I'm wondering what you folks here think of MASc (structural) for aspiring structural engineers. I graduated with a degree in civil engineering (focus w/ Structural) and have been working for a year now in the industry. I don't mind it, but I don't love it either and I figure why settle when I can continue my education while I don't have any real obligations. I feel like I'm learning a lot, however not in the way I'd like to. For example when designing, I find myself skimming through code books looking to make sure I've satisfied applicable clauses (and interpreting them!!) without truly understanding them. I don't want to work for 5 years and know what books I need to reference for design, but rather I'd want to be able to instincively know/figure out the stresses in a material.
I realized I have a strong interest in materials also - as in how different materials act under stress. I had a project where I ended up learning about a ton of different types of steel because we needed particular properties to solve our problem. Based on the manufacturing process we came up with a steel that has high strength and good machinability, but does not take a weld very well. My real question is if I do my MASc in structural engineering with (structural) classes like "Theory of Elasticity and Plasticity", "Finite Element Methods for Solids and Structures", "Analysis and Design of Sheel Structures", "Structural Dynamics" along with some Materials classes like "Strengthening Mechanisms in Materials", "Microscopy of Materials", would this be a waste of time (and a lot of effort) or do the two compliment each other in a practical way? And if so, what types of careers would these lead to? Truthfully I regret not going into mechanical engineering, I have no real interest in things like soil mechanics and concrete.
I realized I have a strong interest in materials also - as in how different materials act under stress. I had a project where I ended up learning about a ton of different types of steel because we needed particular properties to solve our problem. Based on the manufacturing process we came up with a steel that has high strength and good machinability, but does not take a weld very well. My real question is if I do my MASc in structural engineering with (structural) classes like "Theory of Elasticity and Plasticity", "Finite Element Methods for Solids and Structures", "Analysis and Design of Sheel Structures", "Structural Dynamics" along with some Materials classes like "Strengthening Mechanisms in Materials", "Microscopy of Materials", would this be a waste of time (and a lot of effort) or do the two compliment each other in a practical way? And if so, what types of careers would these lead to? Truthfully I regret not going into mechanical engineering, I have no real interest in things like soil mechanics and concrete.
