on whether you really need those extra years in school.
I think its about the liability you take on if anything goes wrong and the pay doesn't help. You also have to consider that the pay looks high but when you adjust for hours worked its not that high.
Of all the civil fields, structures is best I think. Roadway, rail, and site civil seems boring. Traffic engineering doesn't seem to have a payoff once the project is complete. At least we get to point at a bridge or building and say we designed it. Any desire to do soils engineering is incomprehensible to me. Water resources or environmental could be fun if they weren't so rife with politics. Drainage seems boring because you're even more distant from driving a project than structures. CM could be fun because you get to be out and about all day seeing the work get done, but you're mostly overseeing somebody else's project, so like traffic design there doesn't seem to be a tangible source of pride as a reward if that kind of thing matters to you. It does to me.
@@sevaghanneyan2150 it is tough. Site engineer works so much and for what? All that hard work on the site for nothing. Unless you a project manager , you won't make much. To become a project manager you need like 15-20 years of experience
In summary: ultra high stakes, low pay and long hours. A single mistake can cause the loss of lives and huge financial burden. My advice: run away from this career.
Are you thinking to get into IT jobs? Dude there is no stability in IT jobs now. There is now Employee value. I am thinking to switch back to Civil Engineering now, worked in IT for more than 2 years.
Great advice. BTW, you should put a DONATE button, your knowledge is valuable!!! All the best, and keep the flame alive, I am also a CE from Chile, where we have to go thru Graduate Level to be a PE (in Chile, by law) which is equivalent to having an MSc. Sadly, when you get to the market, it seems like there is a lot of disenchantment, especially for people who start mostly as Structural Engineers. When you move over to Field/Site/CM/RE positions, you notice the disbalance in compensation. But the passion for Structural Engineering lives on!
Well these comments definitely discouraged me from pursuing structural engineering after truly feeling like it’s what I want. Structural engineers are so vital and hearing that they aren’t valued sucks. Building integrity is more important than people think. What am I supposed to do now? Lol
Sorry to hear, I love it and it’s fulfilling but I know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea and important people know what they’re getting into. Finding out what you value in a career can help, if it’s prestige, maybe software engineering? That and data science seem to be “hip” careers. But do research on those careers as well, they each have pros and cons.
I get paid 70 grand being a STEM school teacher at a private school. Yeah entry level civil engineering salary is criminal. You can get paid that much as an accountant, but the mental load is much higher for the engineer.
We screwed ourselves by competitive bidding on projects while lawyers held tight and kept their rates high. So many times we are under pressure to finish a design and we are the ones stamping it. We should not take so much responsibility for low rates but we do that to have work. Its time to raise our profession and be paid our worth.
True, ours is invaluable work that needs to be done. If all SEs raised their prices to the same amount(not sure on the legality of that) people would still pay because our work is so important. But, your neighbor SE will do it for less, and the other guy will do it for even less. Hence, here we are
@@MatPicardal I just came across this Great topic and was recently talking to the new and past SEAOSC presidents about this. We engineers need to unite through our professional organizations and protect our profession. I recently turned down a client who wanted to reduce our fees. He said he'll find another SE who will do it for peanuts, so I told him good luck We have a saying, "cheap, fast or good -pick 2".
I am doing graduation in Civil engineering, and I think this is one of the biggest mistake in my life to studying civil engineering. but now I completed the 4th semester with a high percentage, so no way of return.
Don't do this if you are just looking for a job. You have to engage in the profession and learn how to do it well. We have too many pretenders in the profession and that endangers the public. This is a demanding job, there is a lot of pressure, it demands a lot of time and attention and a lot of learning. You can't turn it off and go home at 5 like you can with other jobs. And the pressure of deadlines will sometimes eliminate your personal life. It's not a job where you can make reservations months in advance for a trip for instance.
All of these cons are so depressing. And I'm not even in civil engineering, I'm an undergrad materials engineer that was planning to get a masters in structural engineering. Any other recommended career paths then?
As an oil & gas structural engineer/designer, I can say that waiting for loading information for you to run your analysis sucks! Other people's deadline relates directly to your deadline. If others exceed their deadlines, you'll most probably already exceed your deadline or at least has already less time to work on your part. This sucks!
welcome Will a ready-made concrete pour work for me? Its components are cement And the small Zero Five pebbles If it is 8 cm thick The iron is 12 mm between each skewer and the other is 20 cm
Thanks for the video, I was looking for this kind of information. Me personally I’m doing it to creat my own firm. I already invest in flipping houses and so one of my biggest tag items is plans so I want to do my own plans and essentially be my own client and from there network to get other investors and contractors I already know to purchase my services.
Hey Mat! Great video! Really helpful for all the structural engineering students out there, just wanted to ask one question if you could answer that's be great. I have currently enrolled for a master's degree in structural engineering at California State University Northridge, first of all, since you're at California, what do you think about this university? Secondly and most importantly, do you need to gain experience as a site engineer in order to find a job in the structural engineering consultancy? Also, what types of internships would you recommend for structural engineering students?
I'll answer two and three. I don't think you need site engineer experience, though it could be helpful so I won't discourage it if you want to do that. A manager with good training skills will take you out in the field to give you that experience. And if they don't, advocate for it. As for internships, I would say find one that fits your interests first, and then branch out just in case you can't get exactly what you want. Most big firms like mine have structures divided up by buildings and bridges, and smaller firms may only have one or the other, and even then perhaps they only specialize in one type of structure, such as post-tensioned parking structures or tilt-up distribution centers. If you want more specific advice, I am a little biased towards larger firms because they have structured internship programs that can get you involved in many different things and give you an opportunity to network with other interns across the country. I just finished this summer with my first intern, and she dove in head first to our company's program and was able to meet a lot of people and learn about other things civil engineers do, not just bridge engineering. Because of that opportunity for exposure to many different things I think she had a very educational experience beyond working with my group.
