Civil (Structural) Degree with fully funded Masters offer, but already thinking about career change

College Majors Engineering Majors
1

So, in December, I graduated with my Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering, focusing on structures. I have been struggling with whether I even want to go into this field since my last semester. I do have some interest in structures, but I don’t think I want to design, at least not for a civil engineering company, so any job offers I get sound immediately unappealing. I sometimes wish I had majored in something else like Math or Computer Science because I think those topics are interesting. Just the thought of civil engineering bores me to death. But at this point, I have my degree.

With that said, my plan has been to go to grad school because you typically need a masters degree for structures. I turned down job offers I got because part of the reason I wanted to go to grad school was to see if I wanted to take my career in a more research oriented direction. I enjoy the analytical side of engineering, but looking at plans and flipping through code books just sounds awful.

I was accepted into the top schools in the country, but one of my requirements for going is that I have to be fully funded. No exceptions. If I was not fully funded, I would just have to accept one of the job offers I got if it was still available or apply to other jobs. But I was not going to take out more loans for grad school. At present, I have full tuition/fees and a stipend from UCLA and I was super excited when I got the email, but now that the initial excitement has subsided, I am back on the question…do I even want to do this? I enjoyed my structural analysis classes in undergrad (note only the analysis ones. Not design), but I am not sure that was enough. I had a structural internship that was okay, but it did not make me any more excited about the field.

Rejecting this offer would seem like I am letting go of a great opportunity. But I am worried I get this degree and then end up in a job I hate. Going wouldn’t be a waste of money since it is paid for, but it might turn out to be a waste of time. I just feel like for a field that I constantly hear is overworked and underpaid, I don’t know if spending a year getting a graduate degree is worth it. I tried to convince myself before I got this offer that the reason I felt like I didn’t want to go into this field was just fear of going into the industry and being in the real world now that I have a degree, but since I got this news that my Masters would be free and it is an actual possibility, all I have done is search how to change careers after a Masters.

I am lost. Taking one of the job offers and working for a bit would have been the smarter decision because it would’ve allowed me to figure out if I even like the field or begin taking courses to change careers, but I have a fully funded offer from an amazing school now, so the thought of turning that down and going back to that just seems dumb. I am not sure how much advice would help me with my indecision, but I would at least like to hear some perspectives.

2

I am a structural engineer that is going to grad school starting this fall(I took a gap year to work in the industry after graduating last year). I’ve applied to the “top” programs with mediocre stats, but luckily I’ve been accepted to one without fund (though money is not an issue for me, which I’ve stated in my application), and am on the non-thesis track. The only difference between us is that I am fully aware of and have completely accepted the consequences of advancing in career path because I enjoy the type of work I do. First, you are not classified as a “civil engineer” and are not going to work at a “civil engineering” firm with a structural engineering degree/focus, unless the firm has a structural division of course. Structural engineering has a job market of its own and is very niche (some say it’s a dying market), which is why most firms are now requiring making a masters degree to even apply since there is so much more to learn other than the few structural courses they offered you during undergrad.

Let me lay out for you the requirements for structural engineers (to practice in California):
-FE Exam (All engineers required to take, 5 hours)
-Masters degree (Structural engineers are one of the very few, if not, the only engineering that “requires” masters)
-PE Structural License (First-time PR=60%, Repeat PR=42%, 8 hours, 2018 percentiles)
-SE Building Vertical (First-time PR=36%, Repeat PR=21%, 8 hours, 2018 percentiles)
-SE Building Lateral (First-time PR=36%, Repeat PR=38%, 8 hours, 2018 percentiles)
-Seismic Principle Exam (PR=44%, 2.5 hours, 2017 percentiles)
-Surveying Principle Exam (PR=54%, 2.5 hours, 2017 percentiles)

And just know these exams are not cheap. Specifically for the SE exams, they’re 500 USD each. I’ve talked to a lot of other structural engineers, young and old, and they’ve all took multiple tries(I know people on their fourth try). Of course there are the special ones that pass first try, but it takes a lot of planning/scheduling of studying. Also, almost everyone takes a prep class which costs a little over 1000 USD, so add that to the cost.

