hakeem4:
yes I’ve noticed that protaslab detailing is tedious. But the steel is alright. While staad modelling is toooooooooooooooooo tedious

I agree with you.

micxwell:

I agree with you.

i am looking for who can teach me ETabs

hakeem4:
i am looking for who can teach me ETabs

Nowadays, YouTube is the way. So many good videos from different pple with different perspectives. Ask them questions and they'll answer in no time.
I also use www.quora.com when I'm stuck.

micxwell:

Nowadays, YouTube is the way. So many good videos from different pple with different perspectives. Ask them questions and they'll answer in no time.
I also use www.quora.com when I'm stuck.

thanks

hakeem4:
thanks

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJIPHCmLwYYyzPReSLdn3hmyuTktABbm7

That's one bro. I recommend that playlist though the design is to IS456, you know for indians.

Good Morning Engineers. I am a young graduate of Civil Engineering, done with service but looking for placement to start up my career in Civil Engineering. Good at Orion and design and a lil bit at Auto Cad. Would love any form of help from u. Thanks

innocent99:
Good Morning Engineers. I am a young graduate of Civil Engineering, done with service but looking for placement to start up my career in Civil Engineering. Good at Orion and design and a lil bit at Auto Cad. Would love any form of help from u. Thanks

just don’t stay idle you can do structural designs and pay an engineer to stamp it for you

innocent99:
Good Morning Engineers. I am a young graduate of Civil Engineering, done with service but looking for placement to start up my career in Civil Engineering. Good at Orion and design and a lil bit at Auto Cad. Would love any form of help from u. Thanks

While you learn softwares, do your best to know how the sofware works. Make sure you know your manual calculations well; all from first principle. It's important.

innocent99:
Good Morning Engineers. I am a young graduate of Civil Engineering, done with service but looking for placement to start up my career in Civil Engineering. Good at Orion and design and a lil bit at Auto Cad. Would love any form of help from u. Thanks

Go and add small survey knowledge and road design using AutoCAD Civil 3D....your market will sell!

micxwell:

While you learn softwares, do your best to know how the sofware works. Make sure you know your manual calculations well; all from first principle. It's important.

Thanks

Emusan:


Go and add small survey knowledge and road design using AutoCAD Civil 3D....your market will sell!

Thanks for d recommendation.

hakeem4:
yes I’ve noticed that protaslab detailing is tedious. But the steel is alright. While staad modelling is toooooooooooooooooo tedious

stead modeling is verrrrrry simple. I know if three different methods used to model in staad but I prefer using the structure wizard model

Adek15:
stead modeling is verrrrrry simple. I know if three different methods used to model in staad but I prefer using the structure wizard model

oh I will try and work on my staad

hakeem4:
you could learn most of these softwares easily

Pls how cos I ve bn tryin to combine it with a text book BT it sucks, am willing to learn

chinwezdasilva:
Pls how cos I ve bn tryin to combine it with a text book BT it sucks, am willing to learn

I just sent you a pm

Hi all I am a 200level civil engineering student . I want to know how to prepare myself for the outside world after graduation. I will like to practice civil engineering (structural) at the topmost level. I will also like to further my studies about...what are the steps I need to start taking right now

ThatCEO:
Nice thread

@einsteino

I think it's nice to separate these softwares based on specialization. Some peeps up there are already getting low self esteem because they can't use the software. But in reality, they probably would never need them.

Civil is not all about structures. Na. Far from it, I find structures boring.

In any case, if you want to specialize in geotech. ABAQUS, PLAXIS, ANSYS, and learn AutoCAD or archicad. And Don't just start learning everything in ABAQUS, learn the parts that relate to geotech like railway n the likes.

We really need to start specializing in Nigeria, this idea of learning everything is so wrong

Sir, while you do have a point, I think you must have misconceptions about your audience. You are asking graduate Engineers and students to specialize. I mean in a country where a good number of them may be required by their employers to do M&E drawings and some even architectural designs
I had decided to just pass by but since someone’s future maybe affected by this, I had a change of mind to air my own view and story.

Firstly, specializing shouldn’t be misconstrued to mean simply narrowing down. No it means getting a deeper knowledge of a focus area without losing a broad appreciation of your field. I am specialized today but I make a conscious effort to refresh my knowledge of other areas of Civil engineering and keep learning as much as I can. You never know when the knowledge would come in handy and if the money is right, who is to say I wouldn’t start over in another sub discipline, I am not in Civil for the title.

