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Hello all. I recently decided to give up on pursuing an architecture minor for many reasons, one of which being that while I enjoy creative expressions in my personal life, such as composing music, I don't really want it to be a part of my career as a structural engineer.

Structural Engineers work with architects, but don't make the building look pretty. Architects create pretty buildings, but they also design for HVAC, mechanical, and so on. However, the design aspect in the architect's career is much more emphasized because of the public perception of architects as artists, which is why portfolios are standard in any architect's job application process. Engineers are creative too, but in the context of solving problems through design rather than artistic expression, so would it not make sense for a structural engineer to present their designs in a neat and collected manner like an architect?

As far as my knowledge goes, engineering portfolios do exist, but they are relatively rare. My question to professionals, whether they be EITs or retired, is what their portfolios look like and how they wrote theirs, or if they even have one for that matter. What projects did you include and why? When would you need a portfolio for an application?

These questions were inspired by threads I could find about the topic from various websites (such as Reddit), but I figured any information from this community would be more valuable because of the dedicated purpose of this forum as a place for civil engineers and civil engineering students.

Hello all. I recently decided to give up on pursuing an architecture minor for many reasons, one of which being that while I enjoy creative expressions in my personal life, such as composing music, I don't really want it to be a part of my career as a structural engineer.

Structural Engineers work with architects, but don't make the building look pretty. Architects create pretty buildings, but they also design for HVAC, mechanical, and so on. However, the design aspect in the architect's career is much more emphasized because of the public perception of architects as artists, which is why portfolios are standard in any architect's job application process. Engineers are creative too, but in the context of solving problems through design rather than artistic expression, so would it not make sense for a structural engineer to present their designs in a neat and collected manner like an architect?

As far as my knowledge goes, engineering portfolios do exist, but they are relatively rare. My question to professionals, whether they be EITs or retired, is what their portfolios look like and how they wrote theirs, or if they even have one for that matter. What projects did you include and why? When would you need a portfolio for an application?

These questions were inspired by threads I could find about the topic from various websites (such as Reddit), but I figured any information from this community would be more valuable because of the dedicated purpose of this forum as a place for civil engineers and civil engineering students.

Hello all. I recently decided to give up on pursuing an architecture minor for many reasons, one of which being that while I enjoy creative expressions in my personal life, such as composing music, I don't really want it to be a part of my career as a structural engineer.

Structural Engineers work with architects, but don't make the building look pretty. Architects create pretty buildings, but they also design for HVAC, mechanical, and so on. However, the design aspect in the architect's career is much more emphasized because of the public perception of architects as artists, which is why portfolios are standard in any architect's job application process. Engineers are creative too, but in the context of solving problems through design rather than artistic expression, so would it not make sense for a structural engineer to present their designs in a neat and collected manner like an architect?

As far as my knowledge goes, engineering portfolios do exist, but they are relatively rare. My question to professionals, whether they be EITs or retired, is what their portfolios look like and how they wrote theirs, or if they even have one for that matter. What projects did you include and why? When would you need a portfolio for an application?

These questions were inspired by threads I could find about the topic from various websites (such as Reddit), but I figured any information from this community would be more valuable because of the dedicated purpose of this forum as a place for civil engineers and civil engineering students.

Hello all. I recently decided to give up on pursuing an architecture minor for many reasons, one of which being that while I enjoy creative expressions in my personal life, such as composing music, I don't really want it to be a part of my career as a structural engineer.

Structural Engineers work with architects, but don't make the building look pretty. Architects create pretty buildings, but they also design for HVAC, mechanical, and so on. However, the design aspect in the architect's career is much more emphasized because of the public perception of architects as artists, which is why portfolios are standard in any architect's job application process. Engineers are creative too, but in the context of solving problems through design rather than artistic expression, so would it not make sense for a structural engineer to present their designs in a neat and collected manner like an architect?

As far as my knowledge goes, engineering portfolios do exist, but they are relatively rare. My question to professionals, whether they be EITs or retired, is what their portfolios look like and how they wrote theirs, or if they even have one for that matter. What projects did you include and why? When would you need a portfolio for an application?

These questions were inspired by threads I could find about the topic from various websites (such as Reddit), but I figured any information from this community would be more valuable because of the dedicated purpose of this forum as a place for civil engineers and civil engineering students.

'Engineers are creative too, but in the context of solving problems through design rather than artistic expression, so would it not make sense for a structural engineer to present their designs in a neat and collected manner like an architect?'

I have a sort of digital portfolio- I've always thought of it as more showcasing the technical aspects of the projects, but bonus points when the structure is somehow visually impressive as well. I think this will become more common and in my most recent job search I was asked by the two firms that I was most interested in for a portfolio of my works. As a younger engineer this would likely be less expected, but could really set you apart if you're able to put something good together.

' What projects did you include and why? When would you need a portfolio for an application?'

What projects to include are really job specific, once you have enough projects to include you should carefully consider each position you apply for and what they're looking for. I usually let the employer ask to see something before including it, and it gets sent directly to the hiring manager after the first round of interviews.

One thing to consider is building your portfolio for each project as you complete it- you will have the best access to documents and the experiences you had during the project at that time.

Hello all. I recently decided to give up on pursuing an architecture minor for many reasons, one of which being that while I enjoy creative expressions in my personal life, such as composing music, I don't really want it to be a part of my career as a structural engineer.

Structural Engineers work with architects, but don't make the building look pretty. Architects create pretty buildings, but they also design for HVAC, mechanical, and so on. However, the design aspect in the architect's career is much more emphasized because of the public perception of architects as artists, which is why portfolios are standard in any architect's job application process. Engineers are creative too, but in the context of solving problems through design rather than artistic expression, so would it not make sense for a structural engineer to present their designs in a neat and collected manner like an architect?

As far as my knowledge goes, engineering portfolios do exist, but they are relatively rare. My question to professionals, whether they be EITs or retired, is what their portfolios look like and how they wrote theirs, or if they even have one for that matter. What projects did you include and why? When would you need a portfolio for an application?

These questions were inspired by threads I could find about the topic from various websites (such as Reddit), but I figured any information from this community would be more valuable because of the dedicated purpose of this forum as a place for civil engineers and civil engineering students.