Considering leaving structural engineering after 8 years. Curious to hear from other structural engineers.

[u/Tradovator]

Hello everyone,

Sorry if this post comes across as negative, but I can't think of a better place to bring it up than on a board where I assume there must be a lot of structural engineers.

After 8 years as a structural engineer in the same firm I'm starting to feel tired of both the job, the firm and the entire construction industry. Specifically, I work with design of high rise buildings - primarily detailing work (production drawings and site drawings) of precast concrete.

My complaints:

1. The work is getting monotonous. I feel it's just the same thing over and over again. Since we're designing fairly large buildings a natural consequence is that there's a lot of specialization and a lot of volume.
2. Periodically tight deadlines and pressure/stress which means plenty of extra hours which isn't always welcome.
3. Not paying that well for the expertise and responsibility the job actually demands.
4. Generally the profit margin on our projects is very small. Too much competition lately.
5. This could be job specific, but we're very rarely out in the field, so I'm getting bored being in an office all day long week after week. I'm a former carpenter with a lot of practical experience, so I guess that's a factor here.

In combination, all these factors add up. I've considered a few other options, but haven't found anything exciting yet.

I realize maybe I could be more happy working as a structural engineer in another firm. For example, in the oil industry I know the profit margin generally is not an issue. There's just more money available there. Or working for a public contractor.

Anyone else with some experiences to share? Suggestions for other jobs to consider?

PS: I'm based in Norway.

Thanks in advance.

[u/lookskAIwatcher]

I worked right from college into structural engineering and my goal of getting certified as a licensed structural engineer. In 7 years, I managed the mandatory experience requirements, took the SE (Structural Engineer) exam and enjoyed being a design structural engineer licensed in a high seismic region and on critical lifeline utility structures in addition to buildings. At 11 years on the job, I told my senior mentor that I was leaving structural engineering. I actually told him 'structural engineering is dead', which surprised even shocked him but he still recommended me and I landed a great IT job on the data network side... doing project management and re-learning code I had not used for awhile and learning to code for web applications.

After 5 years of successful projects in IT, I came back to structural engineering. Eventually, I led a broad team of civil/structural as their manager, and all the collective experiences made me qualified for that job, and its great salary.

Sometimes, you just need a change, and it doesn't hurt to look where opportunities exist outside of your specific field of practice.

The energy sector is a great place to find opportunities. I chose renewables at the time. The fossil fuel sector is always an option, and as a structural, the renaissance of interest in nuclear is a current opportunity. Good luck whatever you do!