Every year Simpson Strong-Tie hosts our scholarship students at our home office. It provides the students with an opportunity to meet face to face with experts in the industry, have one-on-one sessions with mentors, and tour our manufacturing and testing facilities. Not surprisingly to anyone, 2020 threw a pandemic-sized bucket of water on our annual plans. We needed to think outside the box to provide these students with opportunities to ask the questions they would have normally brought to California.
Tag: structural engineer resources
Top 5 LinkedIn Groups to Follow for Structural Engineers
A while back, we posted about how structural engineers can use social media like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. We discussed how structural engineers can use LinkedIn as a tool to find out more about industry news. While that is one way to use LinkedIn, another way to get even closer to the pulse of your industry is to join industry-specific LinkedIn groups.
LinkedIn groups are places within LinkedIn that allow professionals to share content, post or view job openings, network, and help establish key opinion leaders in a particular industry.
If you are new to LinkedIn, it can be challenging to find all of the LinkedIn groups that you may want to join. We compiled a list of structural engineering LinkedIn groups that can help you get started:
American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE): This group was initially formed to allow networking between engineers. It has now grown to over 200,000 members and includes other professionals who work in the industry. Since this is a large group, there are more focused sub-groups that you can also join. We recommend using the ASCE group for general information.
ASCE: Structural Engineering: This is a sub-group of ASCE. The members of this LinkedIn group are mainly structural engineers. This is a good place for discussion and asking for feedback on work-related topics.
American Concrete Institute: This is a great group for structural engineers who work with concrete. You can connect not just with engineers, but also with professionals in the concrete production, design and construction industries.
SEAOC-Structural Engineers Association of California: If you are a structural engineer in California, we highly recommend this group. If you are interested in structural and seismic engineering, this is the group to join.
NCSEA: The National Council of Structural Engineers Associations (NCSEA) is a great group to join to get industry information, find resources including webinars, and hear about local industry events and meetings.
While there are a lot more LinkedIn groups, we hope that the ones we have shared are useful for you. What LinkedIn groups do you recommend? Let us know in the comments below.
Resources and Continuing Education for Structural Engineers
I’ll admit that I’m biased, but structural engineers have the best job in the world. We’re needed to create safe sound structures while factoring in the effects of environmental forces using a combination of physics and experience. It takes a really well rounded individual to do all of that.
In my opinion, the key to being a well rounded professional is to never stop learning or seeking out new resources in your industry. I thought I’d share with you some resources that may be helpful to you as a structural engineer, from my own experience:
Continuing Education Webinars
Attending webinars online is a great way to get Continuing Education credits you need. Webinars enable you to stay sharp on topics that are continually changing and that you may need to adapt to in our industry.
Some of the resources engineers at Simpson Strong-Tie go to for webinars and CECs include:
ACI – American Concrete Institute
AISC – American Institute of Steel Construction
ASCE – American Society of Civil Engineers
AWC – American Wood Council
CFSEI – Cold-Formed Steel Engineers Institute
NCSEA – National Council of Structural Engineers Association
SEAOSC – Structural Engineers Association of Southern California
Engineering Associations
Keeping in touch with fellow structural engineers means that you can talk shop and get some great advice about issues you face on the job. Some associations you can look into:
SEAINT- Structural Engineers Association – International
NCSEA- National Council of Structural Engineers Associations
SEAOC- Structural Engineers Association of California
SEAOSC- Structural Engineers Association of Southern California
SEAOCC- Structural Engineers Association of Central California
SEAOSD- Structural Engineers Association of San Diego
SEAU- Structural Engineers Association of Utah
ASCE- American Society Of Civil Engineers
ACI- American Concrete Institute
AISC- American Institute of Steel Construction
PCA- Portland Cement Association
PCI- Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute
CRSI- Concrete Reinforcing Steel Institute
AISI- American Iron and Steel Institute
Simpson Strong-Tie also offers great software resources for structural engineers and other building industry professionals. What resources do you recommend? Let us know in the comments below.