And here is what your fellow classmate from undergrad who barely got his/her degree and spent all of their time drinking and partying will need for construction management:
-FE Exam (OPTIONAL, 5 hours)
-PE Construction (OPTIONAL, 8 hours)

And that’s about it. What’s hysterical is that they will most likely have a higher starting salary than you, even after you’re fully schooled and licensed.

What I’m trying to get at is that this isn’t the job for just anyone. You need to like structural engineering to get into it or else you will burn out fast or eventually and change careers. My boss always nags me to study the code on my free time, and encourages me to study for my exams already, and he is not the first to tell me to study code. Point is, this is the mindset you will want to have. You need to want to study code and have the hunger to learn more, because there really isn’t a ceiling to the knowledge you can obtain as a structural engineer. I’m assuming you’re doing the research track because you’re fully funded, which will take two years to complete. Only one of those years will count towards your exam requirement so that already sets you back a year from getting licensed since you are not doing a one-year program. Also let me clarify this one point you’re clinging on to that may be clouding your judgement: UCLA is not one of the top programs for structural engineering. Yes it is a great school overall, but not for this program specifically. Their admission rates are very high and only about 30% decide to enroll in the structural program, and they are not ranked high on US News(if you’re the type to even care about ranking, these rankings usually don’t mean much though). That is because everyone will prefer to go to Berkeley or Stanford instead, or Illinois/Texas/Georgia for non-California programs. For my structural engineering friends who have gone to the UCLA structural program, they have all said that it was not that great. You will work with a lot of theories and modeling rather than design prep for industry work, whereas Berkeley, Stanford, Illinois, Texas, Georgia, etc. is known for a lot of advanced design prep. Of course this may sound very anecdotal, but it speaks some truth as it lines up with some of the things others say online about these specific programs. To expand on my anecdotes, only about 3% of my undergraduate civil engineering department were on the structural engineering track. Out of the 10 other structural engineers in my graduating class, they were all in the top 5 percentile of the civil engineering department. They were not like any other typical classmates, these classmates had a lot of their futures already set and they knew they wanted to be in this discipline already and was not wishy-washy.

I’m sorry if I come off as pretentious or gatekeeping, but I’m heavily involved in the structural engineering community, online and irl. I also did very extensive research on not just all of these things, but even more past it. I planned out my future such as timing my license exams, and which firms I will be applying to. Reason why I state these things is just to show that I’ve done my due diligence, so you can put a bit of trust into my words. I’ve been to a few seminars/presentations where the speaker also says the same things you and I are saying, that we are underpaid/exploited/underappreciated for the huge liability we bear, but their answer to that is what I’ve said before: “Structural engineering is not for everyone, and it is definitely not for money.” You will find these exact rant on other forums, and from other structural engineers. Most of the ones that are burnt out will move to project/construction management because that is where the money is at with less stringent hours. However, that will mean all your blood, sweat, tears, and money will have gone to waste if you are not putting your licenses to use.

I hope this clarified some things for you. I’ve heard this rant countless of times, and I will always reiterate the above to my friends/coworkers/other engineers I work with.

3

My program is actually only one year. Less than. I am funded through fellowship, so there are no research requirements that I have to complete, other than maintaining my gpa, and I’m not allowed to be employed in the fall, it’s basically just free money.

I know UCLA is not the “top”, but it’s a pretty highly ranked school from what I was finding, top 20. Berkeley was my number 1, but they offered only $10,000, no tuition waiver or anything, and that’s only after I asked. The guy even said “considering the circumstances, you’d be better off accepting the offer from UCLA”. I was also not offered funding anywhere else (minus Columbia who offered a $2500 scholarship, but that is entirely eaten up by the tuition deposit). So, considering UCLA is still a great school and pretty well respected, it’s just more worth it to go there with full tuition and a stipend than to take out tens of thousands of dollars in loans for Berkeley. I am not worried about my performance really. I was no doubt in the top 5% of my undergraduate class when I graduated. That’s why I was accepted into top schools. But school is different from application.

The amount of effort structures takes is part of what makes me question it. Because if I don’t even enjoy it, that’s a lot. I know I enjoyed at least parts of it, based on my classwork. I loved my structures courses. But I’m not sure I’ll enjoy the application. And yeah, the pay isn’t super exciting either.