This is a decent informative video though I have to comment on a few things that were not clearly mentioned: - Licensing requirements becoming a P.E. (Registered Professional Engineer) or S.E. (Registered Structural Engineer) - Having a license will increase your odds of getting paid more also giving the opportunity to have your own consulting firm. Stress could be controllable in my opinion when you run your own business especially if you are good at planning work also managing your clients expectations but also keeping them reasonable. Lastly, we as an engineer own ourselves to keep this profession at a higher standard and have to push others to do so.
Yes; that's the point dude P.E. & S.E. & .. Exams.. + so many other REQUIREMENTS .. APPROVALS ... & .tests.. reVisions, + Alterations.. & .. Eigen-Vectors , Ritz Vectors .. and all that for What ? only to work silently in the Shadows ? there is Big-Contractors: that ; when bidding on projects they Consider & tell the Client's "we'll do the Designs for FREE"
So we can say that Structural Engineers are like gods.When everything is good no one gives a shit, but once there is a downfall.. you become the centre of the picture...hahah....
hey mat I'm a transfer student attending Cal poly interested in structural engineering. When do you think I should start applying for internships? This semester I'm taking fluid mechanics, mechanics of deformable bodies, and a couple of other beginner civil engineering courses. I would also like to state that I've been working in construction for 6 yrs now.
As soon as you can. Most get internships on their junior or senior year, but it couldn't hurt to apply sooner. Your construction experience might increase your chances as well. Try out as many internships as you can for the fields that interest you, that's where you'll really see what they are like working in those careers.
If any students are reading this comment- if you are not 100% passionate about structures or ok with barely scraping by financially DO NOT GO THROUGH WITH IT! if you are smart enough to be a structural engineer, you are more than smart enough to do computer science. Tech is way better compensated, there is more potential for promotions, remote work etc. structural engineering is a total dead end - biggest mistake of my life and I’m currently pivoting to data science after ten years in this garbage industry.
Was studying for my SE exams but finished! Naw, most engineering professions complain that we don’t get paid enough or as much as real estate, bankers, lawyers, etc. it’s true, but those professions typically have better communication skills than us (like client relationships, running a business, making sales, marketing) and most engineers don’t want to develop those soft skills that really make money. We’d rather do a calc than take a public speaking or leadership class, or go out and talk to strangers. So we go on forums and complain amongst ourselves haha
If you do the numbers % of cost of the total development costs. Real Estate agents (without a degree or the responsibilities) can take home anywhere between 1 to 4% of the total development cost (including land). A structural engineering company might be lucky to receive 0.1% to 0.5% of the total build cost (excluding land). Let that sink in with you............... I've been in the industry for over 10 years (working from small firms to tier 1 companies), if I didn't have my own firm - I wouldn't bother with engineering. I don't recommend it as a career to any young student. Without even starting a project you are doomed to long work hours and low pay. WORK TO LIVE NOT LIVE TO WORK.
Hello Mat, could you give an example of a steel deck slab here in Mexico, it is not very common, I would appreciate it if you have a pdf of something that may help me.
I am new to ur channel, while looking for Structural Engineering thesis topics then I saw this. Really love this but I am 4th year college now. What topic can u recommend?
Hey matt I am Egyptian engineering student I am a freshmen engineering student and I am going to choose my major next year. I was considering to enroll in building engineering its different from civil we just study to about the buildings, skyscrapers, etc, but in an ECO friendly way of building it. Do you recommend enrolling in it or just choose another major like mechatronics and computer? I am in a programme also with a college in England, So can you guys recommend me a major that's good in the future because according to the articles and survey civil is one of the best fields ion the future.
From my experience in the US, that’s usually a more profitable job. But you have to always be in the field and handle a lot of different personalities.
I do both CM and design work almost exclusively from the office, and yes, you can Imagine what kind of problems that can cause. The point being that it will depend on what kind of firm you are working for, but you WILL be dealing with a lot of different personalities in CM, so you gotta be an effective communicator and you have to know when to say "no". However, to answer your question - yes, it does generally pay more than design work, but I imagine because it is not nearly as enjoyable to do as design work unless you specifically like construction more than design for some reason.
Why don't most structural engineers just do freelance if it pays so much better and they can choose their own projects compared to working for a company?
Freelance work - you don't find work, you don't eat, you get desperate. Engineers typically don't get any business and marketing training, so their best "marketing strategy" to win work, especially when they are desperate, is to lower their fees to ridiculously low levels at times. Low fees means the worker engineers get paid very little as well. Then the industry as a whole complains that we're paid very little. So, we're doing that to ourselves. Freelance is high risk, high reward. Company is low risk, low reward.
Structural Engineering is for highly intelligent, self motivated and competent multitaskers......who understand the public service aspect and sacrifices the profession requires......if you want money, become a banker.
Mat, you forgot the most important part. Do the structural engineers get paid when they work above 40 hours per weeks? A supervisor might give a task to an engineer that takes 50 hours, but wants it done in 40 hours. Talk about that please
Nice...hi m steel structural detailer...8 year's of experience..m from India. Can u help us on how to get detailing jobs from US &Canada for detailing.
My boss is a licensed structural engineer. About 100k a year, typically charge $500 for 5 million underlying liability drawing review. He commented it’s not worth it unless you just love structural.
I graduated with a bachelor's in construction engineering which is a 4 year degree but due to the Covid situation in my country jobs were hard to come by so when a role in project management came up with a principal contractor I accepted. I found myself using hardly any of my engineering skills that I had gained in my degree and was feeling very confused and under utilized. Interestingly however, within the my first year of working for this company my salary has increased from 65k to 100k with a couple other benefits such as a company vehicle with fuel card. This left me thinking to myself, is it even worth me trying to go back and start all over again as an intern at an engineering firm on roughly 65k? or do I just continue down this road in project management? and from watching this video, and correct me if I'm wrong, it sounds like no matter what capacity I'm working in, the closer you are to the source of the money the more money you will get. It just feels like such a waste to have studied all those years at university just to become a project manager. Anyways my point is that I really enjoyed watching this video and appreciate your take on things.
Dude I am in the exact situation as you! I would like to gain experience as a structural engineer but the salary/work hours/stress is not worth that path. Construction Management has so much more to offer.
What do you think of these reasons to not go into the industry? What disadvantages do you see in the structural engineering industry?
High liability to salary ratio?
Hey Mat! I'm currently pursuing my MS in Structural Engineering at Georgia Tech. Your videos have been extremely helpful! Thank you so much for all your help! I've been following your channel for a while now and I would love to connect with you! Is there a way that I could get in touch with you?
Your vid is spot on Mat!
@@TheDarthVader11 Literally millions of people's lives are in my hands every day. Not at all overexaggerating, just totaling up the people in buildings and cars over and under bridges I have been legally responsible for adds up to that much...I am still not a 6 figure employee though; that's the ratio. An acquaintance of mine is a computer science guy who has developed an app to more effectively market clothes, nail polish & other consumer B.S. He makes 300K a year, no liability, 30 hours worked a week. That's the idea. Personally, I take the lower pay for the rewarding work and knowing that the logistics of society could not go one without engineers like me. We are the unpraised essential workers.
I very much agree with your view on salary/compensation and how its important to market the value of yourself or your company. I think most owner's/developers don't value what engineers do because they don't fully grasp what we do and the risks involved. So in order to ask for higher fees, we have to find ways to better educate people about what we do and why it's valuable.
I think this is a pretty key factor that can make or break the structural engineering profession because compensation can have a trickle down effect to stress and work-life balance.
As an structural engineer for almost 20 years already, I think that a big problem with our industry is the culture. The impossible deadlines for me come from trying to please the Developers, the Architects and the Owners, and trying to get that contract against the other design company. Most of the big jobs come normally from RFP and bidding against other design companies. That force the inevitable short time to design and to lower price to get the job. That trickle down to us structural engineer hard. Specially when most people don't realize that when we put something into a drawing, a lot of work and an immense amount of knowledge goes into determine that steel section, that bolt, that weld, that reinforcement distribution, that size of foundation. They only see the drawing, not the work that is behind it. Plus the liability/reward ratio that almost unfair.
If you think about it, without Civil and Structural Engineering we wouldn't have civilization as we know it, no roads, no water management, no buildings, no houses, etc. But the guy that sell the house makes way more money that the one that makes it possible in the first place 🤷
As a structural engineer. I agree 100% the fact that everyone is trying to outbid each other and lower the prices and then the ridiculous deadlines. Along with the liability that we take on. All that being said, I am switching careers! This is as an engineer 4 years in. Just don't see a good future in this field. PLEASE, ANYONE INTERESTED IN THIS FIELD, DO INTERNSHIPS.
@@arlstream551 Do you mean I should take internships to see if I really want to be in the civil engineering field?
@@arlstream551 hii sir, I'll be studying mtech in structural designing, and I'm very interesting in designing,so it is the best job or not in future.p/s give me the suggestions.
100% with you, if you're at a small practice or have a small structural team with few resources, it's incredibly challenging...
yeah, I've been always wondering how a real estate made 50 times more on the sale of that 4 story beach front mansion with a pool on the roof than what my office made on providing structural engineering services for the whole building.... After they close the sale, they walk away without any responsibilities. And yet our names will always stay on str. set of plans that are to provide a safe long lasting structure for the occupants...
With 43 years of work experience as a structural engineer I can attest that there is no work life balance - only work life management. One must learn to delegate and also learn to say NO regarding project load and schedule. The worst projects that I have worked on were for architectural firms. The best projects were as a prime consultant working directly with an owner in the industrial setting. Building projects can be a mess and a time drag - working on systems and components are the way to go. The next best projects were working directly with contractors and design-build projects. Large projects are necessary, but small projects executed well can be gravy. Become a master of small projects in a wide variety of systems and components (i.e. foundations / geotechnical, conveyor systems, crane systems, warehouse systems, ME / EE components, etc.). Decide early if you want to be an engineer or be a manager. If taking the management path one must learn to let go of much of the technical side and develop many of the soft skills involved in managing people / projects. Engineering used to be a noble profession that has been cheapened into a commodity because engineers let others make the hard decisions, and by technology itself. Sad but true.
Yeah, plus i see lots of managerial titles change to engineering ones. Management is not engineering
Truthful Bobby
As a Civil Engineer (transportation )structural engineers take on too much responsibility for the money. Like mentioned, the deadlines are intense.
facts for the level of responsibility and oversight the pay is not worth it. I work in a design firm and we take on so much in terms of having to design review, monitor, and report on projects for our clients. Some weeks I work 6 days a week. It always feels like you're working from deadline to deadline and it's very stressful sometimes.
Hey there!
I was planning to do my Masters in Transportation. So I wanted to ask, should I go for it ? Is it demanding in civil sector ? And the question for which everyone wants the answer, what's the pay grade ?
Thanks
Hey so I’m 15 and interested in civil engineering. I haven’t done much research about other paths in engineering yet
@@HTheHeat619
@@HTheHeat619
I went into aerospace. Doubled my pay and halved my stress. Totally insane.
By the way, when i did work as a structural engineer - i worked in mining/industrial projects. Generally speaking we earned about ~10%-15% more than the guys doing residential or commercial projects. There is definitely a hierarchy in the industry.
In aerospace my job title is "stress engineer", and i do very very similar work. There is huge demand for structural engineer skillset but you won't get the $ doing buildings.
@@Murfster How did you transition from structural engineering to aerospace? Did you go back to university and if so how long for?
@@hellothere8812 I have a BS in mechanical engineering, and a MS in structural engineering. The mechanical background helped but wasn't required. There are a lot of civil/structural guys who go into aerospace, specifically into "structures". My official job title when i transitioned over was "Stress Analysis Engineer" and I mainly dealt with stress/structural analysis of large factory machinery (think cranes that can pick up your house, or work stands that can hold a jumbo jet). From there I moved on to aeronautical engineering. It's pretty easy to make the shift if you catch the industry on an upswing. When recruiting is booming they will take anyone qualified in related engineering fields :-)
@@Murfster Thanks very helpful.
@@cosmo9560 BSMechE 2008; MSCE (Structural) 2013.
There are lots of structural engineers at Boeing, Northrop, Lockheed, Bombardier.ect. It's generally not that difficult to make the transition, but on aerospace side they are often called "Stress" engineers, although structural or structures engineers is also a common job description. Not sure there are too many opportunities for other civil branches though (no need for geotech engineers at an airplane company for example).
