Bridge Design

I've been putting a lot of thought into what I want to specialize in during my time as an engineer. As my desire to be a structural engineer, there are many different opportunities I can venture into. I really have fallen in love with the idea of building and constructing bridges. There are many types of bridges for different purposes. 

Arch bridges are one of the oldest bridge types. Arches are good choices for crossing valleys and rivers because they do not need supporting piers in the middle. The design uses a curved structure to provide a high resistance to bending forces. When a load is placed on the deck of the bridge, the force is transported outwards horizontally towards the land on both sides. The bridge must be built on very solid ground. To add another perk, they can be one of the most beautiful types of bridges. 

A beam or "girder" bridge are the most simple type of bridges. In its basic form, it could be a log or a plank crossing a stream. The beam must be able to resist bending and twisting which will happen when a load is placed on the bridge deck. Modern examples use carefully designed beams to support the deck. Under load, the beams top section is compressed, while the bottom section is subjected to tension. The farther apart it supports, the weaker the beam becomes. The longest beam bridge may usually not exceed 250 feet. If a longer beam bridge is needed, many different bridges must be constructed and joined together, which we call a continuous span.

A suspension bridge works by hanging the deck of the bridge by flexible chains or ropes. Modern suspension bridges have two tall towers of which the cables are strung. Thus the towers are supporting most of the roadways weight. The force of compression pushes down on the bridges deck,  but since its suspended, it is transferred to the bridges towers, which dissipate the compression completely into the earth. The supporting cables are the receivers of the force of tension. They are literally stretched to support the weight of the bridge deck. There are two supporting anchorages on each side of the bridge to dissipate the tension that the bridge is receiving.

Of course these aren't all of the types of bridges, but they are the most widely used because of efficiency. These type of things really interest me for some odd reason, and no one else can understand. I suppose that is the reason I want to become an engineer. 

Licensure for Engineers

How do you actually become a legitimate engineer you may wonder? Each state and territory has there own specific requirements to be come officially licensed, but they all are very similar. It is usually a 4 step process including graduation, the Fundamental Engineering (FE) exam, work experience, and finally the Principles and Practices Engineering Exam. 

The first step is to graduate from a accredited engineering program from a college or university. Literally 99% of the colleges or universities in the United States are accredited to be acceptable. After the school work, a fundamental type exam is taken to ensure that proper background knowledge is present. This is called the Fundamental Engineering exam. It includes such subjects such as mathematics, problems and statistics, chemistry, economics, business ethics, computers, statics and dynamics, and strength of materials, material properties, fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, electricity, and magnetism. Phew, thats a mouthful, and you better be sure that you know everything I just mentioned before you take this exam. No one said being an engineer would be easy. After hopefully passing the test, you must aquire a certain amount of work experience.  This experience usually must contain close work with a licensed engineer(s). Also during the work experience, one must be subjected to work with increasing levels of responsibility. After you fulfill the certain work requirements, you are now ready to take the Principles and Practices of Engineering (PE) exam. This is where all of your hard work throughout the past 5-10 years will show. This is said to be one of the hardest "professionalism" tests in any career field. Knowledge of design, materials, natural forces, and unnatural forces will be tested extensively. There is only a 52% pass rate according to the National Council of Examiners. That is some serious business, so if your trying to be a PE, you better be well prepared.

Civil Engineering Salary

While recently researching all of these different types of engineering disciplines and sub-disciplines, I was very interested in the salaries engineers receive. I searched around the internet for a respectable website, and finally came to one called PayScale. I typed in Civil Engineering salaries, and literally almost fell out of my chair. "Starting salary- $49,000", you have got to be kidding. What I believe to be one of the most difficult if not the most difficult college programs one can be in, it is hard to believe that the starting salary is so low. Once one has graduated with an engineering degree, he is extremely proficient in mathematics, physics, and other sciences such as computer science and chemistry. decided to browse through the site and compare the starting salary for an engineer to other various careers. I found one that really made me upset, a senior pastor. They make on average $44,000 annually. How can someone who has no educational degree and speaks purely of their beliefs make almost as much money as one who has had extensive studies in some of the most difficult areas possible. It really boggles my mind. I think we deserve a bit more money. We design and construct the very structures and systems people rely on everyday. 

Different Sub- Categories of Engineering

After researching various civil engineering jobs, I realized that there were actually many sub-disciplines. I had no idea that civil engineering actually broke down into more disciplines. I thought civil engineers were mainly structural engineers, but I found out I was wrong. Some of them include structural engineering,  water resources engineering, environmental engineering, transportation engineering, construction engineering, geotechnical engineering, coastal engineering, and architectural engineering. 

