Structural Engineering career

Structural Engineering focuses on the support integrity of large developments such as buildings, bridges, and stadiums. Structural engineers are responsible for some of the most import constructions in history, including Washington Roebling who built the Brooklyn Bridge in New York and Gustave Eiffel who completed The Eiffel Tower in Paris, France. Structural engineers traditionally collaborate with a team of professionals including architects, urban planners, and civil engineers, among others, to realize the completion of a project.

Federal and local governments, as well as private enterprises, contract these practitioners for work throughout the world, whereby they are entrusted to ensure public safety by meeting building codes and standards. For buildings, these professionals achieve this by developing components such as roof framing columns and foundations. In bridges, they develop the piers, deck and/or stringers. In addition, they select the most appropriate materials including wood, concrete, steel and/or aluminum, thereby protecting the structure and surrounding communities in the case of natural disasters, weather, collisions or explosions. To determine the best materials, structural engineers rely on digital hardware and software applications for modeling and analysis.

Employers require structural engineers to have a college degree in the discipline or comparable areas such as civil engineering. Most professionals have acquired a Master’s Degree or even a Ph.D. to distinguish themselves in the marketplace. Undergraduate students complete coursework in materials, algorithms, design and mechanics, among other concepts. Advanced academic training in the field facilitates a candidate’s ability to receive management positions in the industry as well as university teaching roles. At the Master’s Degree level, students complete classwork in advanced materials design principles, structural mechanics and seismology. For Ph.D. students, coursework includes classes in computer modeling, advanced renovation and restoration as well as risk analysis.

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