Very interesting take on the civil engineering career path, Mat. I hope students that love civil engineering stick with it and see how rewarding the industry is.
I take your course lol 😂 I should be studying 📚
@@alfonsoperez1762 You've got this! Remember to make your study space distraction-free! But remember, it's ok to take a break sometimes to prevent burnout!
You're courses got me thru college!! Thanks enGENIEer
emGENIEer I really love your videos, they're so helpful. Thank you so much
Same! Knowing both the pros and cons can help students make an informed decision on their careers. The pros and fulfillment obviously beat out the cons for me :)
9 years as a structural consultant. For the most part, I like my job. Stress is mostly avoidable with proper planning and honest client communication. I work from home often and pick my schedule, so no issues seeing family and taking time off when preferred.
My major issue with the industry is pay, and the engineers who undersell their services thus lowering our industry value as a whole. And for a minor issue, the contractors who place blame when errors occur, and our inability to defend ourselves.
Well you can easily determine who's responsible for the errors. If they don't follow the plans you layed out for them then they can't blame you, since the evidence will be in the drawings and specs, but if they follow your drawings and instructions to a T and there's problems then it most certainly is your fault.
Problem is, so much of the structural plans we’re getting these days are horrible. The experience level isn’t there in the engineering stage and as a contractor we’re basically helping design it during the preconstruction process.
Structural engineers are mostly not business oriented. High school drop outs contractors make by far more money. That is the reality and I'm a structural engineer.
Civils make good money but not justifiable for what we put into it. When you can integrate inflow and outflow curves to determine a stormwater pond size and your neighbor doesn't know what a square root is....but he sells a widget....well there is something boozed up here.
I think there's too much of a gap between design liability and pay that is enabled by public ignorance that architects do our job.
PREACH!
LOUDER
Yup. Been thinking about building my house and thought thus as well, no clue why they make more money for the easier job, I'd rather an engineer help me with my project.
Hi mat, your channel it's really good.
I've been working as a structural engineer since 2013 you're totally right about the stressful part due to the deadlines, some of the time impossible deadlines and you have to work 15, 18 hours a day.
Another thing is when you work in a very populated area, such as LA, Miami, NY, Boston, those cities have very strict building codes, and that makes the work harder than other places.
Great job with your channel
Then quit your job.
That Liability / Reward Ratio just hits hard.
I work as a designer & cad for both structural and civil works for government projects... More than 40++ hour has been spend within a week (site visit + design+drawing) as to meet the deadline of the projects. Sometimes, it was really stressful but I enjoyed it. :-) thx for the video...
Taking classes on using cad and design, and I do find it amusing to create the blueprints of a structure. I hope to be a part of this field.
Took my structures education and am doing bridge design for state government. Low stress, utilizing many structural concepts applicable to both horizontal and vertical structures, great internal continuing education program, and able to pursue residential and other structure design opportunities if I so choose. Plan to go back to get a Master's next year.
Salary?
@@harvestingseason2725 Pension deductions mean take home is less than private. For licensed engineers gross pay around 90k, with room to grow over 120k. Senior positions get more, of course. The time and freedom to do work outside of the 9-5 gives supplementary income
I've been practicing for about 18 years in the San Francisco Bay Area. I went off on my own about 12 years ago. Wonderful video my friend. We as a profession need to demand more pay, but not so much more that we exponentially increase our stress rate. In the end, I'm ok with what I make, much more than if I was working for someone else. Thank you
Mind me asking what is the typical salary range for 18 yrs experience SE in Bay Area? (Assuming you're principal) ?
@@rezaalishahi396 Not sure. Since I exited the corporate route I've never looked back. The video had a good graphical breakdown of salaries with respect to years of experience. Hope that helps
@Mahmoud Galal My dear friend, my best advice would be to decide whether you want money or a fulfilling career. In a perfect world, the two are one in the same, but we know now more than ever, this world is far from perfect. I think dentist make much more than engineers so if you don't want to be a poor engineer, definitely make the switch. But I don't know what kind of stress dentists are under. I've actually stopped going to the dentist because the ones I was going to were only providing temporary solutions requiring me to keep going back for more fillings, capping my teeth and one or two root canals which has destroyed parts of my mouth. I simply stopped eating so much manufactured sugar and switched to fruits and vegetables, floss and brush regularly and haven't needed to the dentist in more than 8 years. At any rate, I enjoy structural engineering so I decided to stick with it and it turns out working for yourself is much more lucrative, but I still find myself having to deal with engineers that keep undercutting the profession and selling our services for cents on the dollar. Not sure if this has helped you, but I'm also slowly making the transition to agriculture in my own country because in the US system, you'll find that it's never quite enough. The "poor" people are doing everything to get rich, and the rich people are doing everything to stay rich. In the end, you begin to realize, this system will not be able to sustain itself on credit, debt, and fictions wealth because the banks own most of everything and the second you don't make those payments, they have no problem taking what ever it is right back and lending to the next line of people trying to get a slice of the American dream. It's a good country with many opportunities, but many of us never stop to think at what costs are these opportunities come with until we're knee deep in debt and have to keep playing the game. I don't own my house out right, but am on course to pay it off much faster than the 30 year mortgage and that's mainly because I work for myself. Dentistry might get you money much faster so it's a good plan if you ask me, but I'm not into needles and anatomy of the mouth so if you think you can swing it, I wish you all the best. Just do everything you can to not get caught up in this sneaky and sinister game of credit and debt. Best of luck my friend.
@Mahmoud Galal Hello my dear brother. Feel free to send your email and let's continue the conversation by email. You'll see my contact information after I respond. Thank you
@Mahmoud Galal Just sent you an email my brother, hopefully you've received it. Thank you
It's all fine until the day you decide to study for a PE (or maybe even SE!) exam. This is when you really get stressed and your work-life balance is completely destroyed because one part of this equation should be substituted with the study... Since we all have bills to pay, the balance equation becomes work-study and life is temporarily eliminated. This was the most stressful time in my str eng carrier.
