Author: brendanwsmith.com

I love history. I love learning about the people who came before us and built cathedrals, bridges, tunnels, and engines using the tools, materials, and knowledge available to them. I love reading about historical structures that still stand today, like the Brooklyn Bridge, the Pantheon in Rome, and the Panama Canal.  These projects were built…

Failure is something we are often taught to see as a bad thing. For me, it is something I usually tuck away and don’t talk about. There is one particular failure that I don’t think I have told many people about, other than my parents knowing. I failed the FE exam three times before I…

Engineering tends to have a reputation for being very heavy in math and science. Many people who think about engineering or are considering pursuing a career in engineering have a tendency to believe there is a lot of technical learning involved. But engineering is more than just solving complex problems and figuring out the shear…

One of the first things that has made humans unique from other species on this planet is how we found a way to communicate. We can all communicate with each other. We say hi, have discussions, share ideas, and find ways to explain what we are thinking. So why can it be hard for engineers…

Engineers don’t just solve problems all day. Engineers don’t just write technical reports. Engineers don’t just read through manuals and look through codes. Engineers find ways to improve people’s lives. They find ways to improve how we move between Point A and Point B. They think of ideas that we once thought were impossible. Being…

Civil engineering was not what I thought it was when I decided to study it in college. I actually started college planning to study Mechanical Engineering. During my first semester, we were introduced to several different engineering programs. Every couple of weeks, we would work on a project that gave us a glimpse into what…

What is a civil engineer? How does a civil engineer contribute to society? What are the responsibilities of a civil engineer? These are all good questions, especially if you have never really thought about what a civil engineer does. With more than 20 years of experience, I have to admit that I wasn’t always able…