Will Appreciate Any Idea's/suggestions.(Help)

[Chokehold]

Assalamo Alaikum brothers,

 

I am studying civil engineering in a university in the city karachi and currently in 2nd year (4th semester). My classes usually take about 3 hours a day(working days only) on average and rest of the time I am idle/free. So I aim to utilize this free time into something that might prove fruitful in the forseeable future. Also, i get 2 month summer and 2 month winter vacation at my institute (2month winter vacations coming this december). So regarding this I would like some suggestions as what to do... what  external monthly courses should I take whos certificates actually matter in professional life?... or maybe a part-time job in a firm or on the computer? or anything similar. In all honesty, I dont have any knowledge what the professional life is or what it requires and it sort of worries me. so any ideas/suggestion are welcome from my senior's in this forum.

P.S. I already completed an internship in this year's summer. 

thanks.

[UmarMakhzumi]

W.salaam..

 

You should decide about which field on Civil Engineering would you like to pursue and work out a career plan with a senior engineer or your Professor. Depending upon what interests you, decisions regarding further education or working in the industry can be weighted and considered. Right now, do focus a lot on your education. That is very important.

 

Thanks.

[Chokehold]

Aoa again

thanks for replying back Mr. Umar

Will sure bother you again when I have querries.

 

 

[UmarMakhzumi]

You are welcome. Anytime.

 

Thanks.

[Waqas Haider]

Assalamo Alaikum brothers,

 

I am studying civil engineering in a university in the city karachi and currently in 2nd year (4th semester). My classes usually take about 3 hours a day(working days only) on average and rest of the time I am idle/free. So I aim to utilize this free time into something that might prove fruitful in the forseeable future. Also, i get 2 month summer and 2 month winter vacation at my institute (2month winter vacations coming this december). So regarding this I would like some suggestions as what to do... what  external monthly courses should I take whos certificates actually matter in professional life?... or maybe a part-time job in a firm or on the computer? or anything similar. In all honesty, I dont have any knowledge what the professional life is or what it requires and it sort of worries me. so any ideas/suggestion are welcome from my senior's in this forum.

P.S. I already completed an internship in this year's summer. 

thanks.

 

I am also a relatively fresh graduate. I completed my civil Engineering in 2013. The first and foremost thing u MUST know is ur interest. In what field you have Interest, learn about ur field the most u can. Because in student life, you have plenty of time  to study and these BOOKISH KNOWLEDGE is going to benefit you ultimately. In field you see things practically but in student life, you must focus on your concepts etc so that they an benifi you when you are in field. The second thing is that, Try to learn maximum softwares. I am a structural design engineer so softwares for this field you MUST LEARN are, AUTOCAD, ETABS, SAP, STAAD, SAFE, MS OFFICE etc. MS Project and Primavera must also be learnt. There is one also software called TEKLA that you must learn. There are 2 years still left so you can learn these softwares well.. And the most important thing,,,,, GO AND JOIN PART TIME JOB/INTERNSHIP Paid/Unpaid with any of professional you get chance. Big names are not necessary. At start attach with any of professional you get chance.. but this will benefit you because when you will complete your degree, you will be already having professional experience. by the way what is ur university?

[EngrUzair]

Aoa.

I agree with Waqas in that a structural engineering student must focus on LEARNING THE BASIC STRUCTURAL CONCEPTS.  And, this should be his/her prime goal.

 

As far as learning of software is concerned, although these are good tools for a structural engineer, IMHO a good structural engineer MUST be able to solve most of design and analysis problem MANUALLY (i.e., by hand calculation), BEFORE he learns to solve them using some software.

 

The reason is that in solving many type of structural problems, faced in the field, you might neither have any software available, nor time to develop one to tackle the situation. Moreover, structural software are generally very costly as well. Resultantly, you will get stuck up somewhere, especially for situations you have no software. However, if you have good structural concepts, and have learnt the art of solving structural problems THROUGH HAND CALCULATIONS, you will be a much more efficient and good structural engineer in future.

 

I, therefore, recommend that Chokehold, and other similar fellows studying in various engineering universities, must focus a lot on their studies during education, keeping in view above points, in order to have developed basic skills necessary for becoming a good structural engineer on completion of their education.

 

Structural and other computer software should definitely be learnt by the engineer, but only with a view to augment basic engineering knowledge and to speed-up the design work.

 

Regards.

[Chokehold]

Apologies for the late reply; Thanks a bunch Mr.Waqas and Mr.Uzair for your input. 

 

Mr. Waqas, thanks for relating your comment to engineering softwares since I feel thats the exact path I would like to choose after I complete my Cv.Engineering (Inshallah). Regarding the Internship, I already completed one this years summer and tried for the second at Bahria Town Karachi this winter but couldnt bag it (because i didnt had the 'source', you know how pakistan works ) or that would have been a great addition to my resume and experience. And I am currently in Sir Syed University.

your comment definitely made some questions pop up in my brain:
1) Since you are a fresh graduate, as an example, I would like to know how do you like your new job? what do u plan to do for masters?
2) what would you say about the people who say ONLY fresh graduates from critically acclaimed universities are entertained with jobs in the professional life? 
3) does GPA/CGPA matters alot for the job?

 

Mr.Uzair

Thanks a bunch for taking out time to reply to my post. I would definitely consider manual calculations. I would like to know, do the courses related to mathematics that I am/have studied till now, like numerical analysis, probability methods, etc come in use in the professional life? those formulas, tables and calculator functions?

 

And lastly a general question would be, I plan to do masters from Australia and eventually work there (Inshallah) so is the scope for civil engineering good there? as I have generally heard everyone say middle east is the mecca for civil engineers...