Thanks for highlighting NCSEA and SE3, two great groups that support and improve the SE industry. You get out what you put in, and Structural Engineering is no different. Thanks for your candid stories Mat!
Thanks for the support Ed!
Working as a structural engineer in Dubai for 9 years leads me to a pool of depression, anxiety, panic disorders.. And that refer to lower amounts of money, extraordinary stressful work environments, not easy to meet the deadlines
Wow lead to depression? I'm sorry. How are you feeling ?
I left the consultant industry as a Highway Engineer. I spent 8 years in road design. I don’t miss working OT and not getting paid. Currently, I work as a facilities engineer for tech company. With a civil engineer degree and background, a lot of companies are hiring facilities engineer. The pay is much better. One of college friend who graduated with a finance degree is making twice as much.
I tried a placement for structural engineer and I found the clients were my major downfall, I'm not a people person and OMG they are a pain in the ass. The travel time for me was horrible too and deadlines were a little stressful too it was a 60+hr type thing and I nearly dropped out.
Even if you're a people person like me, the client's level of sophistication can really drive a relationship. Those difficult conversations such as out of scope requests and changes can get brutal if the client doesn't understand or is able to navigate contractual relationships.
I've been in the structural eng business for over 20 years. I'm in the "satisfied" column, but I've told my own kids to avoid civil eng completely unless it's the only thing that would get them up in the morning.
And the primary reason is item number three. No matter how much I enjoy performing engineering tasks, from a business perspective the risk to reward ratio has felt thrown off to me since the crash in 2008. I have also had to completely leave behind private sector clients--including owners--for risk/reward reasons. As fun and challenging as those projects were, it just hasn't made much business sense to me.
I totally agree. I'm invested, I'm here, I'm likely sticking with structural engineering. But I wouldn't recommend kids follow my path unless they really think this is their dream job. I went this direction largely because of assumed financial plusses, and turns out there aren't too many here.
Financial and job stability reasons were two draws for me. And on its face I'm paid well. But over my career the liability demands and effort to earn that living have seemed to outpace the earned value.
On that survey, I also think respondents are being low on their hours. It's not uncommon for every structures engineer I know in both my company and market- especially management - to work at least 50 hours if their firm has work. And if you're on design build projects I've known some bridge designers to work 60+ for multiple weeks straight. I don't want to discourage anyone, but stress again this is a job you have to want to do.
@@erichansen2860 hey Eric, Could I help from your experience? I am undergraduated civil engineering student from Slovakia and I had focused on BIM before; Naviswork simulations, 3D modeling, Mep Design and more.. But now i am more dealing with structural part and trying to practice on ACI and Eurocode standarts and writing my graduation project in this field. What do u suggest, which field is mainly better for finding job in Europe/US?
Great overview of some of the challenges engineers have to face. I definitely try my best to keep a good work life balance and be as zen as I can be, but as a new engineer it's necessary to put in more time to get over that learning curve. And that learning curve is HUGE lol thanks for the video man!
If you love it, keep at it. We need good structural engineers. And there are managers out there who will help with work-life balance. You just need to find them and advocate for your needs.
One of my best mentors told me that "Engineering is too much of a grind to not love the work." And we never stop learning, that's the best part of the job!
Hybrid civil/structural and knowing automation(civil 3D, Revit, FEA) is the future .
I think so... younger engineers do this.
@@ronad1979 you hit it right on the nail head. Flexibility in what you can do makes you more valuable to your employer or your client if you own your business. Good for you.
I did that for 10 years before shifting to other businesses. However, i am saving alot of money so my kids can go to flight school instead of this course.
GREAT VIDEO... I'm a CE student from Asia and I just want to say your videos have helped me see and appreciate the actual Civil Eng side of my major and not just the academic side of things...
I hope you could make a video on how we could build our productivity and skills in our University years as to prepare for the "stressful" stuff that you just mentioned in this video.... THANKS AGAIN
我也是，可以加微信吗
bacically, long working hours, less pay, huge stress and responsibilities for structural engineers. if you are really hard working, why not be a programer instead?
Nothing wrong with tech and programming, it’s a good career, but everyone is different with different priorities in pay, work enjoyment, and what they are good at. For me, I really valued engagement and fulfillment in my work (nothing like seeing a building you designed being built) and I was willling to take that knowing I wouldn’t be paid as well as doctors lawyers or programmers. But that’s me and everyone is different. If you can find a career where you can find the right balance in what makes you happy at work and sustaining your lifestyle expenses, then that’s awesome!
Me: Got into Masters in Structural Engineering this September.
TH-cam: Why not to Major in Structural Engineering.
Hey Mat
I am from India and from more than 6 years am into this industry.
Here in india we used to work more than 70 Hours pre covid situation and after this Covid and lockdown we even worked 100hours from Home without any extra pay or Over time.
Even after doing so much our hardwork never appreciated..
In short this industry is in very bad state and i personally don't recommend any student to start their life in this field.
Pretty much everywhere same scenario
100% true
Interesting video. My opinion is the compensation is way lower than the level of stress, liability, and workload. If I knew these years ago, I would have changed my field.
I already have another path. I worked over 5 years as a structural engineer in my country, and I could realize that doing this for a living is not suitable profitable. It's a shame because this professional is vital to keep working any society, but first I need to care of my pocket because of they are empty, there is nothing to eat.
An engineering degree is one of the most popular degrees in the world. However there are a few reasons that everyone should consider whether or not a career as an engineer is a good fit for them. This video definitely helps you make that final decision.
As a Mechanical Engineer myself, I agree that there are many disadvantages to an engineering degree. But at the same time, we're living in a time in which we'll get to play a primary role in developing humanity as race using our major. So, engineering is cool! And that makes up for all the disadvantages ;)
I'm planning to make a similar video on my channel soon. Thanks for the inspiration Mat! Great video as always :)
I totally agree. Engineering of all kinds is a very useful field. Not to get too prideful, but I think engineers are capable of improving the world better than anyone else. Maybe not roadway guys. They just draw curvy lines and call it a day. 😁
Engineering gang 😎✌🏽
Every high level education takes time. Doctor - 8 years. Lawyer - 8 years. Engineer (PE) - 8 years. And if you want to make money in them, you have be the best in those fields. Money doesn't come easy,
Civil engineer doing civil and structural engineering in both private and corporate sectors since 1974. (You do the math).
