We often get asked if we do Civil and Structural Engineering, and I’ve learned to ask a few questions before saying “Yes” or “No.”
You see, we’re structural engineers—and yes, we’re technically civil engineers too—but there’s a language around these words that needs clarification. Often, the enquirer means ‘civil’ as in concrete footings, slabs, and site grading.
So it’s a good thing I don’t just say no and hang up—because, yes, we do handle that sort of “civil” engineering!
So What’s the Difference Between Civil and Structural Engineering?
At university, we graduate as civil engineers after completing many courses, including those in structural engineering. Structural engineering is a key discipline within the broader field of Civil and Structural Engineering, combining both specialties into one professional expertise.
So that’s the first difference – all structural engineers are civil engineers, but not all civil engineers are structural engineers!
In the workforce, we identify as civil engineers or structural engineers, depending on our specific area of expertise within the broader field of Civil and Structural Engineering. Civil engineers are involved in different projects and different aspects of projects to those that structural engineers are involved in.
I tend to define the civil engineer as being responsible for the design of infrastructure projects such as:
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- Roads
- Railways
- Water and wastewater systems
- Dams
- Bridges e.t.c
Whereas the structural engineer is involved specifically in the design of structures associated with these projects:
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- The bridge structure in a road system
- The dam wall
- Draw-off tower in a reservoir
- The structures associated with a water treatment plant
- The signs over a freeway etc.
Structural engineers are focused on the materials of construction and their ability to withstand design actions.
If a bridge collapses due to insufficient design, it’s a structural engineer’s problem. If the river floods and submerges the bridge due to insufficient consideration of flood levels and climate change, or the traffic is at a standstill most of the day due to insufficient lanes or bottlenecks on approach, it’s a civil engineer’s problem! That’s the difference!
Could be a structural engineers problem!
Not a structural engineers problem
So, getting back to concrete, this material is often misunderstood in terms of who is responsible for its design. Concrete itself is not exclusively within a civil engineer’s domain. Rather, concrete is fundamentally a structural material, and its design falls squarely under the expertise of structural engineers within the broader field of Civil and Structural Engineering.
When you see drawings that depict structures, whether slabs, footings, beams, or columns, these are classified as structural drawings, prepared by structural engineers. Conversely, civil drawings typically focus on aspects like detailed earthworks, grading, drainage, and site layouts, which are part of civil engineering.
As structural engineers, we design any type of structure using various materials, though steel and concrete are the most common. Our role is to ensure these structures can safely resist a wide range of forces, including gravity, mechanical loads, and environmental stresses such as wind or seismic activity. We carefully engineer every detail to prevent structural collapse, excessive deflection, or unwanted vibration, all within the scope of Civil and Structural Engineering.
So, if you’re looking for expertise in designing concrete elements like slabs or footings, you don’t actually need just a civil engineer, you need a structural engineer. That’s precisely where our specialty lies. We bring together the knowledge and skills within Civil and Structural Engineering to deliver safe, reliable, and efficient concrete structures.
If you need a civil engineer to design a roadway, a culvert, a drainage system, you don’t need us. But we can point you in the right direction.
