Why NOT To Major In Civil Structural Engineering - The Cons

Why NOT To Major In Civil Structural Engineering - The cons of civil engineering from a practicing civil engineer in the U.S.

NCSEA SE3 Surveys referenced:

Mentioned Videos:
13 Career Paths in Civil Structural Engineering:

5 Reasons Why I Love Civil Structural Engineering

0:00 Intro
0:34 NCSEA SE3 Survey Data
1:01 Career Satisfaction
1:39 #1 - Stress
3:12 #1.1 - How to Be Less Stressed
4:56 #2 - Work-Life Balance
7:02 #2.1 - How to Achieve Work-Life Balance
8:07 #3 - Pay/Salary/Compensation
12:01 #3.1 - How to Get Paid More

👇 SUBSCRIBE TO MAT'S YOUTUBE CHANNEL 👇

Mat Picardal is a structural project manager at DCI Engineers. This video and this channel does not necessarily reflect the opinion nor beliefs of DCI Engineers. All thoughts expressed are purely his own observations and experiences.

Disclaimer: Product links are 'affiliate links' so if you click and buy something I get a small commission. This affects you in no way and helps support the channel.

Disclaimer: Mathew Picardal, P.E. does not technically hold the title "structural engineer" in California. Any claim of it in the videos or descriptions is unintentional and is superseded by the title "structural project manager".

#structuralengineering #civilengineering #civilengineer

[MatPicardal]

What do you think of these reasons to not go into the industry? What disadvantages do you see in the structural engineering industry?

[ellopr]

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 🤷

[BobbyJett]

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.

[jz]

As a Civil Engineer (transportation )structural engineers take on too much responsibility for the money. Like mentioned, the deadlines are intense.

[Murfster]

I went into aerospace. Doubled my pay and halved my stress. Totally insane.

[fishslappr]

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.

[Genieprep]

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.

[djditox]

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

[joelregino]

That Liability / Reward Ratio just hits hard.

[hermicruz]

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.

[courtneyf]

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.

[edquesenberry]

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!

[wyong]

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...

[SBYTube]

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.

[malama_ka_aina]

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

[mahmoudaltous]

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

[dmontenegro]

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!

[customizedengineering]

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?

[denfl]

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.

[zmon]

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