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Difference between Civil Engineering and structural engineering

The world around us is evolving at a tremendous rate due to the advancement in the field of innovation and technology. We now reside in a world that is surrounded by architectural marvels that include tall buildings, long bridges, and long highways. All this has been made possible due to the study of engineering. If we look back in history, we will be able to acknowledge some of the best architectural marvels starting from the time of the pharaohs till modern times.

Engineering plays a very crucial role in our life. It is a vast field with different disciplines such as – Chemical, civil, electrical, mechanical, and biomedical engineering. Today we’ll focus on Civil and Structural engineering and try to understand where and how they differ from each other.

Difference between Civil Engineering and structural engineering
structural engineering

While Civil Engineering and Structural engineering may seem the same as they belong to the same field, they both differ in many aspects. Let’s look closely at the difference between Civil and Structural engineering:-

Need to know about Civil Engineering

Civil Engineering is a field relating to the planning, design and maintenance of the construction of a structure. It is a vast field of engineering where an engineer needs to develop a building layout to right construction materials. Civil Engineering is an undergraduate course for 4 years.

The job of a civil engineer consists of:-

  • In civil engineering, an engineer plans out the layout and design of the structure.
  • Creating designs using building materials.
  • Analyzing the overall project and the allocation of budget.

A civil engineer works as a supervisor of the construction of the site. Communicating with clients, architects and other field workers is essential, and an engineer can work with a large team to develop a construction project.

The job of a civil engineer is to design roads, bridges, buildings, airports, canals, dams, pipelines etc. A civil engineer also provides alternate solutions and also meets the legal requirements of the site.

Need to know about Structural Engineering

Structural engineering is a field that focuses on the structure of a building by calculating the strength, stability and earthquake susceptibility. Structural engineering is a sub-discipline of Civil Engineering. While structural engineering is a specialization course done after graduation.

The job of a Structural engineer consists of:-

  • Inspection of the material to be used during the construction of a structure.
  • Checking the structure by applying pressure and different kinds of loads such as dead load, live load, snow load, and wind load.
  • Working under civil engineers and contractors.
  • Focuses mainly on the structure and building layouts.

A structural engineer should be well versed in mathematical calculations and computer-assisted design software. Tracking the project progress and writing reports of the work. A structural engineer’s job may consist of constructing and placing columns, beams, girders, beam-column, shear walls, rafters etc. Structural engineers make sure that the structure is safe, stable and strong and will not collapse under load.

Reasons To Take Civil Engineering As Your Career

Final Overview

While both the fields may have their differences but both are incomplete without each other. When choosing between civil and structural engineering, it is very important to understand the difference between both fields and go through all the points given above, so that you can choose accordingly. If structural engineering is the hands and legs of a building then Civil Engineering is the mind and heart.

Therefore, be sure to seek direct assistance from experts if you need Structural Engineering services or Civil Engineering services. Be sure to conduct thorough research online so that you identify the best service providers as per the budget and the financial plan that you are working with.

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