Structural engineers plan and design houses, schools, and skyscrapers to resist powerful forces such as earthquakes, tornadoes, and hurricanes. Water resources engineers determine if water is safe, if its going to where its supposed to, and if their is enough. Environmental engineers research how new buildings and structures impact and influence the local water supply, animals and plants, and the air we breathe. Transportation  engineers research how people behave on the roads. Construction engineers arrange the processes used in constructing any structures. They must determine what material goes where, how it gets there, and why it goes there. A geotechnical engineer gather facts about the earth below a planned work site. They determine if it is a safe area to build. A coastal engineer monitors human activities and potential threats on shorelines around the world. Lastly, an architectural engineer ensures that the people inside a certain structure are comfortable and safe. They develop fire prevention systems, plumbing and water systems, air conditioning, and lighting. 

Engineering is a very broad spectrum. It breaks down into disciplines and then into sub disciplines. You can really narrow down your choices into practically anything you want to major your studies and works in.

New Jersey's Infrastructure

Fellow New Jersey citizens, I figured it would be important to assess the renovation our infrastructure needs all by it self. The top three concerns are roads, bridges, and mass transit. Well no kidding. If you live in New Jersey you know exactly what I'm talking about, but if you don't, let me explain. Each member of my family (mother, father, sister, myself) have cracked or bent at least 1 wheel on each of our cars from the road conditions. There are potholes wherever you seem to look, road unevenness, bumps, ditches, you name it. The roads are pathetic, and from my personal experience, can be devastating to your vehicle. Forget about having a low set car, and if you do expect to bottom out frequently. And having a low profile tire is idiotic, unless you plan on consciously avoiding everything you see. Bridges follow the same pattern as the roads, they look and drive like hell. Although I'm sure New Jersey isn't the only state with overcrowded roads and highways, it just seems that the problem would be fixed already. The people in charge of certain renovation projects drive on these roads and bridges everyday, and I can assure you they notice. 

Here are some interesting facts presented by the ASCE that will really make you feel safe in New Jersey:

"36% of New Jerseys' bridges are structurally deficient or functionally obsolete." That sounds promising." 

"There are 213 high hazard dams in New Jersey. A high hazard dam is defined as a dam whose failure would cause a loss of life and significant property damage."

"New Jersey ranked 12^th in the quantity of hazardous waste produced and 8^th in the total number of hazardous waste producers."

"78% of New Jersey’s major roads are in poor or mediocre condition."

There are many more where that came from. If you would like to visit the site and see how pathetic our country is becoming click.

America's Infrastructure

The ASCE (American Society of Civil Engineers) has recently put out a "report card" giving their overall grades for different aspects of American's Infrastructure. The society has researched the major structural categories Americans' deal with every day, and has given each a grade from A to F, respectively. The four main categories are Water and Environment, Transportation, Energy, and Public Facilities. Each of those categories were broken down into subcategories such as; dams, drinking water, hazardous waste, levees, solid waste, wastewater, aviation, bridges, rail, roads, transit, inland waterways, energy, public parks and recreation, and schools. Saying the grades are bad would be an understatement. In my opinion, the grades are hideous. No categories failed, thank the lord, but the following categories were given a D score (- or +); Aviation, Dams, Drinking Water, Energy, Hazardous Waste, Inland Waterways, Levees, Roads, Schools, Transit, and Wastewater. Eleven of fifteen categories received a score of a D. I have no words to explain why this is, but this is utterly pathetic. The following four categories received a score of C (+ or -); Bridges, Public Parks and Recreation, Rail, and Solid Waste. This is completely embarrassing. America is the Nation who is supposedly ahead of everyone else in every way, shape, or form. Yet we managed to receive a D for our cumulative score on our infrastructure. The ASCE estimated that over a five year period, we would need access to about 2.2 trillion dollars if we want to rightfully fix this problem. The largest portion of money would need to go to roads and bridges, an estimated 549 billion dollars. We really need to start worrying more about this issue, because our infrastructure is very important in the function of everyday life. It is also scary that our drinking water received a grade of D-. Since water is vital for everyday life, should we really settle for drinking water that is below average?

Narrowing It Down

There are many different types of engineers; civil, mechanical, chemical, environmental, agricultural, aerospace, and biochemical, to name a few. I have chosen to be a civil engineer, due to my interest in structural aspects of buildings, bridges, and dams. Now to be a civil engineer, you must narrow down the field in which you wish to have an expertise in. I have interest in buildings, but that field is very crowded with work. That is the career choice of many upcoming engineers, and I figure that there will not be many available jobs due to the popularity. So I thought long and hard about what expertise would be most interesting and would deliver the most potential jobs. I read that many of the bridges that were built in the beginning of the century are due to be renovated and possibly rebuilt in the near future. I decided that bridges would be the desired expertise in my mind. There will most likely be big money in the future when many bridges are inspected and will be needing renovation. I am hoping to land a job possibly in NYC or another city with big business and a need for many bridges to be up kept. There are far less bridge experts than there are building experts, due to the liability factors an engineer must undertake within building a bridge.