The Canterbury earthquakes have afforded the author a unique opportunity to view the state of engineering from a different perspective. The development of the Detailed Engineering Evaluation (DEE) procedure and the related activities of the Engineering Advisory Group have required thorough consideration of structural engineering practice. This has extended to an overview of the outputs from the DEEs completed by a wide range of engineers, over a wide range of buildings. From these and more general observations of engineering practice in contrast with that of other countries, a view on the state of earthquake engineering in New Zealand is offered with some thoughts on future direction and development needs.