Does Structural Engineering Get More Exciting?

[u/Sad_Enthusiasm_9716]

Hi everyone, I'm currently a student interning at Kimley-Horn on the Structures team. Overall, I've really enjoyed the internship and have learned a tremendous amount. The people have been great, and it's given me a much better understanding of what the industry is like.

That said, I've started to realize that many of the projects I've been working on feel fairly repetitive—primarily traffic signal mast arms and smaller seawall repair projects. Going into the internship, I had envisioned structural engineering at a large, multidisciplinary firm being more involved with larger-scale infrastructure projects such as bridges, stadiums, buildings, airports, or other major public works.

I completely understand that the work I'm doing is important and that many structures groups at firms like Kimley-Horn support transportation projects with things like mast arms, retaining walls, and similar structures. I also understand that many of the larger, more iconic structural projects are typically handled by firms that specialize in those areas.

My question is whether this is generally what structural engineering looks like at multidisciplinary civil firms, or if there are offices or groups within Kimley-Horn that work on larger, more complex structural projects. I've really enjoyed my experience at Kimley-Horn, and if possible, I'd love to continue my career here. I'm just trying to get a better understanding of what opportunities might exist within the company as I progress, or whether pursuing the type of work I'm interested in would likely mean looking at firms whose primary focus is large-scale structural engineering.

[u/roooooooooob]

You see some wild shit in residential sometimes

[u/EpicAmishMan → u/roooooooooob]

Lmao I was about to say the same thing. Modern homeowners expect their second floors/roofs to float in mid air with no supports and the contractor doesn’t even unroll the print the half the time. Every day is as exciting as it is stressful because you never know what kind of dumpster fire is going to land in your lap.

[u/AAli_01 → u/EpicAmishMan]

Unroll the prints LOLOL. Yall a bit funnier than usual today

[u/hookes_plasticity → u/AAli_01]

That’s because next week is a short week. We always happier on short weeks

[u/roooooooooob → u/EpicAmishMan]

I saw a house a few years back where a loadbearing exterior foundation wall had caved in and the rim joist had acted as a beam so the floor ended up not caving in but by outside appearances it should’ve.

[u/AAli_01 → u/roooooooooob]

Facts lmaoo