Right now, I was thinking a free masters degree in engineering couldn’t hurt me. Even if I decide to pursue something else, it will only take a year and engineering provides a lot of transferable skills.

I’ve been pretty back and forth about this for a while. Structures is what made me switch to civil engineering when I was an undergrad and I didn’t really start doubting it until my last semester.

4

Knowing the other funding you’ve been offered, I would agree UCLA was the best option to choose. If you have full-tuition and stipend, the only thing you are “wasting” is your time, and that’s only if you decide to not practice structural engineering. Since you still loved your structural classes, I would say it’s worth going to school for to give structural engineering a try.

I think the point of no return is when you inch near your license exams. If you do not like structural engineering by then, you should definitely look into other options. I personally know of a structural engineer who has gotten his undergrad and masters at Stanford for structural and worked for a few years at a design firm, but then left the whole industry to become a software engineer. That was before he got his any licenses though.

Have you interned/worked full-time before at a structural design firm? I can’t lie and tell you the job is low-effort because it takes a lot of coordination with your whole design team, and you will normally be the one to cater to the architects need most of the time. In that case, there will be a lot of communication involved with other disciplines and a lot of meetings and fieldwork. For calculations, most of the big firms have switched to fully electronic calcs, where hand-calcs are barely needed. You will plug everything into programs for capacities, and everything is to be modeled. The only purpose your structural courses serve is to help you understand what these programs are doing and checking when you rely on them for calculations. Of course the concepts from the classes are important too, but you will learn far more conceptually at work than at school. Although, code is unavoidable. You will most likely read through ASCE 7, IBC, NDS, ACI 318, TMS 402/602, AASHTO (This one is specifically for the exam because of bridge questions), AISI, AISC, etc. You will need all of these and more for designing at work, but you will definitely need to know these books and where everything is for the license exams.

From experience so far, I enjoy the feeling of submitting projects of my own design. That is what is keeping me from leaving this field of work. In my opinion, I think structural engineers are the most important and most unique discipline among the design team. Yes, mechanicals and electricals are essential, but what about the building itself? How is the building even going to stand? Do they have as much liabilities as us? Can they go and say that they designed that building? Really only us and the architects have that right.

Structural engineering is definitely high stress-low reward. You should read rants from other structural engineers that are in the industry, in the process of leaving, or from the ones that left already. They’re all an interesting read, and they all revolve around the idea that it’s high stress-low reward.

5

I got my master’s degree in structural engineering in 1986 and I would say I’ve never been bored! I love going around town and seeing the buildings I’ve worked on (my kids call them “Mom’s buildings”). One great thing about the profession is that you can go out on your own. I met my husband in grad school and we started our own firm in 1999 (20 years ago in June!). We work out of our house and have a great quality of life. We are the only employees. We have only two office policies: 1. Sexual harassment is required. :wink: and 2. If it snows on a work day, we have to go out and sit in the hot tub.

We work on projects ranging from houses to office buildings to defense projects in Alaska and Poland. When you work for yourself, you can charge more and usually get paid for most of your time.

6

@MaineLonghorn

Yes you can charge more if you work for yourself, but you will need to go out there and chase after clients and projects. Before you started your own firm, tell @elee333 about the hardships and achievements you’ve had at wherever you worked. My boss did the same thing as you for about two decades before he decided to move into a managerial role as principal of my firm. He said before he even started working from home, he was working 80 hour weeks at one of the big firms.

@elee333 If you’re wanting to work at a big firm such as TT, ARUP, SOM, etc., you will most likely be seeing 60-80 hour weeks. Even the smaller firms will require you to work more hours to meet deadlines.

7

^Actually, we hit the ground running in 1999. Other structural engineers sent us work when they were overloaded. We’ve had a few slow times, but I can count on one hand the number of times we’ve gone out to market our services. Word of mouth has done 95% of the work for us. :slight_smile:

The hardest part about working for other employers was the instability - the same company hired my husband and me for our first jobs out of grad school. When another firm bought them out, they laid off a bunch of people on the same day - including DH and me!

And yes, long hours are typical for a structural engineer, but most companies don’t pay overtime, so it’s nice to be able to charge for all your time as a consultant.

