Structural Engineering

Types of Degrees Structural Engineering Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many structural engineering graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Bachelor’s Degree	134
Master’s Degree	132
Doctor’s Degree	16
Graduate Certificate	14
Associate Degree	1
Basic Certificate	1

What Structural Engineering Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, structural engineering majors were asked to rate what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important in their occupations. These answers were weighted on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the most important.

Knowledge Areas for Structural Engineering Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in structural engineering should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

• Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
• Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

Skills for Structural Engineering Majors

When studying structural engineering, you’ll learn many skills that will help you be successful in a wide range of jobs - even those that do not require a degree in the field. The following is a list of some of the most common skills needed for careers associated with this major:

• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Mathematics - Using mathematics to solve problems.

Abilities for Structural Engineering Majors

A major in structural engineering will prepare for your careers in which the following abilities are important:

• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).

What Can You Do With a Structural Engineering Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with structural engineering:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Architectural and Engineering Managers	5.5%	$140,760
Civil Engineers	10.6%	$86,640
Engineering Professors	14.7%	$101,720
Transportation Engineers	10.6%	$86,640

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Structural Engineering?

This major tends to be male dominated. About 57% of recent graduates are men.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of structural engineering majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	31
Black or African American	5
Hispanic or Latino	36
White	47
International Students	6
Other Races/Ethnicities	9

Geographic Diversity

Americans aren’t the only ones with an interest in Structural Engineering. About 4.5% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Structural Engineering

Some careers associated with structural engineering require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

Find out what the typical degree level is for structural engineering careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	0.7%
Bachelor’s Degree	52.6%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	6.8%
Master’s Degree	21.6%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	3.7%
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession.	1.9%
Doctoral Degree	10.1%
Post-Doctoral Training	2.7%

Online Structural Engineering Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	2	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	3	0
Bachelor’s Degree	10	3
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	11	1
Post-Master’s	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	3	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Majors Related to Structural Engineering

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to structural engineering.

Major	Number of Grads
General Civil Engineering	20,085
Civil Engineering	162
Trasportation Engineering	130
Water Resources Engineering	42
Geoenvironmental Engineering	11

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By Master Sgt. Roger Parsons under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.