Construction Engineer vs Civil Structural Engineer: Career, Education, and Money ft. Kienen Koga

[@KienenKoga]

Thanks again for talking with me! I’ll get myself a real mic next time 🤙 lol

[@davidk7849]

Thanks to Mat for having you on. I think that great construction engineers are highly underrated, and it's great to see talented young guys getting in the field!

[@rasalih9200]

@@davidk7849 yeah thats true my friend!!

[@douchebagout]

It was great to hear from a construction engineer. I'm a pipe layer of 20 years and i work with a lot of young engineers. Sometimes they get overwhelmed, but i enjoy putting them on game and seeing them develop. Even your posture "screams" that your a construction guy. Loved the insight. Be safe

[@KienenKoga]

@@douchebagout appreciate it!

[@KienenKoga]

@@davidk7849 thanks David!

[@davidk7849]

I wish we had this kind of content when I was a young engineer! Thanks to both of you. I am a construction engineer who owns a small structural engineering firm. I take the most pride in my construction engineering degree and my construction experience, and I find this the most valuable tools in my structural engineering practice. I have bounced ideas off of Mat, but networking w/ young entrepreneurial, construction experienced engineers is a major focus of my practice right now, and any hints on the best ways to do this is greatly appreciated.

[@carolinazet]

Wow! I wish I could talk with you, I moved to U.S 4 years ago and I am studying right now for my F.E Exam and I Will really know about more your take on be a construction engineer.

[@w.k8624]

So you are true design & build engineer. I am like u and we are rare these days!!

[@012coyang]

Love this collab!! You guys should make this a regular series - I’d love to hear more of your perspectives side to side like this

[@debojyotibhattacherjee3674]

I've worked for construction contractor. That was my first project as a fresher 2k21 passout. During covid it became really hectic cause it was from world bank fund. And the funds returns if project gets delayed. So we couldn't stop the work. Construction job really needs to be tough. Now I'll be joining in designing consultancy this 15th let's see how it goes.

[@civillady3737]

Facts on paying more in construction 😂😂 in college I interned for a major GC on the mainland after interning for a civil engineering design firm design firm the year prior, aside from the pay I loved how dynamic the day to day was. It took me a few years working to switch to the government side (surprisingly to pay much better than what I was making on the construction side minus sacrificing work life balance lol). The burnout in construction was real, the mobility requirements were challenging but the growth, travel opportunities, and experiences I had were invaluable. I worked mega projects and smaller projects, I loved the smaller projects cause I got to touch a variety of scopes and positions unlike the mega projects where like Kienen said you tend to get pigeonholed in one scope path (usually superintendent vs “engineer”) . Even though I’m no longer directly in the construction engineering side, I still always advocate younger engineers to give it a chance because I was even surprised that I would’ve liked the work or stayed as long as I did. It also has given me an edge now on the government side cluing in my peers on how to most effectively work with contractors.

[@jvcastillo7646]

The collab I’ve been wanting since last year

[@DindoCabudbud]

So much relate, I am a civil engineer doing construction and structural engineering at the same time.

[@roderacostajr]

Love to watch you guys, its very interesting topic and conversations. I'm a civil engr/proj. Manager and working in middle East for 23 long years. Especialize in civil, Structural, and Piping for oil & Gas projects..

[@anastasiachang3481]

Final year civil engineering student here and this video came at the best time! I've been struggling to choose between working for a GC or a consulting firm (design). Really loved this thorough video and thank you for the clear timestamps!

[@w.k8624]

How about design & build.

[@marco_1909]

Thanks to you both for all your valuable advices and knowledge over the last few years, its really appreciated.

[@JoseGarcia-ql5dw]

Wow thank you Mat and Kienen for taking the time in informing us about these amazing industries!!!

[@marim5033]

Here from Kienen’s channel! Loved this collab!

[@Ali-pf9vl]

What a great channel, a lot of mechanical engineers are on youtube but rare focus on Civil or structural. Thanks for sharing another new aspect today ❤

[@addisukifle665]

Loved it !!!. Thank you both, please keep on

[@g.f.8983]

Construction and Civil Structural Engineers are definitely one of the most unappreciated backstage professions in this world. I said goodbye to my profession a long time ago already and I do not regret it at all. For all the young guys out there, think many times before you decide to go for these professions unless you are really in love with engineering of this type.

[@fr7198]

Sad to hear, this is becoming a norm in our industry nowadays. I am also a structural engineer in NYC, and I am thinking about switching to construction engineering or project management. If you don't mind me asking, what are currently doing?

[@paju4338]

Thx so much for this collaboration ❤️

[@miggygaluza9234]

aahhhh yesss... the perfect duo for an almost 2 hours worth of video.