Secondly, In Nigeria, jobs are hard to find, how much more good paying jobs. You need versatility to consolidate on your job mobility and employability. A fresh graduate specializing right away isn't a smart thing to do, he doesn't even know much, doesn't have enough experience/exposure to know which area he is better suited for. They can never be too sure of their future as students, fresh graduates, trainee engineers etc. They maybe so convinced that they are going to specialize in A, but life may end up positioning them around B.

Consider my case as an instance, I never intended to practice Civil Engineering. Initially I just planned on getting a degree in it while I go on to become a Software Engr. Matter of fact, I spent much of my uni days writing codes and websites. If I had gone on not bothering to truly learn as much of Civil Engineering as the opportunity my lecturers availed me, thinking after all I wouldn't practice Civil or I would specialize in a sub-discipline; I may have found myself unemployable and in trouble when I got employed in a consulting firm where I had to do a bit of everything Civil under the supervision of specialists.

As a Trainee Engineer I learnt virtually all the engineering softwares I could lay my hands on, inshort I made it a hobby to compare their features and results. I remember when I was to pick a detailing suite, I tried my hands on ALLPLAN, CADS RC, ASD, REVIT, ADVANCED STEEL and went on to settle for Advanced Steel, Revit and Cads Rc.. but trying them all helped me make an informed decision on which is better suited for my needs and if the need arises tomorrow to use any of those that I dropped, I know I can cope.

Even when I settled for Civil Engr, I thought I would no longer need my knowledge of programming since I am now fully focused on Civil. I found myself plunged into Autodesk Dynamo where my knowledge of algorithms was crucial to our Civil Projects. Even when we decided to switch from Staad Pro to Robot, and there was need to find a way to import StaadPro's cold formed section database into Robot, my knowledge of database management came in handy.

SARAH CALDWELL quote has been a guiding light for me, she said:
“Learn everything you can, anytime you can, from anyone you can - there will always come a time when you will be grateful you did.”

Speaking of finding structures boring, that's subjective. for some it is way more of an arduous task than the rest fields, structures is very deep and broad, it is just that majority of folks only get to see projects that deal on the basic aspects of it. So far, I have been opportune to have had experience in a bit of geotech, highway and structures (industrial structures, residential structures, bridges, telecom, retaining structures). If you ask me, I'd say they are all boring and much easier than what my days as a programmer threw at me. But that's just me. I still have a long way to go, hoping to get my teeth into marine structures and platform jackets someday.

Mind you I still see job ads in developed countries that request for say a structural engineer who has a background in say infrastructural design, geotech, highway etc. This is because for most, we are first Civil Engineers before whatever we specialize in, and from time to time, project needs we converge knowledge of various sub-discipline, this is different from being a jack of all trade. E.g We do have Quantity Surveying as a separate Course right? but an Engineer still needs to be able to estimate materials and quantities even when your firm has a QS, especially if you are involved in tender process as a Senior Engineer at your firm, you would definitely find yourself vetting BOQ's.

Always learn as much as the opportunity avails, what matters is to learn correctly and understand what you learn. Let the future decide what you would use.

for the latest structural software CIVILSOFT contact 07034677183

einsteino:
I have been getting lots of pm asking, what software should a young Civil/Structural Engineer learn?
That would depend on a number of factors. if you work in an organised firm, the firm would narrow down your options as it would already have purchased multi-user license for a software, it is either you have proficiency in that software or you learn fast. Also you would likely have a designation that narrows your duties to a specific subject area.

On the other hand if you work for smaller firms or freelance, you would likely be allowed to choose what suits you and wouldnt get the luxury of specialising in a subject area. Nonetheless, your considerations should cover support, ease of use, intuitiveness of User interface, functions/features, learning curve, cost of software and most importantly the nature of the project at hand.

Civil engineering softwares can be grouped into the following;

Building design software: these usually are only able to handle buildings and are easier to use and comes with rudimentary detailing features. In this category you have Orion, protastructures, tekla structural designer, Etabs etc.

General Analysis/Design software: These are versatile software, they are flexible and leaves you to conceptualize whatever you fancy, while it handles the computation. You would have to be well grounded in analysis and design concepts to correctly use these. E.g STAAD PRO, Robot Structural Analysis, Midas, SAP 2000, SAFE, STAAD FOUNDATION.