 

waiting eagerly for your sincere feedback guys. Shukriya

 

P.S. I think this blog and the members here are awesome

[Waqas Haider]

I will reply u in the evening.. But for the time being, i want to say Engr Uzair's a thousands of Likes because i strongly believe in what ever he has said about MANUAL CALCULATIONS. I also meant the same when i mean learn softwares. Learn the calculations manually so dat u may trace ur errors in modeling, reading results, and correcting design etc. Every software has its manual of background calculations. What i believe, to be a good designer, u must not only know DESIGN OF STRUCTURES. You must also know ANALYSIS OF STRUCTURES which is first part of design. What i suggest and try to do myself, Design a building in ETABS/SAP/Staad. and Then design each thing manually. I m doing these now a days. To your other questions, i will comment later as i am in office at the moment. The other thing i would like to say, this forum is really very very informative and helpful. Keep surfing it. 

[Ayesha]

Good suggestions have been provided to you. IMHO, you will get ample time after graduation to use softwares. You should improve your understanding of subjects that are being taught to you. Remember, as an engineer, you can't design what you can't understand and visualize. Studies are very important, and you should focus on them. What is your GPA?

[Chokehold]

Aoa, hello and thanks again mr.Waqas... @ Ayesha. Thanks and I definitely agree. I got 3.8 last sem.

Guys please reply to questions from my last post so that I can post new ones Still waiting...

[EngrUzair]

Assalam-o-alaikum!

 

(Chokehold on 30 December 2014 - 01:01 AM)

 

"I would like to know, do the courses related to mathematics that I am/have studied till now, like numerical analysis, probability methods, etc come in use in the professional life? those formulas, tables and calculator functions?"

 

All of the courses and other relevant material (formulas, tables etc) you have mentioned in your post, are necessary for your professional development. Which of them you will actually use in your professional life, will depend upon nature of practical problems you will come across and have to find solutions thereof.  In general, you will need and use them, MUCH MORE in STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING, than in any other field of civil engineering. 

 

As regards planning to do masters from and working abroad, IMHO you may obtain sufficient information from the internet, about the scope of civil engineers not only in Australia, but in other advanced countries (like USA and Germany etc.) as well. And, it will probably help you select a better option if you check your prospects in more than one country, and make your final decision keeping in view advantages and disadvantages in each case.

 

Regards.

[UmarMakhzumi]

https://www.daad.de/de/is your gateway to Germany.

http://www.pk.emb-japan.go.jp/Education.htmlis your gateway to Japan.

And there are a lot more scholarships that can get you a foreign degree(like US Fulbright) but you will have to return home after your degree is completed. AIT offers a similar scholarship too. I would share with you what I thought and did when I was out of university.

After working for two years in Islamabad as a Structural Engineer, one thing that I was certain was that the usefulness of a foreign degree could not be maximized unless I have worked abroad as an engineer. I was also confused about to do a research thesis or just a degree program. Well, on one of the projects I did for USAID, I happened to meet Kazami Sahab(SMK Associates) and after discussing with him I went for a degree program and no-scholarship.

Today, I am glad that my understanding of working abroad was correct and I am also grateful to Kazmi Sahab for convincing me not to do a thesis program as that saved me 1.5 years of salary. I can tell you the you won't get the max out of your degree unless you have worked in a different and more robust environment than Pakistan. However, having said that if you go for a thesis or PHD, the challenges involved in the degree would open up your mind and help you take on things with a different approach.

Set your goals and go achieve them.

Good Luck.

[EngrUzair]

Assalam-o-alaikum!

 

 

 

 

 

"you won't get the max out of your degree unless you have worked in a different and more robust environment than Pakistan."

 

 

Very well said, Sir Umar! I totally agree with that.

 

I personally missed the opportunity of working abroad after completion of masters from USA, being on scholarship and bound to come back to Pakistan after completion of education.

 

Regards.

[Waqas Haider]

https://www.daad.de/de/is your gateway to Germany.

http://www.pk.emb-japan.go.jp/Education.htmlis your gateway to Japan.

And there are a lot more scholarships that can get you a foreign degree(like US Fulbright) but you will have to return home after your degree is completed. AIT offers a similar scholarship too. I would share with you what I thought and did when I was out of university.

After working for two years in Islamabad as a Structural Engineer, one thing that I was certain was that the usefulness of a foreign degree could not be maximized unless I have worked abroad as an engineer. I was also confused about to do a research thesis or just a degree program. Well, on one of the projects I did for USAID, I happened to meet Kazami Sahab(SMK Associates) and after discussing with him I went for a degree program and no-scholarship.

Today, I am glad that my understanding of working abroad was correct and I am also grateful to Kazmi Sahab for convincing me not to do a thesis program as that saved me 1.5 years of salary. I can tell you the you won't get the max out of your degree unless you have worked in a different and more robust environment than Pakistan. However, having said that if you go for a thesis or PHD, the challenges involved in the degree would open up your mind and help you take on things with a different approach.

Set your goals and go achieve them.

Good Luck.

The GPA You mentioned is v.good. Mine CGPA was 3.125 which is not so impressive and i don't have enough money to go abroad except scholarship etc. But my teachers (Teachers and Gold medalists of UET) have prepared some wonderful chart and sent to me. i am attaching here the same. Try to spread it umar bhai. And also guide me how to find a job abroad or at least in good Structural engineering firm where i can polish my concepts and learning. For the time being, i m working on a dam feasibility report and use to handle some independent projects where, due to unavailability of any senior, i face a lot of problems, i just want to learn in depth Structural Engineering knowledge.

Scholarship Table Final.pdf