Even within the structural engineering profession, data analysis, machine learning, robotics, automation and even general programming skills are becoming all the more important.
For many of us who studied engineering at University, these topics often seemed as if they were on the periphery of the profession, if not outright disconnected. We are however, now seeing a surge in demand for skills which couldn’t be fit into an already densely packed engineering course. This is completely reasonable for undergraduates however, studying robotics over hydrostatics in a civil or structural engineering degree is hardly a reasonable thing to consider given the exposure to these things in the real world.
This leaves us with a serious predicament in the industry. Those who specialise in technology driven courses are seldom attracted to the construction industry, greener pastures (and often better salaries) await them in the financial sector, and the construction industry isn’t known for fostering tech start-ups like many other sectors.
It is therefore up to us, as engineers to begin taking on the role of stimulating the technological development for our own industry. The question is; where to get started? Few of us can afford to do a part time degree over the next few years; but there are high quality materials available all over the internet for those wishing to push their career in the direction of digital engineering. Here are just a few of those resource platforms and relevant courses: