do structural engineers iterate?

or do they merely repeat themselves?

It seems to me that the civil engineering body of knowledge includes precious little knowledge of how to take on new design challenges. Respected senior engineers develop a "feel" for how big structural members should be--which can be an advantage when designing the similar structures with similar materials, but a hinderance when breaking new ground, and by the way, this is a run-on sentence.

Of course, I've spent a total of one undergraduate degree and 4 months of paid work in the engineering profession, so what do I really know? (not much) I still suspect that an aversness to change is going to frustrate me a lot if I do end up working as an engineer.