Structural Career Advice
Structural Career Advice
(OP)
I have recently started looking for new positions as I have become bored with the repetitive nature with my current job. I work at a small firm and do mostly cold-formed steel design and am required to do all my own drafting. This is my first job out of college and I have been here nearly 2 years, but quickly realized that I don't want to work with cold-formed steel 98% of the time. While interviewing with other companies, it seems that I am a little disadvantaged because the majority of my working experience is with cold-formed steel (even more reason to get another job with more diverse projects). I was just offered another job with another small company that does more diverse projects, but they are pretty abstract and they don't really do many permanent structures (shoring, scaffolding, fall protection). I ultimately would like to design bridges but neither my current job nor the job that gave me an offer will not allow me to do that. My question(s): If I take this new job, will it make it harder for me to get into bridge design in the future? Would it be a good idea to take the new job or should I turn it down and wait for the right one to come along?
Any advice is appreciated!
Any advice is appreciated!





RE: Structural Career Advice
If you want to get out of the CFS design, then do it.
Keep in mind that being "cubby-holed" in a specialty engineering subset can be extremely limiting.....in 20 years do you want someone to ask "do you have 20 years of experience or 1 year of experience 20 times?". That's the risk of specialization.
I have dealt with many engineers who were extremely proficient in their specialty area, but didn't have a clue how their specialty affected or was influenced by other aspects of the structure and the performance of the specialty design. Don't be one of those!
RE: Structural Career Advice
Counter to that, the abstract job sounds like it might be very varied, which is a good thing.
have you asked a bridge design engineer what their job is like?
Cheers
Greg Locock
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RE: Structural Career Advice
Bridge design is mundane, unless you think that every bridge is different. Maybe everyone things they will be designing the next Golden Gate bridge.
RE: Structural Career Advice
Bridge projects move slow and are much more about paperwork than anything. The coolest part about bridges in reality is analysis. If you like FEA, get an FEA job at a bridge firm. Architectural footbridges are a different world again.
And as Ron says, get out there and try some things.
RE: Structural Career Advice
So I get the stack (40) of Structural Engineering resumes. I throw the ones away who say they want to work on bridges. I throw the ones away who say they want to work on high rises. If there's any left, I throw the ones away who say they want to live in Seattle or Portland. And then I have no resumes.
Why is it that everyone wants to work on bridges, high rises or sports stadia? And then live in Portland in Seattle? Do they not teach in college that there are power plants, factories, wastewater treatment plants, LNG vessels, warehouses, etc? And that designs happen in Gatlinburg or Chicago?
I think zteng is right. There's a lot of 40 ft. creek crossings to do between every Hoover Dam (Mike O'Callaghan–Pat Tillman Memorial) Bridge.
RE: Structural Career Advice
Unfortunately the dreams turn to reality.
The generally paper worthy projects take a few years to get from concept to construction and if you lucky enough to be stuck on the project for the entire run, there is often no real kudos or pats on the back, most of it will be reworking an area a few different ways because the client or architect brushed there hair differently or a new government was elected during the project.
At the end of the day work is work otherwise they would have called it a hobby.
My advice would be to learn to love the little things.
http://www.nceng.com.au/
"Programming today is a race between software engineers striving to build bigger and better idiot-proof programs, and the Universe trying to produce bigger and better idiots. So far, the Universe is winning."
RE: Structural Career Advice
RE: Structural Career Advice
RE: Structural Career Advice
This is why I don't work for large firms anymore. I love small residential projects and the big firms just aren't interested. So now I have my own company, and that checks off another one of my dreams.
semeee, you're really young in this business. And that's good, because right now with 2 years work time, employers expect you to know how to learn, but not all that much else. Go after some other ideas. I do recommend working at a big firm at least for a while, because their mix of projects is likely more diverse than small firms, and that's a good way to get exposure to find your niche.
Ron's true about not getting too deep in only one thing, but don't forget that experience in one thing can make you very useful. I can pretty much tell you what's wrong with a building around here by knowing the age and where it is. That's fun!
RE: Structural Career Advice
I've worked with the sports stadium architects...... not impressed. I've worked with the high rise engineers..... not impressed. Never working with anyone who has designed bridges but I have seen the AASHTO manual and I run the other way. I'm not saying that they are not good people, I'm just saying that they are really no different than anyone else who is in the business.... except it may be a little difficult for their heads to get through a standard size door.
RE: Structural Career Advice