Engineering is the career field that combines science and math to create, develop, design, test, and analyze solutions to problems critical to society’s needs. Engineers are among the most highly educated and best trained professionals in the world. Almost anything and everything man made was created by more than one subsection of engineering fields. One of the main engineering programs that is used to build structures and systems is structural engineering.
Structural engineering dates back to 2700 BC when the pyramids were first built by Imhotep, the first engineer in history known by name. Pyramids were the most common major structures built by ancient civilizations because the structural form of a pyramid is stable and can be almost infinitely scaled. Throughout ancient and medieval history, most architectural design and construction was carried out by artisans, such as stone masons and carpenters (Author 3
Many people contributed in the modernization of structural engineering. It all started off with the Egyptians which were the basics of building. New information and studies started to appear around the 1400’s where Leonardo da Vinci made many contributions. As the years went by, more and more people began showing up with new information. Some of these people were Galileo Galilei, Isaac Newton, Claude-Louis Navier, Hardy Cross, and many others. All of this information over the past centuries has created the job field known as structural engineering. To begin the long journey of becoming a structural engineer, one must have the right mind set. The person must like to build and design structures and also wonder how structures are made. These are the main traits that someone must possess in order to pursue this career. The person must also be a very smart student, especially in the math and science departments. Engineering involves a combination of them both. The person must also be a part of design and/or manufacturing classes which will help the person get a feel for how structural engineers work so they can ultimately get into a great college. The next step is to get ready and prepare for college. There will be a set of classes that your college will make you take in order to enable them to get their structural engineering degree. Some of the courses will be based upon physics and calculus. These classes will be extremely challenging but it will all be rewarding in the end. Not many people will succeed in this career field, but the ones that do will be very successful. Structural engineering can be referred as the specialty of civil engineering that deals with the design of structures- physical objects and systems- and their main function of resisting loads and dissipating energy. They also ensure that specific architectural components- such as beams, foundations, columns and floors are structurally sound and ready to go. A lot of work and time goes into creating these structures. Structural engineers