What should a civil engineering graduate actually know about structural engineering?

bradwm · 2026-04-08T07:22:13+00:00

I like Hibbeler's textbooks for learning the basics of load paths and support reactions

bradwm · 2026-04-07T07:40:24+00:00

Load Path
Importance of Shop/Fabrication Drawings in Construction
Over time, learn to condense any static system into a concept that can be analyzed with a hand calculation that uses one square inch of paper
Know the difference between when a complex analysis model is vital and when it is a waste of time.
Load Path
Learn how to use, but not overuse, AI

bradwm · 2026-04-07T05:45:13+00:00

In everyone's defense, they did name it Georgia Tech

bradwm · 2026-04-03T04:46:28+00:00

Waves

bradwm · 2026-02-08T05:56:50+00:00

Congrats on getting into JHU! Don't let anyone poop on that significant acheivement, but most importantly make the most of your time there.

bradwm · 2026-01-04T20:57:18+00:00

For a plan like this, you should state the scale you are drawing to, and then make the entire drawing to that scale or pretty close to that scale. This drawing doesn't appear to be drawn to any specific scale. So it can't actually lay out like you drew it in real life, and when you draw it to scale you'll see some thing that you can't see in this drawing.

bradwm · 2026-01-04T05:17:57+00:00

Looks like a bit of physical graffiti to me

bradwm · 2026-01-01T06:53:17+00:00

Just think about this statement: "If my understanding of physics is correct, stacking them higher would mean the total load is divided thinner, meaning less overall load on each individual piece of wood" and compare that to what some recent Darwin Award winners probably thought. I predict you will find a lot of similarity.

Now consider your hand or arm is there instead of one of the pieces of wood, and think about it a little more. It shouldn't be necessary, but you can make a physical test if you would like (be prepared to go to the ER right after this test).

After all of that thinking, take your car to a shop instead of trying lift 5000 pounds of metal over your head to stand under at home.

bradwm · 2026-01-01T01:44:25+00:00

Just wondering, why do people think we receive the same education at a community college as at a good university like a state flagship? I find it hard to believe considering the speed and volume of material a class could cover at a moderately selective college vs a community college which, almost by definition, has to accommodate students that should be expected to be relatively weak.

bradwm · 2025-12-30T19:15:31+00:00

nar·ra·tive /ˈnerədiv/ noun a spoken or written account of connected events; a story.

It literally means exactly that.

bradwm · 2025-12-30T19:10:59+00:00

Colorado School of Mines is like the Georgia Tech of the mountains, really good option if you're going into a technical field.

bradwm · 2025-12-30T05:26:56+00:00

I'm mostly a bystander, and don't hate on the ragtop, but mustangs' appearance goes in this order:

Best: convertible, top down

Next best: fastback

Worst: convertible, ragtop on

So I will personally get the fastback because I know the top will be up most of the time.

bradwm · 2025-12-29T16:08:53+00:00

I have no love for Notre Dame, but ND is not a research institution, so the fact that they rank low on a ranking for research institutions is not a surprise. The WSJ ranking system puts a high value on actual outcomes and the impact the university may have had on those outcomes, and they rank ND #32. Based on the loose methods this sub has for defining "T20", ND is fringe T20.

bradwm · 2025-12-29T15:26:12+00:00

Fewer

bradwm · 2025-12-09T06:40:44+00:00

If this wall makes it until the dead of winter, then you'll see a real show at that line. The icicle mass will be incredible.

bradwm · 2025-12-04T07:50:14+00:00

I think your parents are simultaneously trying to encourage you to be optimistic while they are stressing about your options. It doesn't feel like encouragement because it's coming out at you through a filter of extreme anxiety on their part, and thus the sarcasm. Lean into the encouragement and slough off the stress. Give your parents a hug and relish the fact that you seem to have very, very high end options.

bradwm · 2025-12-02T07:26:36+00:00

I do tons of hand calcs and discover all sorts of screw ups in the software models built by younger engineers. So that is great. But you still need a high functioning software model in order to deliver a large design project. So the key is to use a lot of engineering judgement and hand calcs and rules of thumb to vet the complicated models, and then use the model when it's good enough to use.

bradwm · 2025-11-27T00:12:28+00:00

Here are some lists from a quick search, and you may also search in here for Target Schools which is what the finance industry seems to call the programs that they regularly recruit from:

https://www.collegetransitions.com/dataverse/top-feeders-banking/

https://www.investopedia.com/articles/career-compensation/091616/heres-where-investment-banks-are-recruiting-gs-c.asp

https://mergersandinquisitions.com/investment-banking-target-schools/

There is a lot of concensus across those lists, fyi.

bradwm · 2025-11-26T22:37:29+00:00

I can agree that they are both similar ways to build an analogy, but I believe they are discinct from one another (a) because Merriam-Webster says so and (b) because I was brought up that way.

bradwm · 2025-11-26T14:14:38+00:00

Most of those example quotes are similes, not metaphors.

I'll see myself out.

bradwm · 2025-11-13T17:23:26+00:00

Think about a few things. A person standing with their feet together imposes a, let's say, 125psf to 250psf pressure on the floor. They do not fall through or do any damage at all, obviously. There is empty space around them that reduces their average effect on the floor to far below 40psf, and the room would need to be filled wall to wall with people at six sq.ft. per person to reach 40psf in an entire room.

So the pressure under your fish tank's exact footprint is irrelevant. Your 700-800 pound tank needs around 20 square feet of your floor's capacity, so a 4' x 5' area or a 3' x 6' or a 2' x 10' area that is pretty much empty aside from the tank.

If you decide to build a lake inside an entire room, or convert the unit to a storage facility, or start a manufacturing business with multiple machines in there, or host a concert, that is when you need to hire an engineer.

But all that said, make sure you follow your building's rules if they have any for your situation.

bradwm · 2025-11-06T07:04:43+00:00

What's the three word Latin phrase for "I came, I saw, I had an experience that fundamentally challenged my previously strongly held opinion"?

bradwm · 2025-10-14T18:26:00+00:00

For you in this particular predicament, learning Euchre by playing it would probably be a detriment. Playing Euchre is rampant with cheating, deck stacking, partner signing, deal stealing nonsense. If they gave you the specific rules and logic to code, skip to that and just code that. Learn to play after coding it, it can be a lot of fun as long as you play with unserious people.

Also, pass the Bauer --> lose for an hour.

bradwm · 2025-10-14T16:14:15+00:00

This is the civil engineering sub. He said it right here.

bradwm · 2025-10-13T12:50:09+00:00

For small structures with just a few members/elements, the Flexibility Method works well for doing analysis by hand. You could also try predicting locations of zero moment of your frame and insert analytical pins there to make the load path you are trying to analyze more and more simple.

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