<p>Hello all,
I am a high school senior looking to major in engineering at a university, and I was wondering which one of these fields are more in demand / lucrative. People have told me that geotechnical is, but I haven’t seen any hard evidence to prove that it is a better field than structural.
Any answers are appreciated. Thanks.</p>
<p>Salaries are going to vary widely, so it’s hard to estimate which is more lucrative. I would suggest that you take a few courses and see which field interests you more. That’s the most important consideration!</p>
<p>The salary ranges for these two areas probably overlap quite a bit. So, the best way to make the highest salary in either field is to be the best engineer you can. The best engineers are the ones who have an excellent grasp of the subject and enjoy it the most. If you don’t enjoy what you do, you’ll never do well in it.</p>
<p>So as MaineLonghorn suggests, take a few classes and see which suits you the best and then go for it.</p>
<p>My professor said based on past experience, half the class will become structural engineers, while the other half will become other sorts of engineers or go into finance. So I guess there might be more people going into structural than geotechnical, but you should choose what interests you the most 
I myself am still not sure which specialty I want (though leaning towards geotechnical now, I hope to make sure when I start soils classes next semester). I think you could take a general civil engineering undergrad first before moving on to a professional specialty.</p>
<p>With structural you may be able to branch out beyond the world of civil engineering. Lots of structural engineers are employed by aerospace and automotive companies as stress analysts.</p>
<p>Both geotech and structural are great fields with lots of market demand. I would simply take the one that is more interesting to you.</p>
<p>In my program it’s very possible to do your degree in structural engineering with an emphasis/focus in geotech.</p>