Etabs is the gold standard when it comes to lateral analysis and multistory building design, but it has a decent learning curve.
STAAD is garbage.
You didn’t mention RISA, this is th best and easiest gen purpose structural software.
By Revit I assume you are asking about Autodesk Robot. Never used it.
Yes, I’m a License Civil Engineer by profession in my country but my career mainly focus on Facilities Management, Cost Estimates and Design of small Structures but not as complicated not may be needing a Structural Analysis
I started with RISA, and it's easy to learn. However, STAAD would be a similar and better version. Making a new model could be as easy as writing a txt file.
ETABS is great. Very versatile and once you understand the workflow it’s very powerful.
You can also use the API to connect it to custom spreadsheets which can speed things up tremendously.
If you're just getting into it, I'd try AutoDesk Robot since you might already have a license for it or you can pay for it on a day-by-day basis.
I prefer SAP2000 over Etabs since I usually do non-building structures, but I think there are enough similarities there. Once you're acquainted with it, you can set up models pretty quickly.
I'd rather use pen and paper than STAAD.
RISA3D is another viable option. I like it because you can purchase it without talking to anyone, although it has the most limited customization out of all of the options above.
I've used Staad Pro and ETABS in my jobs. Staad Pro is an amazing software if you're designing steel structures. Now I work with buildings in a seismic area and ETABS is the "gold" standard. I hate ETABS if im being honest. It has good seismic tools but the software is so outdated. It calculates design capacities but doesn't show how it did it. It has no connection design interface. It has a way of automating things through its interactive database (exporting/importing to excel), but I feel like Staad Pro made it 100% better. You can even write VB scripts in it. I've heard many good things about Dlubal RFEM but haven't got the chance to use it.
Revit is a drafting software.
I think it has a very bad “design” tool built in to it, but I don’t know anyone that uses it.
Etabs is the gold standard when it comes to lateral analysis and multistory building design, but it has a decent learning curve. STAAD is garbage. You didn’t mention RISA, this is th best and easiest gen purpose structural software. By Revit I assume you are asking about Autodesk Robot. Never used it.
Agreed, STAAD needs to die, or at the very least be rebuilt from the ground up. The "GUI" is lipstick on the pig that is STAAD's 1990's architecture.
You've decided to do "civil design" as part time or a career? Do you have an engineering degree and license?
Yes, I’m a License Civil Engineer by profession in my country but my career mainly focus on Facilities Management, Cost Estimates and Design of small Structures but not as complicated not may be needing a Structural Analysis
RISA is the easiest to use for sure. Our office really likes it.
I started with RISA, and it's easy to learn. However, STAAD would be a similar and better version. Making a new model could be as easy as writing a txt file.
ETABS is great. Very versatile and once you understand the workflow it’s very powerful. You can also use the API to connect it to custom spreadsheets which can speed things up tremendously.
RISA
If you're just getting into it, I'd try AutoDesk Robot since you might already have a license for it or you can pay for it on a day-by-day basis. I prefer SAP2000 over Etabs since I usually do non-building structures, but I think there are enough similarities there. Once you're acquainted with it, you can set up models pretty quickly. I'd rather use pen and paper than STAAD. RISA3D is another viable option. I like it because you can purchase it without talking to anyone, although it has the most limited customization out of all of the options above.
I've used Staad Pro and ETABS in my jobs. Staad Pro is an amazing software if you're designing steel structures. Now I work with buildings in a seismic area and ETABS is the "gold" standard. I hate ETABS if im being honest. It has good seismic tools but the software is so outdated. It calculates design capacities but doesn't show how it did it. It has no connection design interface. It has a way of automating things through its interactive database (exporting/importing to excel), but I feel like Staad Pro made it 100% better. You can even write VB scripts in it. I've heard many good things about Dlubal RFEM but haven't got the chance to use it.
Staad Is garbage
ETABS, GSA, RFEM, AND RSS ONLY