Biggest stress factor BY FAR is the paininthesrschatect.
They can be dogmatic, pig headed, unreasonable, arrogant and do not like the engineer giving any suggestions or advice. Now have my own consultancy specializing in tension membrane structures and A’s still want the unreasonable, impractical or impossible. Say no more.
Bridge design is awesome. Seldom involves architects or quantity surveyors. As the engineer you get to do the conceptual design (different bridge forms, hydrology, etc) , prelim and detailed design. Really fun and the only other professionals you deal with are the road geometric designers. Plus the time lines are decent.
Thanks for sharing!
@@MatPicardal thanks for the interesting content 👍. Looking forward to the next video.
Depends on your client though
Lmao ,here in india. As fresher I am working as site engineer for 12hrs a day for 6 days thats 72hrs a week. Rip me. We need serious revolution here. It sucks. Pay is less too despite working on advance project like RRTS RAILWAY 🙏
I HAVE NO WAY THAN DOING THIS AND I HOPE IT WILL BE MADE EASY BY PEOPLE LIKE YOU
I am a 67 year old structural engineer with 44 years in. Still going strong while being well paid. I can afford to retire but I'm having too much fun. It isn't all that stressful, you can work 45-50 hours a week indefinitely if you enjoy it.
They is to work for yourself. I usually work till 10 pm, but I don't really start until noon. Plus the pay is way better.
I’ve been in the structural industry for 14 years and I do have my regrets. The stress and deadlines kill me.
Stress is a literal killer. There have been many times I've had to reevaluate what I'm doing and whether to keep going so you're not alone there. For me, developing project management skills and getting my PMP certification helped give me some perspective. But everyone will have to find their own solution.
Its true mate, you really not alone. Today my daughter told me she wants to be engineer and show this video. Also her told me "dad why are u collecting poop?" 😂 welcome to miserable life.
Sorry
I think people going into structural need to be prepared to get a masters degree in structural engineering. Every structural engineer my office has hired they at least have a master degree. It’s like an industry standard now days and you won’t be as competitive if you don’t have it. Depending on which company you work for, there is very little to no training for new grads these days. You need to be prepared to learn on your own and having that masters degree will really help.
I disagree it really depends on the location , and the position of the company your applying to on whether you really need those extra years in school.
Thank you for summarizing what I’ve been thinking as one!
Great video Mat. I've experienced some of these points too but still love the industry.
I think its about the liability you take on if anything goes wrong and the pay doesn't help. You also have to consider that the pay looks high but when you adjust for hours worked its not that high.
I'm a first year civil engineering student and I thought structural engineering was a chill field compared to construction management.
Me too Luigie.... Me too...
It is. Going to site all day and sweating is much worse and pay is shit
Of all the civil fields, structures is best I think. Roadway, rail, and site civil seems boring. Traffic engineering doesn't seem to have a payoff once the project is complete. At least we get to point at a bridge or building and say we designed it. Any desire to do soils engineering is incomprehensible to me. Water resources or environmental could be fun if they weren't so rife with politics. Drainage seems boring because you're even more distant from driving a project than structures. CM could be fun because you get to be out and about all day seeing the work get done, but you're mostly overseeing somebody else's project, so like traffic design there doesn't seem to be a tangible source of pride as a reward if that kind of thing matters to you. It does to me.
@@Ak-qn9qc pay is definitely not shit
@@sevaghanneyan2150 it is tough. Site engineer works so much and for what? All that hard work on the site for nothing. Unless you a project manager , you won't make much. To become a project manager you need like 15-20 years of experience
In summary: ultra high stakes, low pay and long hours. A single mistake can cause the loss of lives and huge financial burden. My advice: run away from this career.
I should have seen this before
Are you thinking to get into IT jobs?
Dude there is no stability in IT jobs now. There is now Employee value.
I am thinking to switch back to Civil Engineering now, worked in IT for more than 2 years.
Good breakdown man!
Great advice. BTW, you should put a DONATE button, your knowledge is valuable!!! All the best, and keep the flame alive, I am also a CE from Chile, where we have to go thru Graduate Level to be a PE (in Chile, by law) which is equivalent to having an MSc. Sadly, when you get to the market, it seems like there is a lot of disenchantment, especially for people who start mostly as Structural Engineers. When you move over to Field/Site/CM/RE positions, you notice the disbalance in compensation. But the passion for Structural Engineering lives on!
Well these comments definitely discouraged me from pursuing structural engineering after truly feeling like it’s what I want. Structural engineers are so vital and hearing that they aren’t valued sucks. Building integrity is more important than people think. What am I supposed to do now? Lol
Sorry to hear, I love it and it’s fulfilling but I know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea and important people know what they’re getting into. Finding out what you value in a career can help, if it’s prestige, maybe software engineering? That and data science seem to be “hip” careers. But do research on those careers as well, they each have pros and cons.
In our country, most SE are underappreciated.
in every country...
I get paid 70 grand being a STEM school teacher at a private school. Yeah entry level civil engineering salary is criminal. You can get paid that much as an accountant, but the mental load is much higher for the engineer.
We never work for architects. Our responsibility is towards architecture and not to the architect.
Great info !! Appreciate it Mat ! Stay safe and road to 100k subscriber ! Will be rooting for you as always ! Cheers =)
Great video! ❤
More efforts, lot of responsibilities.and stress but less compensation.
We screwed ourselves by competitive bidding on projects while lawyers held tight and kept their rates high.
So many times we are under pressure to finish a design and we are the ones stamping it. We should not take so much responsibility for low rates but we do that to have work. Its time to raise our profession and be paid our worth.
True, ours is invaluable work that needs to be done. If all SEs raised their prices to the same amount(not sure on the legality of that) people would still pay because our work is so important. But, your neighbor SE will do it for less, and the other guy will do it for even less. Hence, here we are
@@MatPicardal I just came across this Great topic and was recently talking to the new and past SEAOSC presidents about this. We engineers need to unite through our professional organizations and protect our profession. I recently turned down a client who wanted to reduce our fees. He said he'll find another SE who will do it for peanuts, so I told him good luck We have a saying, "cheap, fast or good -pick 2".
