Environmental Engineering Jobs

To determine your career path in life, you first need to know your interests and how these interests can be pipelined to a specific job. So when you hear an environmental engineering job, what do you visualize? Many people are not aware of environmental engineers let alone what their job scope is. For starters, environmental engineering is the use of science and engineering principles to improve the environment, covering the air, water and land for the purpose of conserving and protecting Mother Nature.

In an environmental engineering job, engineers work towards controlling air and water pollution, finding new ways in recycling and disposal of waste and dealing with public health issues. Studies on the environmental effects on proposed construction sites are also carried out by engineers apart from doing continuous research and development in the areas of the environment and the improvement of human life.

Positions in environmental engineering are not just restricted to being an engineer. There are many more positions that can be filled such as researcher and operator of pollution control, a government regulatory agency official, a manager of programs or you can be involved in any society work that requires professionals in the field.





In an environmental engineering job, you would also need to conduct hazardous waste management research and develop new preventive measures on treatment and containment of raw materials and waste. An environmental engineers’ study concerns not only local and worldwide environmental issues but the protection of wildlife as well. Research and development studies range from the effects of acid rain, global warming, recycling and conservation methods, ozone depletion as well as automobile emissions. For environmental engineers, their clients can be universities, companies, organizations and multinational corporations.

All entry level engineering jobs require a bachelor’s degree which takes up at least 4 to 5 years of study. A typical engineering program would include a study in an engineering specialty as well as courses in mathematics, chemistry, physics, physical and life sciences. For an environmental engineering degree, biology is a must subject. Design, computer and laboratory classes are also included into the curriculum of engineering courses.

Admission into an undergraduate degree program would require applicants to have a solid background in mathematics covering algebra, trigonometry, geometry and calculus, the sciences covering biology, chemistry and physics as well as courses in English, social studies and the humanities.

According to the US Department of Labor, there were 45 000 jobs for environmental engineers in 2006 and by the looks of it, employment opportunities are bound to increase. Salary for an environmental engineer can start from $69,940 annually to $106,230 as you gain more experience and qualifications. Your chances in becoming an environmental engineer will increase if you have the right qualifications and the right passion for the job. Being creative, inquisitive and detail-oriented as well as being able to communicate well both verbally and non-verbally helps as engineers normally work as part of a team and do a lot of research involving numbers and high-technological machines, equations and chemicals.

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