re: Has anyone graduated from school, started working

Why what? Why do I hate structural design work? Or why is it all we have?

I just don't enjoy structural steel design. I get it, I understand it, I'm ok at it, but I don't enjoy it. I got a CE major and an environmental minor and was interested in coastal stuff at first.

And I totally agree that the first 5 years are miserable and you are still figuring out what you want to do. I don't mind that and I fully expect that.

I actually enjoy most of my work, my projects, and all the people I work with. I don't have anything bad to really say about them.

My big issue is I see no long term future for me doing what I'm doing now and there is no room to move up in my current group.

I'm sitting around a fair amount of time recently which really doesn't help with any of this as well.

I work next to a few 40 and 50 year old guys that are doing the exact same thing as they did when they were my age. They make more $, but to me that is only part of the equation. I don't want to be doing the same thing in 20 years and have decided to make a change.