I am doing graduation in Civil engineering, and I think this is one of the biggest mistake in my life to studying civil engineering. but now I completed the 4th semester with a high percentage, so no way of return.
It is biggest mistake of your life.
Guess I'm not alone here
@@manboykid4029 lol
Just keep going you started already
Im from India❤️ Kerala, nobody shared this information to me.. Thank you. Im looking for good opportunities.
Amazing video Sir🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
Don't do this if you are just looking for a job. You have to engage in the profession and learn how to do it well. We have too many pretenders in the profession and that endangers the public. This is a demanding job, there is a lot of pressure, it demands a lot of time and attention and a lot of learning. You can't turn it off and go home at 5 like you can with other jobs. And the pressure of deadlines will sometimes eliminate your personal life. It's not a job where you can make reservations months in advance for a trip for instance.
I highly agree 👍
All of these cons are so depressing. And I'm not even in civil engineering, I'm an undergrad materials engineer that was planning to get a masters in structural engineering. Any other recommended career paths then?
So what if loads of people die because of a engineering mistake you make haha haha haha haha
I am an HVAC engineer, when our stuff goes wrong, people get too hot or too cold, not so much for structural
thanks for d salary info's will use them as advantage 👍
As an oil & gas structural engineer/designer, I can say that waiting for loading information for you to run your analysis sucks! Other people's deadline relates directly to your deadline. If others exceed their deadlines, you'll most probably already exceed your deadline or at least has already less time to work on your part. This sucks!
I'm working in this sector too! It is like You're the last one who received load data but the first one who should submit drawings.
Lol we all know it's the structural guys fault when the piping elevation doesn't match the structural drawings
Manage stress
Stress them back
Say bad words in help. And go out there and kick some butts.
Thanks for the video. It’s very informative.
Man, I've got a year left before graduation lmao horrible time to make me rethink my major
Same
Rethink it. It's way harder once you leave school, cause then you have to go back to school.
A little bit too late for this.
Switch your major before it is too late.
Same😂🤡 I swear this video made me rethink my whole life. Maybe I should try TH-cam now
Thank you so much for the video. Alot of good and helpfull information.
welcome Will a ready-made concrete pour work for me? Its components are cement And the small Zero Five pebbles If it is 8 cm thick The iron is 12 mm between each skewer and the other is 20 cm
Deadly poor salaries for civil engineers in India since money matters atlast.
Matt you are so stressful and not happy. I hope I am wrong. Please take it easy.
Thanks for the video, I was looking for this kind of information. Me personally I’m doing it to creat my own firm. I already invest in flipping houses and so one of my biggest tag items is plans so I want to do my own plans and essentially be my own client and from there network to get other investors and contractors I already know to purchase my services.
Hey Mat! Great video! Really helpful for all the structural engineering students out there, just wanted to ask one question if you could answer that's be great.
I have currently enrolled for a master's degree in structural engineering at California State University Northridge, first of all, since you're at California, what do you think about this university? Secondly and most importantly, do you need to gain experience as a site engineer in order to find a job in the structural engineering consultancy?
Also, what types of internships would you recommend for structural engineering students?
I'll answer two and three. I don't think you need site engineer experience, though it could be helpful so I won't discourage it if you want to do that. A manager with good training skills will take you out in the field to give you that experience. And if they don't, advocate for it.
As for internships, I would say find one that fits your interests first, and then branch out just in case you can't get exactly what you want. Most big firms like mine have structures divided up by buildings and bridges, and smaller firms may only have one or the other, and even then perhaps they only specialize in one type of structure, such as post-tensioned parking structures or tilt-up distribution centers.
If you want more specific advice, I am a little biased towards larger firms because they have structured internship programs that can get you involved in many different things and give you an opportunity to network with other interns across the country. I just finished this summer with my first intern, and she dove in head first to our company's program and was able to meet a lot of people and learn about other things civil engineers do, not just bridge engineering. Because of that opportunity for exposure to many different things I think she had a very educational experience beyond working with my group.
Well done.
Thanks.
You guys have teams? I'm solely handling my projects...
This is a decent informative video though I have to comment on a few things that were not clearly mentioned: - Licensing requirements becoming a P.E. (Registered Professional Engineer) or S.E. (Registered Structural Engineer) - Having a license will increase your odds of getting paid more also giving the opportunity to have your own consulting firm.
Stress could be controllable in my opinion when you run your own business especially if you are good at planning work also managing your clients expectations but also keeping them reasonable.
Lastly, we as an engineer own ourselves to keep this profession at a higher standard and have to push others to do so.
Yes; that's the point dude
P.E. & S.E. & .. Exams.. + so many other REQUIREMENTS
.. APPROVALS ... & .tests.. reVisions, + Alterations.. & .. Eigen-Vectors , Ritz Vectors ..
and all that for What ?
only to work silently in the Shadows ?
there is Big-Contractors:
that ; when bidding on projects
they Consider & tell the Client's
"we'll do the Designs for FREE"
So we can say that Structural Engineers are like gods.When everything is good no one gives a shit, but once there is a downfall.. you become the centre of the picture...hahah....
Instead I’m doing a major in project finance
Hey I’m 15 and interested in engineering. I’m mostly interested in civil engineering, aerospace and mechanical but not so much
hey mat I'm a transfer student attending Cal poly interested in structural engineering. When do you think I should start applying for internships? This semester I'm taking fluid mechanics, mechanics of deformable bodies, and a couple of other beginner civil engineering courses. I would also like to state that I've been working in construction for 6 yrs now.
As soon as you can. Most get internships on their junior or senior year, but it couldn't hurt to apply sooner. Your construction experience might increase your chances as well. Try out as many internships as you can for the fields that interest you, that's where you'll really see what they are like working in those careers.
