Annual Salary
£24,000 to £55,000
Average UK salary in 2023 was £34,963
(source Office for National Statistics)
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Swap to Science or STEM or go back to all job sectors
Structural engineers help to design and build large structures and buildings, like hospitals, sports stadiums and bridges.
Average UK salary in 2023 was £34,963
(source Office for National Statistics)
You could work: between 8am and 6pm;
There will be
2.4% more Structural engineer jobs in 2027.
As a structural engineer you could:
Possible green job
This job could help the environment.
For a structural engineer to be a green job, you could:
Find out more about green careers
You may need to wear safety clothing and use safety equipment.
You could work in an office, at a client's business, on a construction site or on a demolition site.
Your working environment may be outdoors some of the time and at height.
You can get into this job through:
You can do a degree or postgraduate course in:
You might have an advantage if you do a course that includes an internship or a year in industry placement. Your university careers service can advise on how to find relevant work experience.
You can find accredited courses through the Engineering Council.
You'll usually need:
You could do a college course in civil engineering. This might help you to find work as a trainee structural engineer. You'll then need to do more training on the job to qualify.
You could apply to do a Civil Engineer Level 6 Degree Apprenticeship and take professional training afterwards to qualify as a structural engineer.
You'll usually need:
You could start as a civil engineering technician and study for a degree qualification while you're working.
If you're 11 to 18 years old, you can do 'taster' days and short residential courses with the Engineering Development Trust (EDT).
This will give you an idea of what it's like to study and work in engineering.
You can become a member of The Institution of Structural Engineers.
You can find out more about careers in structural engineering from The Institution of Structural Engineers and Go Construct.
You could move into:construction design; project management; research or lecturing; freelance consultancy work, like providing services to building insurers; work on construction and engineering projects overseas, with disaster relief agencies
You could also specialise in:renewable energy projects; sustainable building materials; forensics, where you investigate why a building or structure has failed
The Institution of Structural Engineers and Go Construct have more information about careers in structural engineering.
You'll need: