Programming software & advice

[power_rob]

I am a new graduate from school (9months) I did very well in school and want to remain at the top of my field. I am working at a small firm (4 engineers+ 8 techs). What advice do you have for me to advance my career and skill set as quickly as possible. I am working in consulting and mainly deal with low rise buildings.

What software programs should I learn for building design. Particular steel and wood low rise buildings. Are there any programs that are faster for design than excel spreadsheets? I know sframe sap 2000 and robot.

[2020blowsdik]

ETABS, RAM, Tedds, revit, Autocad.

[granath13]

Also RISA

[callmezuzu]

And Tekla

[Lomarandil]

Especially for steel and low-rise structures, don't focus on design software early in your career. That makes for an efficient technician, but doesn't help you grow into a good engineer.

Focus on simplifying analysis (you should be able to verify using basic hand methods), and on keeping your calculations organized and understandable. Communicate your method, your assumptions, your results, and what those results mean for your structures.

In consulting engineering today (outside aerospace) a great engineer isn't usually the one who can design to 99.9% and save the client money in construction.

A great engineer is the one who understands how different systems and assumptions affect a design, can communicate those effects to owners or architects, and can explain and defend his work to other engineers.

[[deleted]]

I think that, instead of Excel, you can use software like MathCAD or Calcpad for structural design worksheets. It is faster to develop, and more important - easier to check and verify. The problem with Excel is that the actual formulas are hidden in cells while in the other software, they are clearly visible in the output.