The biggest challenge of working for ourselves is the benefits - health insurance is very expensive. But now DH has reached 65, so his coverage through Medicare is cheap. :slight_smile:

We have no plans of retiring soon. We like working. My dad was a structural engineering professor at UT-Austin for 52 years and retired at 78. He turns 82 in April and is still speaking all over the world and doing consulting work.

8

First, a BS degree is, as your job offers confirm, all that is required to start a career in structural engineering. I got a BS in CE structural engineering but got a job right out of college in the aerospace world working on the Space Shuttle.

I also found working out of a code book not exactly what I wanted and liked the “freedom” of the aerospace world. Freedom meaning you have basic structural requirements and more ways to meet those. You also do fatigue analysis, fracture mechanics analysis, etc. It also means that you will be doing a bunch a on-the-job learning and grad school may have a different focus. My grad program was in Applied Mechanics and the company paid for it.

Look around and see what interests you.

My experience is that aerospace is more likely to be a career working for a larger company as the projects tend to be large and expensive. The companies also like to keep most of the more interesting and critical work in-house for financial and liability reasons although there are consulting jobs once you get the necessary knowledge. (some jobs may title themselves as consultants but are, in effect, just job shop type jobs)

As far as being high stress / low pay, the work can be high stress but the pay (even working for a large company) can also be high once you get the knowledge to make you valuable to the company.

9

@zblock Yeah, I was thinking the same thing about UCLA. It wouldn’t even be a total “waste” of time because again, it is an engineering masters degree, so a lot of the skills are transferable to almost any field. Plus, I will most likely enjoy the classes and I might end up loving the field as well. So, at this point, I think going is the best decision.

The only “license” I have is an EIT. But I barely studied for that, I took one practice exam and then took the real one, so it wasn’t really a waste and it was a requirement to even graduate at my school. But yeah, I plan to know before I take my PE. With a Master’s degree, I will have to work for 2 years before I can sit for that exam, which I think is ample time to know if I love it or not.

Also, about your friend. That’s actually what I was thinking I would end up doing. Going into software engineering. I always thought computer science and programming was really interesting and I loved the classes where I got to code. I could sit for hours trying to perfect a code and wouldn’t even realize how much time passed by because I was so engulfed in it. So, I have been trying to figure out if I truly end up not liking Structures, how I would transition into that career. Do you know how your friend did it?

@HPuck35 Aerospace is actually interesting to me. When looking at job openings for structures, the ones in aerospace seem to fit my interests the most. I will definitely try to get into that field once I have my masters. Up to this point, my experience is almost entirely in bridges. My internship was bridges and the research I did as an undergrad (and still currently do) was in bridges. Bridges are okay, but I haven’t felt passionate or excited about it.

@MaineLonghorn Your experience sounds really great! Probably the ideal for anyone in this field. But I know that is very far away for me lol. If I do stay in the field, I hope to have the same passion and drive as you and your husband.

10

When I graduated with an electrical engineering degree, I was planning to get a job. I did get a job, but they had requirement that all of their members of technical staff have masters degrees, and would in fact pay for it and let you go full time. So I hadn’t plannned to go to grad school, but if someone hands you a free masters, why not? It was also only a year.
Can you do another year? Even if you don’t want to be a structural engineer, will a masters be helpful in getting a job?

11

So grateful for the detailed information on becoming a structural engineer. Does anyone know about USC’s structural engineering program? The master’s is online and sounds great. I’m a nontraditional student and would have to work and do my masters online.

12

@elee333 It was definitely all self-taught. Aside from self-teaching the basics in highschool, he was dedicated to switching out of structural engineering and studied on his own free time after work. I had friends studying computer science, and they have all told me that you do not need a CS degree to get hired. My friend has coworkers at Google that have non-CS degrees, and he said they are one of the smartest/knowledgeable ones there. I haven’t looked into it that much, but did inquire a few things from my friend in case I wanted to switch into his field of work. He mentioned boot camps being a good option to look into.

13

@zblock I’ve read that a lot. Okay, I’ll look into doing that. A lot of masters programs allow you to take like 2 classes outside of your direct masters program, and many of them list computer science as an area of interest, although UCLA didn’t. I may have to petition for those classes and then just learn on my own time as well. Because regardless of whether I stay in structures or not, it’s something I’m interested in. Thank you!