Detailing suites: Most Engrs hate detailing, it is time demanding and sucks! even worse, an average joe wouldnt appreciate the effort/technicality it takes. You may be saying "but orion automatically generates details, tekla structural designer does too"..the tuth is you wouldnt dare submit their detail drawings without painstaking revising and editing it, except you dont know what you are doing or work in an environment where anything goes. atimes you would find certain details from it are just not usable and doesn't meet the standards of either your employer or client. This is where detailing suites come in, they are bespoke softwares that lets you detail in 2D whatever you wish, however you wish with the aid of intelligent codefied macros. example of these are Allplan, Cads RC, Autocad stŕuctural detailing.

Building information modelling software: These are 3D modelling suites that contains parametric data of elements of the project you have modelled, but have no capability of analysis/design. Its mainly for exporting/integrating with analysis software. they also have detailing features and are mainly used for steel projects e.g Tekla, Revit Structure, Advance steel etc.

other civil/Bespoke software: These are special need software, you may never need them depending on your career path. E.g
SACS, EPASWMM, Civil 3D, Water Gem, EPA NET, PLAXIS, ANSYS, Mstower, Tstower, All pile, CSI Bridge, PHA-PRO etc.


if you are a neophyte to CAD, start with the Building design softwares, a popular but unwise choice is Orion, you would be better off with Etabs or Tekla structural designer. when you have come up, get your teeth into Robot/Staad pro/Sap 2000 and pick either Cads Rc or ASD for your detailing needs.

to try most of the softwares out for free as a student, simply visit their website and register with your university email, you would be granted an educational license, at least for most of them.

Would learning a software make you a great engr? The answer is No! softwares only help you automate repetitive and redudant process, you need a very good grasp of the theories and principles of engineering, marrying that with proficiency in a powerful software and insights from seasoned engineers would make you a better and more productive engineer. A very good book to start with is "Three Dimensional Static and Dynamic Analysis of Structures"

olafestid

Excel70:
Hi all I am a 200level civil engineering student . I want to know how to prepare myself for the outside world after graduation. I will like to practice civil engineering (structural) at the topmost level. I will also like to further my studies about...what are the steps I need to start taking right now

You can get this material... For beginners. You can try the steps out with BS-8110 too. Happy learning.

engrajoo1:


Seconded

Thirded

akaahs:

Thirded

The information here was intended to be public. I don't think we need a WhatsApp group. So that a young graduate can have access to the info just by using google.

einsteino:

Detailing suites: Most Engrs hate detailing, it is time demanding and sucks! even worse, an average joe wouldnt appreciate the effort/technicality it takes. You may be saying "but orion automatically generates details, tekla structural designer does too"..the tuth is you wouldnt dare submit their detail drawings without painstaking revising and editing it, except you dont know what you are doing or work in an environment where anything goes. atimes you would find certain details from it are just not usable and doesn't meet the standards of either your employer or client. This is where detailing suites come in, they are bespoke softwares that lets you detail in 2D whatever you wish, however you wish with the aid of intelligent codefied macros. example of these are Allplan, Cads RC, Autocad stŕuctural detailing.

Brother, Please I need help with Autocad stŕuctural detailing. Funny how I can't find any good material on it, I'm stuck with only the help menu. Any advice/suggestion will be appreciated. Thanks.

micxwell:

Brother, Please I need help with Autocad stŕuctural detailing. Funny how I can't find any good material on it, I'm stuck with only the help menu. Any advice/suggestion will be appreciated. Thanks.

Oh I no longer use ASD, though the philosophy is the same as CADS RC in some way. You would find video tutorials on ASD on youtube. Also, you can check autodesk forum for case specific help too.

einsteino:


Oh I no longer use ASD, though the philosophy is the same as CADS RC in some way. You would find video tutorials on ASD on youtube. Also, you can check autodesk forum for case specific help too.

Thanks bro, I found that the help was useful after all. I'm fine with it now. How was your week? Happy weekend.

Below is another material I've gone through. It's nice aswell...

Please house who among us here is based in Ibadan, I need someone to put me through on AutoCAD civil 3D.
Whatsapp 08138043374

hakeem4:
i am looking for who can teach me ETabs

If you base in Abuja I can teach you for free