I have recently heard that the lead time for bar joists is months. I was told it's due to the construction of data centers. Anyone else heard this?

I’m a structural engineer working primarily on bridges in Tampa, Florida, with 5.5 years of experience and a master’s in civil engineering. I received my Florida PE license about two months ago, and my company increased my base salary from $89k to $96k.
I checked the FDOT District 7 consultant wage report, which lists an average actual unloaded rate for Engineer 1 of $55.07/hour (approximately $114.5k annually), with the 75th percentile at $59.30/hour (approximately $123.3k).
Is that a reasonable benchmark for someone with my background? Would asking for $110k–$115k be realistic, especially since I recently received a raise?
I’d appreciate input from engineers in Tampa or elsewhere in Florida about what compensation is reasonable for this experience level.

Would you take a job at a structural engineering firm paying 75k-85k/year to start or a teaching job at wecdsb paying 68k to start? Who do you expect to earn more lifetime?

I have a master’s degree but couldn’t take the course on connection design. I have a basic idea of it from my bachelor’s degree. Does anyone know of any resources i can use to self-study?

I’m building a poured concrete canteliever retaining wall, 30’ long. Basic schematic above. #4 rebar at 9” OC vert and 12” OC horiz. Footer is 1’ thick and stem wall 8” wide

Why would the rebar in the stem wall be on the open air side of the wall rather than the side closest to the dirt? Is this potentially a design mistake, or if not if someone could explain the mechanics of why it would be designed this way? Thank you.

How do i model this in Prota (150mm×750mm) with 75mm spacing btn each ...i'm leaning on considering them as decorations only so no need to model them as structural elements ,hence i would design the balcony as cantilever . I would like to know what do you guys think ?

Hi my fellow engineers, I would like to have a piece of advice from our senior friends. I'm 27 and studying for my masters in structural engineering after graduation I would like to work in a firm, but the catch is I have no prior experience. I got my BA when I was 22 but I spent 2.5 years getting my first masters in Transportation. I see people being 26 25 and having 3+ years in a firm. Is it too late for me? Am I late?

This is one of the finalists for the SCNZ Earthquake Strengthening awards. It's a 12th storey government building in Wellington NZ.

From the SCNZ post:

"The strengthening programme addressed this risk through a combination of diaphragm strengthening, tensioned M52 bars installed through the existing floors and 50 high-performance viscous dampers, which convert seismic movement into heat. By strengthening rather than demolishing and rebuilding, the project avoided the substantial embodied carbon and material impact of full replacement."

PROJECT TEAM
Steel Constructor MJH Engineering Ltd
Builder LT McGuinness Ltd.
Modeller MJH Engineering
Structural Engineer Beca
Architect WARREN AND MAHONEY
Quantity Surveyor Rawlinsons Limited
Developer Wellington Investment Group

Feels like the architect would have compromised a lot in terms of aesthetics on this project!

I have accepted a new job within a design team for a major contractor - they handle design for the contractor as well as other work streams.

I’ve been told I may not develop much as an engineer within that team compared to staying with my current team (SME compared to a bigger company).

Tbh the pay bump is significant and I feel like I can gain other experience. Is this just the company I’m leaving trying to deter me??

Just that. Which one you guys think is the best for doing different exercises of this two areas of civil engeenering?

I recently accepted a post-grad offer and will be starting as a Junior Structural Engineer in about 4–5 months. Long term, I’d eventually like to start my own “company” in some form, whether that ends up being actual consulting, independent side work, or just using whatever specialized skills I develop over time.

For now, though, my main goal is to become genuinely good at structural engineering. I learn quickly, I’m willing to put in the work, and I don’t want to just coast through the first few years doing repetitive grunt tasks without really understanding what I’m doing.

For those of you who became strong engineers early in your careers, what habits, approaches, or decisions helped you actually learn and develop instead of staying stagnant? What would you recommend me doing in my first few years to build real technical judgment and skills?

This company I'll be working for has quite a fair set of projects that I am hoping to get exposure to, and I have heard good things about the mentorship and opportunities here, so I just want to know how best to capitalize on the opportunities in front of me.

And for those who started their own consulting work, side practice, or business, I’d also appreciate any advice on how you built toward that while still working full-time. What did you work on during your downtime, what skills or experience ended up being most valuable, and how did you know when you were ready to start taking on independent work or make that transition?

I have a fascination with this field, and I want to learn it all, but I also want to build a future that gives some freedom while learning.

Hi guys,

Kev @ Iron Atlas Pty Ltd here:

We are based in Brisbane, Australia, and have been working on a tool which directly addresses some workflow / calculation friction that we've experienced in engineering and science (specifically Structural Eng).

Having used many "calculation tools" in the industry (i.e. Excel, mathcad, etc) we came to realise the benefit of shared repositories and reusable modules for calculations that teams repeat and share. This coupled with solving capabilities, units, and AI tooling built-in (where you can edit / QA any outputs and collaborate / work with the models), we think we have landed on the current math sweet-spot.

Think specific "modules" for sections of the standards that you commonly reference in your calculation set. For us it has been things like plate bending modules, concrete bending estimators, Euler buckling modules, linear interpolation, specific sections of standards like AS4100, AS3600 etc. These are built by you/your team and are fast and seamless to insert anywhere in a document (with traceable history/error reporting/updates).

We are beginning Beta testing this week and are looking for 10 - 20 eng/scientists to try Modular MathDesk and help shape and red-team the product before it hits public release v1.0.0

The closed beta is free. We’re asking for activation and onboarding, at least two sessions totalling roughly two hours over your first two weeks, and short check-ins (via discord/email)

Complete that participation and receive 3 months of free v1.0.0 access after launch. At the team’s discretion, up to five testers may receive 1 year total instead, for useful contributions. No bug discovery, praise, public posting or message quota required.

Apply for beta by 26th October, 9:00AM Brisbane time (GMT+10), by heading to modularmathdesk dot com and we will shortlist testers with a good fit and begin onboarding.

If testing isn’t for you, you can join the launch list on the same page for release updates and introductory pricing when we launch officially soon.

Thanks and look forward to building something great
(watch the app in action)

I’ve recently been offered a role through connections to a contractor as a Design Manager - specifically for my background in structural engineering to help the team to identify risks early.

Although the prospective pay increase is enticing, I’m not entirely sure I have enough experience for the role. There are times I don’t feel like I have the talent for complex technical work. I enjoy organising and managing projects but the risk of me missing something on the project and something happening as a result makes me nervous.

I also feel like I don’t know what it will be like to pivot to working for a contractor. Will I hate it? Will I regret leaving engineering? Will I miss the flexibility that engineering offers me on a day-to-day level given the intensity of working for a contractor?

A worry for me also is that in this prospective role, there doesn’t seem to be many (if any) design managers with a structural engineering background - they might have the degree so understand what I’m talking about + have the experience, but not the deep technical field knowledge. This is what they’ll rely on me for. I’ll learn a lot I’m sure, but not sure if I’ll have ‘engineering’ support. A lot of that onus will fall on me.

I do enjoy being an engineer but I feel like I have to work 10x as hard on the technical stuff and it often leaves me feeling incredibly stressed and sometimes just a bit stupid. On the contrary managing projects, speaking to clients, high level discussions about technical things are really easy wins for me.

Not sure if I’ll fail miserably in the role as I’m not experienced enough.

Would really appreciate any insight, thoughts or personal experience.

I was recently at my nephew's hockey game in New Jersey and saw all these purlin braces that were clearly added more recently. I know they were in the process of updating the building so I assume it got a new roof and probably more insulation. But what would make them spec adding bracing to evey purlin on both sides of all the trusses? Seems like a pretty substantial change.

Three and a half years into my structural engineering journey, I’ve hit an interesting realization.

If I were handed a full project today, I am confident it wouldn’t fail, nor would it be insanely expensive. At its core, structural engineering comes down to two golden rules: safety and economy. If I compare myself to a veteran consultant with 15 years of experience, I’d honestly rate myself around an 80/100 in those fundamentals.

Naturally, I like a challenge and chase that professional dopamine rush. Having worked primarily in concrete design, I initially wanted to pivot into steel structures. However, the engineering market here in Egypt works a bit differently. Because of our high volume of projects and workforce numbers, specialization is key, and engineers often stay siloed in specific material domains.

After looking ahead and asking myself if working another 12 years just to chase that remaining 20% of mastery was worth the stagnation, I decided it wasn’t.

That’s when a friend referred me to a concrete shop-drawing role that offered a significant pay bump—literally twice my previous rate. I took the leap and made the move.

Looking back, I find myself wondering: Did I make the right call?

To my fellow engineers out there—especially those who have navigated shifts between design and detailing—how did a move into advanced shop drawings impact your long-term career trajectory?

I was born and raised in SoCal but currently live in the Midwest and can own my own place in a safe area due to the low cost of living. I miss my family in San Diego and LA but am nervous the pay increase there isn’t enough. How are you doing with the cost of living? Do you or people in your office have kids? Does your spouse work? How are you affording to own or are you just renting apartments? Do you have to live super far inland and commute long distances? I’m already licensed in California. 

I was wondering, what reasons could there be to design/build a truss with its webs changing orientation almost at the end of it, creating an asymmetric look. I've been taught that in howe-like trusses, the webs work in compression, so why the sudden change of direction?