What college classes do you need to be a structural engineer?
#engineer
2 answers
Justin’s Answer
Hi Gavin,
Depends on what types of structural engineering you want to be. If you want to get into the field of building structural engineer, the foundamental courses will be structure analysis, dynamic analysis, steel design, concrete design and wood design. Of course the bechalor level of courses will not be enough for structural engineer career. Most of structural firms now requires to take master classes in order to start for their internship. Also, computer programming is very important for structural engineer especially Marlon which you require to write program to calculate certain non-traditional shape of structural calculation.
Good luck with your school and let me know if you have further questions.
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Maya’s Answer
I can speak for classes offered in undergraduate (bachelors) degrees at my alma mater. All structural engineers (and most engineering students for that matter) start out with Statics, the study of stuff that doesn't move. Then you can go on to Deformable Bodies or Mechanics of Materials, where you study movement and shape changes of materials being acted upon by a force. After that they get more specialized, and you may take up to three different levels of structural analysis, which are larger-scale applications. You'll probably want to take some materials courses, such as concrete and steel design, wood design, etc.
If you get the chance in your degree program, I highly recommend taking an elective in an architectural or general civil engineering course since they are all related and knowing some of the basics in those will make you a better structural engineer. Along those lines, a computer science course would help, too.
As Justin mentioned, many purely structural firms will require a Masters for designing those skyscrapers and big building projects. But structural engineers are needed in all types of industries including in water, aviation, energy, construction, and more. A good bachelors degree and passing the FE will set you up for success in these and other jobs if you are willing to think outside the box and get on-the-job training.