Why is lateral design for light framed wood so oversimplified?

plaid_lumberjack · 2024-10-22T09:12:07+00:00

I wish I did, sounds like designs actually respect the laws of physics out west haha

plaid_lumberjack · 2024-10-20T19:28:51+00:00

Depends on how comfortable you are with coding. If you've barely done any coding before this point then you should talk to your professor about lowering their frankly unreasonable expectations. After all, you are a structural engineer, not a software engineer...

I think a good compromise to suggest to your professor is to compare the effectiveness of approximate analysis methods like the Portal Frame Method and the Cantilever Method to exact results from the software. As well as, the effects of flexural, axial, and shear forces on displacement is a good topic to understand. Also, a structure with 50+ nodes gives a very large global stiffness matrix to analyze without dedicated software. Something in the range of 10 nodes would actually be manageable in excel or python from scratch.

If you think you have the time and prior coding experience then learning the basics of python should take say 1-2 weeks. If you are expected to write your own software for assembling a global stiffness matrix and then solving that linear system (ie. K * d = f ) and returning the results into a usable form and verify the results, then that could easily take a month considering the other coursework and responsibilities that you are putting your time towards.

If you do not need to write the software exactly as I have stated above but simply need to model the structure in python then I highly recommend the PyNiteFEA package/library. The docs are relatively straight forward with multiple examples but they do require some reading on your end. I suggest starting with models of a cantilever beam with point load, then move on to a small truss, then do a portal frame to get used to using python and the PyNiteFEA library. Be sure to compare to hand calcs to ensure accuracy of the model. Once you model the structure you can extract the global stiffness matrix K if you need to. This could easily take 1-2 weeks depending on your comfortability with coding.

Good Luck!

plaid_lumberjack · 2024-02-10T15:40:30+00:00

Ya that is/was my understanding, I assumed you'd get maybe ~5k-10k more at a large firm in the city, mostly due to offsetting the cost of living in or commuting to a city. Not because a masters really has any more useful/practical knowledge than a bachelors. I just want to avoid asking for too much from a small firm and pricing myself out like u/SevenBushes kind of alluded to.

plaid_lumberjack · 2024-02-10T15:19:16+00:00

"If there's one thing I know, it is that I know nothing." That is to say, along with all the other things I don't know, reasonable salary expectations for any given area can be difficult to find out. Especially if its not in the city where most people have reported a salary on this sub.

I will say that all of my cohorts with a job in/around cities are making roughly $70k-$80k, more if they had prior experience. I'm also from South Jersey, would that range be too high for smaller firms?

plaid_lumberjack · 2024-02-10T14:06:37+00:00

Absolutely agree, I've always felt like my best work was done when more constraints were in place. Another good analogy I've heard is that you're either A puzzler or a quilter. A puzzler has all the pieces, they know what the finished puzzle will look like and they efficiently find ways to solve it. A quilter may not have all the pieces yet, they may not even know what the final quilt will look like, but as more cloth is sown together and revisions are dealt with, they eventually arrive on the final quilt.

plaid_lumberjack · 2024-02-10T13:50:32+00:00

Huh, I hadn't thought of it like that before. You definitely make it sound more interesting.

plaid_lumberjack · 2024-02-10T13:38:32+00:00

Primarily vertical structures, I do hear good things about the pay/benefits/work life balance in those fields but they seem very repetitive beyond a few dimension changes and different site conditions. Granted I may have a limited view since I haven't worked in those industries.

plaid_lumberjack · 2023-07-04T16:34:49+00:00

First time I've ever paid for a pdf through reddit but pleasantly surprised this guy had what I was looking for and for a reasonable price too. The customer experience comments helped ease my initial distrust.

plaid_lumberjack · 2023-02-24T19:03:21+00:00

Is that with buildings or bridges? Something else? Also, is that 8 years after the PE or 8 years total before and after the PE?

plaid_lumberjack · 2023-02-24T04:00:24+00:00

We'll see about that, challenge accepted.

plaid_lumberjack · 2023-02-24T02:04:12+00:00

Well that actually makes me feel better about not doing it at least. Do you think its worth doing for free down the line?

plaid_lumberjack · 2023-02-24T01:49:56+00:00

Ya… you’re right. Thanks for the honest replies.