If any students are reading this comment- if you are not 100% passionate about structures or ok with barely scraping by financially DO NOT GO THROUGH WITH IT! if you are smart enough to be a structural engineer, you are more than smart enough to do computer science. Tech is way better compensated, there is more potential for promotions, remote work etc. structural engineering is a total dead end - biggest mistake of my life and I’m currently pivoting to data science after ten years in this garbage industry.
Cs ftw
Every career I'm interested in ends up being a dead end 😭.
gotta agree, most terrible pay/liability ratio ive ever seen i wish I didn't do engineering at all
Greeting from Jordan 🇯🇴
Something happened recently? I feel like every ce communities are talking about salary right now.
Was studying for my SE exams but finished! Naw, most engineering professions complain that we don’t get paid enough or as much as real estate, bankers, lawyers, etc. it’s true, but those professions typically have better communication skills than us (like client relationships, running a business, making sales, marketing) and most engineers don’t want to develop those soft skills that really make money. We’d rather do a calc than take a public speaking or leadership class, or go out and talk to strangers. So we go on forums and complain amongst ourselves haha
Hello Sir,
Do you have any totorial for excel program in civil/ structural engineering.
Or any link to follow that.
Thank you
If you do the numbers % of cost of the total development costs. Real Estate agents (without a degree or the responsibilities) can take home anywhere between 1 to 4% of the total development cost (including land).
A structural engineering company might be lucky to receive 0.1% to 0.5% of the total build cost (excluding land).
Let that sink in with you...............
I've been in the industry for over 10 years (working from small firms to tier 1 companies), if I didn't have my own firm - I wouldn't bother with engineering. I don't recommend it as a career to any young student. Without even starting a project you are doomed to long work hours and low pay. WORK TO LIVE NOT LIVE TO WORK.
Wow 😔
Is it part of the code that you guys all wear plaid?
As a Municipal Designer and Inspector myself, those average hours worked are complete BS. Everyone at my company min 45h, most 50-55h.
Agreed.
Keywords: “my company”
Not everyone else’s
And thats unfortunate :(
Because the money is crap, you get treated like shit and the worst thing is that everybody thinks the architect does everything.
✔ on the Spot
The liabilities are greater than the pay.
Hello Mat, could you give an example of a steel deck slab here in Mexico, it is not very common, I would appreciate it if you have a pdf of something that may help me.
❤❤❤❤❤ one day i will make videos like you.i want to be a nice smart engineer like u...🚀😊
I am new to ur channel, while looking for Structural Engineering thesis topics then I saw this. Really love this but I am 4th year college now. What topic can u recommend?
Can you please tell us the building and designing codes which structural engineer need to follow in your country.
Dam it would be nice to know what are the firms that work you for 60+ hrs a week
Sir which field is best for newly Graduated civil Engineering students for MSc.
Please give your Opinion ...
Hey matt I am Egyptian engineering student I am a freshmen engineering student and I am going to choose my major next year. I was considering to enroll in building engineering its different from civil we just study to about the buildings, skyscrapers, etc, but in an ECO friendly way of building it. Do you recommend enrolling in it or just choose another major like mechatronics and computer? I am in a programme also with a college in England, So can you guys recommend me a major that's good in the future because according to the articles and survey civil is one of the best fields ion the future.
What about construction management? Is it also less paying field?
From my experience in the US, that’s usually a more profitable job. But you have to always be in the field and handle a lot of different personalities.
I do both CM and design work almost exclusively from the office, and yes, you can Imagine what kind of problems that can cause. The point being that it will depend on what kind of firm you are working for, but you WILL be dealing with a lot of different personalities in CM, so you gotta be an effective communicator and you have to know when to say "no". However, to answer your question - yes, it does generally pay more than design work, but I imagine because it is not nearly as enjoyable to do as design work unless you specifically like construction more than design for some reason.
Why don't most structural engineers just do freelance if it pays so much better and they can choose their own projects compared to working for a company?
Freelance work - you don't find work, you don't eat, you get desperate. Engineers typically don't get any business and marketing training, so their best "marketing strategy" to win work, especially when they are desperate, is to lower their fees to ridiculously low levels at times. Low fees means the worker engineers get paid very little as well. Then the industry as a whole complains that we're paid very little. So, we're doing that to ourselves. Freelance is high risk, high reward. Company is low risk, low reward.
How do you do freelance??
PLEASE FUCKIN ANSWER!!!
Structural Engineering is for highly intelligent, self motivated and competent multitaskers......who understand the public service aspect and sacrifices the profession requires......if you want money, become a banker.
Mat, you forgot the most important part. Do the structural engineers get paid when they work above 40 hours per weeks?
A supervisor might give a task to an engineer that takes 50 hours, but wants it done in 40 hours.
Talk about that please
In my country we work 48 hours a week. Just imagine how tiring working as a civil engineer is.
Nice...hi m steel structural detailer...8 year's of experience..m from India. Can u help us on how to get detailing jobs from US &Canada for detailing.
Ya not enough money for huge liability.
My boss is a licensed structural engineer. About 100k a year, typically charge $500 for 5 million underlying liability drawing review. He commented it’s not worth it unless you just love structural.
I graduated with a bachelor's in construction engineering which is a 4 year degree but due to the Covid situation in my country jobs were hard to come by so when a role in project management came up with a principal contractor I accepted. I found myself using hardly any of my engineering skills that I had gained in my degree and was feeling very confused and under utilized. Interestingly however, within the my first year of working for this company my salary has increased from 65k to 100k with a couple other benefits such as a company vehicle with fuel card. This left me thinking to myself, is it even worth me trying to go back and start all over again as an intern at an engineering firm on roughly 65k? or do I just continue down this road in project management? and from watching this video, and correct me if I'm wrong, it sounds like no matter what capacity I'm working in, the closer you are to the source of the money the more money you will get. It just feels like such a waste to have studied all those years at university just to become a project manager. Anyways my point is that I really enjoyed watching this video and appreciate your take on things.
Dude I am in the exact situation as you! I would like to gain experience as a structural engineer but the salary/work hours/stress is not worth that path. Construction Management has so much more to offer.
@@mfafat3037 Thanks for the reply bro. Nice to know i'm not the only one in the situation.
Sir what bout marine or offshore structural engineering?