Environmental Engineers
Research, design, plan, or perform engineering duties in the prevention, control, and remediation of environmental hazards using various engineering disciplines. Work may include waste treatment, site remediation, or pollution control technology.
- Median pay
- $107,110
- Doing it now
- 39,100
- By 2035
- Up 6.3%
- Usually needs
- Bachelor's degree
a year
across the country
2,300 openings a year
to get in
What the work involves
- Prepare, review, or update environmental investigation or recommendation reports.
- Obtain, update, or maintain plans, permits, or standard operating procedures.
- Provide technical support for environmental remediation or litigation projects, including remediation system design or determination of regulatory applicability.
- Monitor progress of environmental improvement programs.
- Inspect industrial or municipal facilities or programs to evaluate operational effectiveness or ensure compliance with environmental regulations.
- Provide administrative support for projects by collecting data, providing project documentation, training staff, or performing other general administrative duties.
- Develop proposed project objectives and targets and report to management on progress in attaining them.
What to study
The fields of study the Department of Education links to this occupation, most widely taught first.
- Environmental/Environmental Health EngineeringSee 131 colleges that teach it
- Civil EngineeringSee 313 colleges that teach it
Who it suits
O*NET scores every occupation on six interest dimensions. This one leans hardest on these three.
Analytical and curious
Hands-on and practical
Organised and precise
Careers like this one
Where this comes from: the description and the task list are O*NET, which the Department of Labor maintains. Pay, workforce size, outlook and the education normally needed are the Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections programme, 2025 wages and 2025 to 2035 projections. Half of them earn more than $107,110 a year, which means half earn less, and what you would earn depends on where you work and how long you have been doing it. The fields of study come from the National Center for Education Statistics crosswalk.