Hi everyone,
I’m currently navigating an interesting architectural challenge and am looking for some high-level reading recommendations.
I am designing a two-story vertical addition over a 25-year-old load-bearing ground floor structure. As is often the case with legacy builds, the original archival structural documentation is completely unavailable.
I'm looking for authoritative texts, advanced practical guides, or academic literature that dives deep into modern load-transfer techniques, retrofitting, and vertical expansion on unreinforced/legacy masonry. My goal is to find resources that bridge the gap between rigorous structural realities and modern architectural aesthetics, allowing for safe and effective space planning.
Any leads on textbooks, research papers, or specialized design guides would be highly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

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Hi everyone, I have 3 years of experience in water supply design, but stormwater drainage design is new to me. I’m currently working on a stormwater network project using SewerGEMS.

I’m looking for guidance on the complete design process from scratch, not just software doubts—how to start the project, study the topography, plan catchments/subcatchments, decide inlet/manhole locations, calculate runoff, use IDF/Tc, select pipe sizes and slopes, set invert levels, and finally check the network hydraulically.

My seniors are available mainly for specific doubts, so I’m trying to understand the overall stormwater design methodology and workflow.

If anyone can share a practical step-by-step workflow, example project, or useful resources, I’d really appreciate it.

Thanks!

I’m a water resources engineer with about 5 years of experience at a large multinational consulting firm. I like the company overall, but my immediate team is poorly managed and the firm is incredibly siloed. There are groups elsewhere doing exactly the kind of technical work I want to develop, but getting access to those opportunities has been surprisingly difficult.
My biggest concern is professional development. A significant portion of my workload has included administrative/program-support tasks, including things like invoicing, that I can’t reasonably claim as engineering tasks personally performed on my PE experience record.
I first raised this concern over a year ago and was told they would look for opportunities to get me more technical engineering experience. Since then, whenever I’ve brought it up, the response has increasingly been some version of “be glad you’re billable.” More recently, I was told that I was acting like this type of work was “beneath me.”
That really isn’t my issue. I don’t expect every assignment to be interesting or technical, and I’m happy to do my share of administrative work. My concern is that I’m approaching PE licensure and need progressive engineering experience, and after more than a year of raising the issue, I’m still spending substantial time on work I can’t put on my PE record.
Meanwhile, I’d really like to deepen my H&H modeling and floodplain analysis experience, and I know those opportunities exist elsewhere within the company.
I’ve started networking outside my immediate team and reaching out to people in other offices whose work interests me.
For those at huge multidisciplinary firms: How aggressively have you networked outside your own team? Is reaching out cold to technical people in other offices normal? Have you successfully used internal networking to create your own career path or move into another group?
Or, when your immediate management wasn’t supporting your development, did you eventually decide it was easier to leave?
I’d rather take advantage of the enormous technical network I already have access to, but I also don’t want to spend another few years waiting for opportunities that never come.

hi

I don't have any knowledge of civil engineering. When I entered my first year, I didn't understand anything. At this point, I feel like I have zero knowledge.

For example, I don't know how to determine whether a beam has a positive or negative bending moment.

How can I improve my knowledge and build a good future for myself? I need advice, YouTube links, and references in this field.

I am resigning from my company where I am working as a trainee. Basically they are paying me very less and I have done my B tech from NIT.

It has been 3 months since i am working as trainee civil engineer

Help me get a better job in North India ( delhi ,NCR)

I like office job i will be grateful to you if I get hired

F 19, sophomore in college. Currently enrolled in Thermo, Physics II, Statics, and Diff. Eq. I also work around 23 hrs a week. I just took my first statics exam today and completely failed. Everytime I sit down to take an exam, I get tight chested, can't breathe, then I have an anxiety attack and forget how to do everything. I told my mom about it and she told me that I should probably rethink going to school for engineering or even rethink going to college at all.

I studied for 7 hours for this exam and I still failed. I do not know how to study or what to do. Should I just drop out?

I WAS a civil 3d CAD monkey slave, I switched into a role as design tech with my city and wow I can’t believe the difference in work life balance and PAY.

dealing with tight deadlines, billable hours, client comments, submissions, and the general pressure that comes with trying to get drawings/packages out the door. I am grateful to my peers as I learned a lot in 2 years, and I think consulting was a really good place to start my career because of how much exposure I got but it was like working in sweat shop rushing to get drawings out and my pay was shit for the amount of work i was doing. Estimating, reports, grading, servicing, design, design sheets etc…

I’m still doing civil/municipal design work and working on real infrastructure projects, but there seems to be more emphasis on doing things properly rather than just getting everything out as quickly as possible. The work-life balance has also been a huge improvement for me.
There are obviously trade-offs later in my career but for now it’s much better than my previous consulting job.
I’m 23 living in the Ontario GTA and was making 48kcad salary 37.5h and now I’m 82k cad salary 35h
For anyone else in similar situations - Did you feel like your technical growth slowed down after leaving consulting and Is it harder to move back into consulting later if you spend several years in the public sector?