[@joeltyler7376]

Hey Mat, so glad you and Kienen are teaming up! I have a question that might be a first for you. 😅 Might sound kind of dumb. 😅 So I’m a high school senior aspiring to be a structural engineer and I know that they have to take the FE and PE and even in some states the SE. A lot of tests. 😅 But I was wondering if say a structural engineer who wanted to understand more of the building process should study and take the PE exam for construction. I remember in one of Mats videos how when structural engineers study and take the PE/SE exam for structures it helps to fill in any technical knowledge and I thought maybe the construction exam could do the same for someone whose in the design side of things. BTW: I’m also a carpenter. 😅 So I have a basic knowledge for how things are built. BASIC. 😅😅😅 Thx PS I also asked Kienen this question 😅

[@juanmanuelpolvora9384]

Greeting from Argentina! It would be great if you can do a video about a proyect that you are working on now or maybe an old one. Love your videos! I'll be waiting for an answer ;).

[@elimanuelsanchez1074]

Thanks for sharing guys.

[@rasalih9200]

hai mat. second. thank you so much Mat and Kienen!!

[@laurapb888]

Civil Engineers should have a required one year in the field before getting a license. It is the easiest way to see what is practical and what is impossible to build

[@toozzzy396]

One day y’all will interview me too

[@rxsyete]

Hope we can one day accurately explain why 9-11 Twin Towers failed sooo catastrophically despite all the technology we seem to have? Probably not only gravity, wind and earthquakes are the culprits? Hmmm. Btw, nice tutorial thanks.

[@justinryan5433]

Best collab ever

[@DeepakKrishna11]

Well well some crossovers finally.

[@dennismathenge1946]

Am a student pursuing Building Technology and I would like to ask if construction engineering or structural engineering is the same as building technology engineering?.. a little help please 🙏... I will be grateful

[@440_studio]

Hey Mat!!. I like your videos, keep on doing a great job. Do you know any company in the USA that is hiring inexperienced civil engineers? I'm from South Africa. Thank you.

[@jaydeversano8638]

I relate to this, I'm also a Structural Engineer and we don't derive formulas. We use the Structural Code. Haahahaha

[@g.antonioalbertileonett108]

Guys, Great video. I have a question from you both: What path would you recommend for people who want to have their own construction company? I mean to be a general contractor. I know I will need to start with a small business. I am a mechanical engineer not civil and I am worried because I need to learn how to build (I have no experience in the field) + how to manage a business... Would you recommend me to get a degree in construction management or Project management? maybe arch, civil eng? Or forget about all that and focus on MBA and learn construction skills in the field? Thanks in Advance for your feedback

[@miguellorenzoardina6742]

My two engineering heroes 😃

[@Ali-pf9vl]

Can this listened to on Spotify?

[@MatPicardal]

Sorry, I don’t have it on Spotify yet

[@juliusviloria101]

How long have you been in your career?

[@PeterRanieriII]

entry level engineers in NYC are not going to see 70k starting salary, sry

[@nyc_curls2160]

how come?

[@PeterRanieriII]

@@nyc_curls2160 we lose money on entry levels in the first 6 months to a year because of training. Sometimes they become profitable earlier if they’re really good with modeling software and adapt quickly. Don’t forget training requires a more senior engineer within the company to devote his/her time which makes them less productive as well. This is part of the process and we actually prefer entry level engineers as they are usually easier to teach but it’s costly initially. Honestly, some entry level engineers are worth way more but it’s hard to tell without seeing them in action for a couple months. My advice is dont worry about salary, worry about doing good work and learning as much as you can, the money will come as you prove yourself valuable, I promise!

[@nyc_curls2160]

@@PeterRanieriII how much does the pay range increase like number of years/experience living in nyc? I’m a freshman right now majoring in civil and plan on going the construction route. Thank you btw

[@PeterRanieriII]

@@nyc_curls2160 it really depends on so much, yourself and how well the company is doing too. A growing company should be able to raise their employees somewhere around 2-5% annually, more if your doing really good. But your not going to make a killing as a design engineer, even with a PE and/or partnership it’s not going to be super lucrative but that’s really not the reason I’d say 90% of us do it. I do it bc I love design, it’s creative and I can see how it helps society. Maybe 20 years from now the industry will pay us more but I’m not holding my breath

[@alimuhammadgholizadeh4945]

Great😍

[@ashishchaubey3926]

Make me assistant bro

[@julesinaudito8417]

Filipino ka po ba, engineer?

[@rasalih9200]

filipino yan si mat picardal

[@javieryagual3162]

Sub in spanish please.

[@douchebagout]

Mat thank you for recognizing the actual workers putting the design together. Im in waterworks and work very hard to do things right the first time. I love a great set of plans. I keep the good ones and i go back to them like a good book.