I got the idea for this post after randomly having a Part l approach me asking the question: What on earth is Structural Engineering, and how is it any different from Civil? The short answer is Structural = buildings 🏡 + bridges 🌉 and Civil = ground ⏚ + wastewater 🦠 (lol :P). Despite the overlap between these two specialisations, there are actually several key distinctions that can lead to different career opportunities and occupations in the long run.
The aim of this post is to indoctrinate YOU into choosing this fabulous and exciting spec! (jkjk… not really). Hopefully, this will help you gain insight into the painful (yes, this is a warning)yet extremely rewarding world of Structural Engineering in uni and beyond 💫
Structural Engineering 101
Structural Engineering in general is pretty much self-explanatory- it’s all about STRUCTURES 🤯 (duh). It focuses on the safety, stability and sustainability of load-bearing structures through technical design and analysis. Think of Structural Engineers as doctors 🩺 but for buildings with the role of optimising their strength 💪🏽, longevity ⏳ and resistance to failure 🪦.
Some of the key aspects of Structural Engineering:
- Understanding Material Behaviour: Learning how building materials (timber, concrete, steel) behave under tension, compression, bending and shear
- Conducting Load Analyses: Accounting for different kinds of loads (from people, vehicles, permanent fixtures, wind, seismic, soil, etc) that may act on a design
- Durability: Considering climate, corrosion and natural disasters in design to boost longevity
- Cost-efficiency: Creating optimally efficient designs with minimal materials, labour and time
- Environmental Sustainability: Utilising low-carbon materials, reusing/repurposing existing materials, creating designs with minimal GHG emissions
- Safety: Increasing resistance to failure and minimising impacts from potential collapse towards human and environmental health.
But how is this different from what a Civil Engineer does?
Civil Engineering encompasses a broad range of focus areas, including transport, wastewater, geotechnical and sustainable design. However, Civil Engineers are NOT qualified to design structures that Structural Engineers can, as they aren’t specialised in the area. So if your heart yearns❤️🔥 to build buildings, bridges and dams, go for Structural Engineering. Maybe by doing so, it could be YOU who one day transforms the Architecture building into a place that you would voluntarily walk into 😬.
What is it like to study Structural Engineering at uni?
Structural Engineering is tough but rewarding. A key bonus is that the department is super CHILL 😎 – perfect for building friendships 👭🏽💞and zero constant stress 😩.
In Part II, Civil and Structural students share most courses, covering geotechnical engineering, structural mechanics, fluid mechanics, transport design, and environmental engineering. Second-semester papers are often easier than first-semester ones. My personal favourite is ENVENG 200, which looks at the broader social, economic, and environmental impacts of engineering.
From Part III onwards, Civil and Structural paths diverge, with Structural focusing more on complex structural systems and design-based assessments.
Part IV is dominated by independent design work, including the dreaded Capstone/Research Project, tackling multi-storey structures while considering real-world safety, environmental, and economic constraints.
For a detailed overview for every paper in Structural Engineering check out the Engineering Course Viewer
Career Opportunities in Structural Engineering
Now the whole point of getting a degree is to end up with a j*b, right? Luckily, the number of opportunities within the Structural Engineering space is continuing to expand and grow, unlike some other areas (**cough cough** engsci **cough cough** tron). If 💸 employability 💸 is one of your top priorities, Civil/Structural continues to be one of the industries with the highest number of vacancies (the number of employer stalls for this department at every Careers Expo already speaks for itself).
There are also so many other rewards you can attain through getting this degree. While Structural is a bit of a niche discipline in Engineering, it is still quite open-ended.
Focus Areas in Structural Engineering:
Structural Analysis & Design 📊: Predicting how different structures respond to certain loads + designing residential, commercial, industrial and high-rise structures
Seismic & Earthquake Engineering 🌬️: Ensuring structures are earthquake-resistant
Bridge & Infrastructure Design 🌉: Designing bridges, tunnels, flyovers, etc, while prioritising durability
Sustainable Design: 🌿 Using low-carbon materials to create eco-friendly structures
Disaster Relief 🔥: A humanitarian side of Structural Engineering specialising in recovering existing structures from natural disasters.
Offshore and Marine Structures 🌊: Designing ports, wharves and offshore platforms.
Industry Occupations:
Consulting (If you’re a social butterfly/ love to yap 🎤🦋): Advising client projects through conducting analyses, delivering design solutions and technical advice.
Structural Designer (If you almost chose Architecture but opted for engineering ✍🏽🎨): Create detailed designs for clients with respect to specifications and codes
Contractor (If you LIVE for site visits 👷🏽♀️): In charge of ensuring projects are safely and correctly executed
Project Manager (If you’re usually the group leader for every project 👑): Coordinating between clients, engineers and all other bodies involved in a project.
Legal Practice (If you want to channel your inner Elle Woods 💖): Specialising in dispute regulation and liability issues involved in a building project
So WHY do it?
1. Financial + General Life Stability ⚖️:
Let’s be honest, we all want a career that evades the AI boom and unemployment frenzy . Structural engineering = bills paid, rent covered, maybe even a house one day (wild, I know). But it’s also so much more than money, it’s knowing that you will always be in demand, have time for loved ones and hobbies through having a balanced lifestyle and getting to live life beyond just being an engineer. Structural engineering means stability both in your life and career.
2. Clear Career Progression Pathways 💼:
If you’re someone who finds discomfort in uncertainty (eg, me), one of the best parts of Structural Engineering is that the “level up” path is super clear. You start as a graduate engineer, move into design or project work, and as you gain experience, you can become a senior engineer, project manager, or even a director/partner in a firm. There’s no stress from short-term contracts, working 80+ hour weeks or draining away from trying to constantly upskill so that some AI bot doesn’t snatch your job. Once you’re in you’re in.
3. Community and people at the heart ❤️:
Structural engineering is more than just designing beams; it is about creating the backdrop of everyone’s life: our world. From dams to skyscrapers, we are shaping the environment around us and, in hindsight, the stories that are created within them. Incorporating sustainability and embracing community culture is the soul of what makes Structural Engineering more than just science and maths, it’s art.
4. It’s (mostly) FUN! 🤩
Okay, yes, sometimes you’re staring at equations at 2am and wondering why you didn’t just become an influencer. But then you have those moments where you get the correct solution to a problem, watch tron students stress their life away, see something you worked on come to life, that remind you that you made the right choice and that this is all worth it. There’s something satisfying about knowing what you’re designing will actually last for decades (even centuries!). Not many careers let you leave behind literal concrete proof of your hard work.
By now, it should be obvious that your spec choice must be Structural, but I’d like to debunk some popular myths before you’re on board 😉
Who can do it?
ANYONE. Yes, you heard that right! A lot of people think that you need to be some insane mechanics nerd who breathes to solve complex differential equations, but I swear a lot of the math is literally high-school level (if you know your trig and calc, you’ll be fine). There are definitely courses that can be a massive pain, but if you love to problem-solve and challenge yourself (pretty sure that’s why we all chose engineering, right?!), then you’ll find satisfaction even under the most stressful of times.
Also, if you never want to look at a circuit, debug code for hours or burn yourself while soldering ever again (totally NOT speaking from personal experience)- Structural is the one for you!
TL;DR
Join Structural because it’s FANTASTIC. Yep, that’s it.