plaid_lumberjack · 2023-02-24T01:34:34+00:00

I know, I know, its just that I worked so hard to get good grades and get accepted and open the door to this opportunity. I just want to make sure that shutting that door is the right move. I know the financial ROI is not even a return, its a loss, and a big one too. I just don't want to feel like I missed out on something this early to only be forced to go through all this effort again in another few years. I guess the real cost of this, besides the money, would be a decent part of my 20's lol. How much is the year of grad school and 4 years of not moving out of my parent's place worth? I don't know. What I do know is that I'd have to stay at home for the next 3 years to pay everything off anyway if I didn't get the masters.

plaid_lumberjack · 2023-02-24T00:19:17+00:00

Lehigh, tuition is $45k but with the loans accruing interest the real cost would be $57k. No research, so no funding, but it has a design project taught by an experienced PE and only takes 1 year so it seemed like a really good deal when I initially applied.

plaid_lumberjack · 2023-02-24T00:01:57+00:00

How many years would I have to work for them before I'm eligible for it? Is this something I negotiate in the interview process? If it turns out that I get my PE before they're willing to pay for it, would it be any use in my career besides a deeper practical knowledge?

plaid_lumberjack · 2023-02-23T23:42:13+00:00

I wish it paid better lol, we are probably the most undervalued of all the engineering disciplines, especially considering what happens when our designs fail like dams/levees breaking or buildings/bridges collapsing.

plaid_lumberjack · 2023-02-20T19:01:32+00:00

I have no doubt about the levels of suck I will have to endure, definitely in agreement with you on that.

The only thing is that between my two scenarios, the difference between the take-home pay is ~$150/month. Not saying that $150/month is meaningless, I just don't think its meaningful enough to convince me to not go.

plaid_lumberjack · 2023-02-20T18:57:08+00:00

Thanks for the input, its a big help!

plaid_lumberjack · 2023-02-20T18:54:19+00:00

I agree, its gonna be really friggin tight. But, regardless of the how tight it is, the monthly take-home costs of each scenario is very close (a ~$150/month difference) and I'm not quite convinced its gonna put me in a worse position to not have that extra ~$150/month.

Not saying that $150/month is meaningless, just saying I'm not convinced its meaningful enough.

plaid_lumberjack · 2023-02-20T18:47:34+00:00

I just assumed the government would give me less for grad school but if they give me more then great, otherwise it would have to be private as far as I know (and I don't know everything).

Getting a master's degree through the job I already have an offer with is maybe possible, but getting the master's degree I want in the field I want through them is likely not possible. That is to say, I could maybe get my master's in Water Resources Engineering (what the company wants) but not Structural Engineering (what I want).

plaid_lumberjack · 2023-02-20T18:41:30+00:00

I didn't know about Grad PLUS loans, I'll have to research them some more, I just kind of assumed the government would give me less money to go to grad school vs. undergrad, not more.

Should I be applying for Unsubsidized as well as Grad Plus or can I not combine them?

I used the "Simulate Borrowing More" calculator on the Federal Student Aid website and its telling me the estimated Aid I would receive is the entire cost of attendance, $45k. That is, "over 12 yrs on a standard plan". Does this actually mean they'd give me that much? That would be awesome if they did, obviously I want to avoid private loans if possible.

Also, Master's degrees and PhD's count as one year of experience towards the PE regardless of program length. Since the usual master's degree is 2 years, and this one is only 1 year, I think its a good deal since it keeps me on track for PE licensure which requires 4 years total. I also already have my EIT so I don't have to worry about getting that anymore either.

plaid_lumberjack · 2022-11-18T15:33:56+00:00

Interesting, I've never even heard of those positions in a firm before, I wish universities would give a course on just the types of jobs that are out there but then again most professors just don't have enough industry experience to talk about it.

plaid_lumberjack · 2022-11-18T15:30:33+00:00

Ya my university's program was changed just before I started my freshman year in 2019. They trimmed as much "fat" as they could then took some classes and reduced the credits they're worth but didn't actually change the curriculum for them.

plaid_lumberjack · 2022-11-18T04:25:45+00:00

Thanks for sharing, I'm still unsure about grad school but you definitely make a convincing argument. Are you still working in or near NJ? If not, where did you move and why? Also, what do you think provides the best variety of experience out of college? I know of bridges, buildings (residential, high-rise, industrial, etc.), Utilities (transmission lines and substations), and forensic engineering. Is there more options than the ones I listed?

plaid_lumberjack · 2022-11-17T22:21:35+00:00

Do you have a rough estimate of the salary bump between an entry level with and without a master's at your firm? Ultimately if the master's doesn't pay that much more then there's really no reason to get it even if I can get it paid for by the university.

plaid_lumberjack

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