• Job: Structural engineer, Sedki & Russ Engineers, Sandy Springs

KARL W. RITZLER/Special (ENLARGE)

Nebil Sedki says many people don't recognize the important role of structural engineers. 'Anyone can design a safe building, and anyone can design an economical building,' he said. 'But it takes a structural engineer to design a safe and economical building.'

• What I do: While an architect gets the credit for a building's design and appearance, Nebil Sedki says it's structural engineers who make it all stand up.

"We do the skeleton of the building," said Sedki, 67, president of Sedki & Russ Engineers. It's really only Sedki now, he said, noting that Joseph Russ retired from the firm in 2002.

In addition to Sedki, the firm has three in-house engineers and contracts with three more.

A structural engineer, working from the architect's plans, designs and places the building's columns, outside walls, roof and foundation footings — and has to make sure it all will bear the weight of the structure. In addition, the engineer has to make sure the building is strong enough to stand up to hurricanes, earthquakes and whatever else nature can throw against it.

Structural engineers have a voice in whether the building is constructed with steel, concrete or both. And they have to keep it within budget and up to local building codes.

All the while, "we have to work with the [architect's] rooms and layout," Sedki said. Generally, the builder or developer hires the architect, and the architect hires the structural engineer, he explained.

He said he frequently dons a hard hat and goes to sites to inspect steel or concrete reinforcements and countless other details. When he finds a problem or something that requires additional attention, he directs the contractor to make the adjustments.

"I enjoy solving problems, because that's where the challenge comes," he said.

Sedki's firm has been involved in several high-profile buildings in Atlanta and elsewhere. He did engineering for First Baptist Church of Atlanta and much of the work on additions at Northside, St. Joseph's and Piedmont hospitals and at Gwinnett Medical Center.

He's also worked on the high-rise Nigerian mission to the United Nations in New York City and a major mosque in Nigeria. He even helped an Italian duke fix a structurally unsound house on a farm in Coweta County.

"Anyone can design a safe building, and anyone can design an economical building," Sedki said. "But it takes a structural engineer to design a safe and economical building."

• What got me interested in this: Sedki said he was good in math when he attended school in his native Iraq.

He said his love of engineering began with a toy similar to an Erector set, with which he constructed bridges and buildings as a child.

"History and geography — that was torture," he said. "Anything with science, I was very much interested in."

Sedki comes from a Christian family from Baghdad and was taught by Jesuits. He left Iraq in 1963, well before the country's current troubles began. He has not been back to Iraq.

• Best part of my job: "The challenges I face every day," Sedki said. "Give me a problem, and I'll scratch my head and then come up with a way to fix it."

He says he faces new problems constantly, but "I have the experience to come up with a good solution."

• Most challenging part: "Solving the problems," Sedki said.

In addition to engineering, he also must run the business, and sometimes it's difficult to estimate accurately how much a project will cost.

• What people don't know about my job: "Everyone thinks that the architect is doing the whole thing," he said. "It's the engineers who make this thing work. When something collapses, who do you blame? The structural engineer. When something is beautiful, who gets the credit? The architect."

• What keeps me going: "I look forward to coming here," Sedki said. "It's a job that keeps you active, keeps your mind working. It's not like building one building and you keep doing the same thing over and over."

• Preparation needed for this job: "You have to have an interest in science and go to a good engineering school, like Georgia Tech," said Sedki, who got his master's degree there.

"Think practically. Structural engineering is common sense," he added. "You need theory — but how to apply it, that's where common sense comes in."

Sedki, who said he learned engineering with a slide rule, said it's now essential to know computers but not to believe everything they produce.

"I'm still old-fashioned," he said. "I draw the first time by hand. This way, I know everything works."

An engineer must have a college degree, professional certifications and an engineering license. Keeping the license involves taking continuing education in the field.

Sedki earned a bachelor's degree in engineering physics from Al-Hikma University in Baghdad in 1961.

After serving in the Iraqi army as an engineer, he came to the United States, where he earned his master's degree in civil engineering from Georgia Tech.

He first worked for William E. Edwards' engineering firm in Atlanta, eventually becoming president of the firm in 1975. Sedki and Russ started their own firm in 1978.

- By Karl W. Ritzler, for ajcjobs. Got an interesting job that you love? E-mail your story to jobseditor@ajc.com.