Best University For MSc. Structural Engineering

[Engr. Arslan Raza]

Asslamualikum All,

I am new to this forum but found it very helpful. I have a question about my future as I have made my own design firm in Lalamusa which is a small city and BSc is enough for Structural Design here but for big cities MSc required, so should I peruse MSc and in which University.

Jazak Allah 

[Ayesha]

MSc is not must but is I would suggest that you should work under supervision in a competitive firm for at-least 5 years before opening your own firm. 
 

Edited May 8, 2021 by Ayesha

[Muhammad Hashmi]

Assalam o Alykum 

As per my information might be not correct. Requirement is 10 years experience for bachelors degree 

and 5 years experience for masters degree for open consultancy firm.

[Engr. Arslan Raza]

Walikum Salam,

Well, Experience is required for registered PEC consultancy. I have made small private firm which do not require registration from PEC.

I have applied for jobs for almost 2 years but no opportunity is given to me so I have made my own firm and Alhamdullilah I am very happy to do so.

[Ayesha]

I have no doubt that you are a very competent engineer and wish you all the best but doing designs without prior experience can be dangerous! You can open a company and sublet design work to someone who is licensed and also learn from that person. 

[Engr. Arslan Raza]

You are right. I have contacted superior persons but they demand to high and people give us 10k max 15k for designs. And they do not to wish to follow the drawings. They design just for Muncipality purposes. 

[G_Farooq]

Sit and think about you are doing and saying Arsalan ......... "the designs are just for Municipality purposes".  

If you need help, you have this forum, the net, your teachers.... Here is a post for you. 

 

Edited May 17, 2021 by G_Farooq

[Ayesha]

9 hours ago, G_Farooq said:

Sit and think about you are doing and saying Arsalan ......... "the designs are just for Municipality purposes".  

If you need help, you have this forum, the net, your teachers.... Here is a post for you. 

 

Well said. Also this kind of practice would be unethical.

[Engr. Arslan Raza]

Thank you very much for you replies but I am merely highlighting the reality of our system.

Dear Farooq not everyone can afford to do unpaid internship's.

Dear Ayesha what is unethical selling your PEC card which I have not for two years or use your best knowledge to design the buildings which are already built and here Engineers are issuing Stability certificates without even designing the building which I don't do. 

What is unethical in designing the building according to the codes and guide people to build a safe building instead of listing contractors to built an unsafe building.

I have taken an initiative to build my own firm and competing against uneducated contractors and peoples so that I can bring some change to this system and All you are saying I am doing unethical practice.

[Ayesha]

Without working under supervision of professional engineer, you shouldn’t be working independently unless you have gained sufficient experience.  This requirement is there globally in literally every country. What if you make a mistake/ error that results in a death? Have you thought about that?

[Engr. Arslan Raza]

I simply posted a question here which was ''which is best university to do MSc Structural Engineering'' and I have yet to receive an answer. 

I am merely designing 3 stories houses and plazas of 5 marlas maximum to 10 marlas. And I will never design a building of which I don't have any knowledge and I will refer them to my superiors.

[Engr. Arslan Raza]

I was talking about this

[UmarMakhzumi]

5 hours ago, Engr. Arslan Raza said:

I simply posted a question here which was ''which is best university to do MSc Structural Engineering'' and I have yet to receive an answer. 

I am merely designing 3 stories houses and plazas of 5 marlas maximum to 10 marlas. And I will never design a building of which I don't have any knowledge and I will refer them to my superiors.

Good luck and also it is great to have initiatives like you did.

You can also work part-time with someone to get design experience and then start expanding your services. There are a lot of engineers on this forum that you can contact and engage for peer review. A lot of firms do that.

 

[Waqar Saleem]

Salam,

5 hours ago, Engr. Arslan Raza said:

I simply posted a question here which was ''which is best university to do MSc Structural Engineering'' and I have yet to receive an answer. 

No university is best without your own interest, basically engineering is a mindset i.e LIFE LONG LEARNER, engineers from different Pakistani universities are doing wonderful jobs throughout world, here in this group most members are structural engineers and working worldwide.

 NUST, NED, UET Taxila, UET Lhr are all good universities.

[Nustian371]

Hi Arsalan, with all due respect, if you feel confident in what you are doing than no point of doing masters as this will just be a degree for you and waste of time/money, until unless you work with some competent engineers and challenge yourself with technical problems on bigger projects. 

There is nothing wrong in doing design work on your own, which you are doing but if you have never been to a design office or never sit with a senior engineer, I doubt your knowledge about the design codes and the application of different design clauses. I personal feel you should not be giving any structural advise (sorry but that is what i think).  2storeyplus buildings or small plazas may look simple but are very critical as they are the major building stock in pakistan, without prior design knowledge there are so many basic details which you learn only with a senior engineer or in a design office. I am pretty sure you are just copying the drawings for other consultant and engineers which is basically what contractor or builders do. There is no difference between what you are doing and what they are doing. You should keep your firm name as builders only as design part is doubtful. Apologies if something i said offends you but structural engineering is a profession which we as engineers pick and we do it passionately, there is no way of shortcuts.        

[Badar (BAZ)]

1 hour ago, Nustian371 said:

until unless you work with some competent engineers and challenge yourself with technical problems on bigger projects. 

I agree with this statement with a slight modification: "until unless you work with some competent engineers and challenge yourself with technical problems on bigger projects" which challenge your pre-existing pool of knowledge. 

But that statement covers the development of competency of individual. In order to land a job which pays well, this is not enough at all.

The MS degree has a huge advantage. A MS degree from a university of good standing in US, UK, Canada, AUS, New Zealand makes it easier for you to acquire a job at a company of international repute, and you are paid much better than the others as well.

In Gulf, one will routinely come across adds which requires that the applicant must be registered as professional structural engineer (like CEng, MIStructE) in an internationally recognized regulatory authority (mostly UK). These are the people which pay almost twice to the people that satisfy their requirement. The requirement is simple, they pay to the privileged ones.  This criteria of hiring anyone who is registered with a particular organization ( mostly Institute of Structural Engineers, UK) gives undue advantage; but, it is convenient for recruiters. In most cases, the one who is registered with Institute of Structural Engineers, would have got his Masters from there as well.

Any one who has got the job (especially in Structural engineering) in western firms based in Gulf without the MS from above mentioned countries, count your self extremely lucky.

[Engr. Arslan Raza]

Thanks to all who has replied me and I agree with all of you, I will try to learn further from my competent superiors and I am also taking admission in MSc this year to expand my knowledge on Structure Design.