<p>Im a third year studying Structural Engineering in UCSD. Anybody knows if this major is worth studying? I was studying EE before, but I switched to SE solely because it fits in better with my interests. However, after two quarters of it, I realize that finding an internship is really hard. I have a very mediocre gpa of 3.2, so perhaps thats the reason why. So fellow CCers, what does the outside world think of a BS degree in SE from UCSD? Is it any good? Is it even possible to find a job in the economy right now? Or should I cut my losses and go back to EE haha?</p>
<p>I am surprised it would be so tough for you to find jobs. I have seen plenty of structural analysis type internships for like Boeing when I looked for internships with them. Obviously, many companies will need someone to analyze the structure of products they make, particularly for products that could harm people if the products fails. I think EE has more opportunities honestly, though. I have seen many research oriented places hire mostly EE and obviously we need hardware and communications for many things. </p>
<p>However, if you like Structural Engineering more, I think you should be able to at least get a job. But I don’t think there will be nearly as many options for that compared to EE.</p>
<p>Good luck though!</p>
<p>At many schools, structural engineering is part of civil engineering.</p>
<p>However, at UCSD, structural engineering is ABET accredited under general criteria only, not as civil engineering. Based on [Undergraduate</a> Program | Structural Engineering, University of California San Diego](<a href=“http://structures.ucsd.edu/node/20]Undergraduate”>Andrew Fann Receives $5,000 Scholarship from Thornton Tomasetti Foundation | Structural Engineering) , it does appear to be focused on more topics than the usual civil engineering structural topics.</p>
<p>But if you are mainly looking in the civil engineering area for jobs, realize that the 2008 downturn was driven by a real estate and construction crash, which is now only slowly being recovered from.</p>