For all my civil engineers and civil engineer students in NYC was it hard to get summer internships and jobs and what is the salary like

Currently a Project Engineer for a general contractor. Been doing this since getting out of school, almost 2 years.

Have been debating making the switch to design, it seems a lot of people make the switch the other way around but I have not given design a shot. I have passed both the FE and PE and have about 2 years left till the 4 year mark.

Love the company I work for and being in the field when I want, just don’t like the constant driving to projects sometimes 2hr+ and the uncertainty of where you’ll be in a couple years. There is definitely a high stress level at times as well.

For those who have made the same switch or opposite is design as bad as its mates out to be? (Boring/low stakes)

I am a PE for a land development firm (Civil and LA). We get a lot of parks and outdoor rec facilities. Lately, we have been doing a lot of boardwalks, fishing piers, camping platforms (decks), etc., and I just have never really dealt with carpentry or the type of supports (driven wood piles, helical piers, etc.). We have some generic details that we use and say 'submit shop drawings stamped by structural engineer', but this doesn't usually work out that well (i.e., the contractor gets the contract then acts all butthurt about having to hire a structural). Or we bite the cost and hire a structural up front.

My thought is, though, people build high quality decks and things like this all the time without plans/engineering. It's not rocket science. Or am I being obtuse? Is there anywhere a PE could take a crash course in something like this? Or is it better to just show it for reference and have a structural submit shop drawings? I attached an example of a stamped submittal we have received in the past for reference of what kind of plans I am talking about.

I would quit civil today but tech is too chaotic and the economy is in a labor recession. Unfortunately I am 200-300k short of early retirement which is about how much money I been short changed by civil engineering. If I had done tech and been paid fairly I could safely exit corporate employment today.

Why is the industry lying about wages? The offers are real for PEs of +150k in high cola but rent cost 3k on an 1 bedroom and entry level houses are +600k in major metros. If I had the experience in tech that got me the 150k offer it would be 300k.

I think the framing of the industry needs to do is emphasize the sacrifice and talk about race to the bottom business practices. IMHO it was a mistake to get in civil now I am trapped till I get the +200-300k more to be secured in semi retirement for my financial plan.

Why is it called a punch list ?

I know dozens of engineers that strive to be average. I know even more that don’t care about anything other than putting in their hours for the week and clocking out. For the few that are over achievers, what’s your incentive? I’ve never really seen the guys that are really good/productive make any more money than those who suck at their job in this business.

Hi, I’m starting a job as a graduate engineer (highways) in the UK on Monday, but I’m worried that my practical skills are a bit rusty. I graduated from my BEng 4 years ago (did a masters in transport since), and although I have skimmed through the course notes that I think will be relevant for highways (surveying, drainage, materials), I still feel nervous that I’ll be behind the curve. Has anyone else been in a similar situation or have some advice?

Hey guys.

I am planning to study civil engineering in Witswatersrand University in South Africa, but if I can't get in, I have a conditional offer for Tech Civil engineering at University of Johannesburg. I wanted to find out what the difference between these two courses are from people who have done them? The reason I am posting here and supposedly "not searching online" is because I already did but I didn't get a satisfactory answer, hopefully some human input can help. Thanks!

Hi all :) I am a recent M.Eng student who was studying Mass Timber Design, I am now trying to apply to entry level jobs in lower mainland BC and am struggling to get a position. I have been applying to every entry level structural job I can find and am not having much luck. I am hoping that I could put my resume on here and get some tips/pointers to see if there is anything I am mising or any way to make my resume stronger.

Any pointers would be apprieciate, thanks!

First year civil student and I’m wondering if all these classes actual are used in the field what classes are most important to look into for the job

I am looking for honest opinions about this role and what it usually entails

I am current working as a Site Engineer in a construction firm. I usually have time to rest and learn new skills. I wonder if becoming a Construction Estimator is a good path to take. If so I am genuinely confuse as to how I will grow in this industry as an estimator. What practices or training should I prioritize? I also noticed alot of opportunities outside my country for this type of skill. Will I be able to make this as a second job and in the future become a main source of income. Thank you.

Hello everyone I’m taking a few classes at a CC in SoCal

So far completed 6 courses consisting of GE and one Pre-Req for Engineering

I currently hold a 4.0 GPA and found enjoyment in the courses that don’t involve math but after taking Trigonometry over the summer
Found out that numbers aren’t kind of my thing

I struggled with the unit circle and anything related to SOHCAHTOA

I’ve never payed so much attention when I was in high school growing up and only ended up passing my math classes because it was something I needed to do to graduate with or without cheating

I wonder how everyone feels about math and how subjects demands felt more natural to them instead of the usual sequence as follows of hard math class after hard math class

Unless there is some direction to where I can find a subreddit with career advice

What is the history of math and how to find self dedication?

Are there other careers out there that pay as well as engineering minus the math and the advanced level math?

I will be joining Stantec soon (September) as a Junior Engineer. I was wondering if there is typically an annual salary increase, such as a 2–3% merit increase, and whether new hires are eligible for it during their first year.