# environmental engineering



## Safron (Nov 21, 2009)

what do you guys think about all these environmental engineering jobs that are opening up? i am switching from architecture to civil engineering next fall. i really don't want to wait five years just to practice architecture. civil engineering seems more up my alley any how.

but i was wondering if any body knew any one in environmental engineering or engineering geologists and how they like their jobs. seems they get paid well too.


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## FLBuff PE (Nov 23, 2009)

Safron, I basically fit your description to a T. I work for a geotechnical and environmental engineering firm in Colorado. I earned my PE in environmental engineering last fall, and am the 'Environmental Engineer' in my office, but I do a little of everything. It is not uncommon for me to go from writing a soils and foundation investigation in the morning to transition to writing a Phase I ESA in the afternoon. This variety is what I like. The field of environmental engineering is VERY broad...you can specialize in remediation (waste cleanup), air regulation, water/wastewater design, etc. My areas of practice consist of asbestos sampling, underground storage tank removals, and Phase I and Phase II ESAs. These things interest me; I enjoy the 'mystery' part of my job (i.e, where did this plume come from, what caused this, and how do we fix it). I think before deciding that you want to enter the field, you should look inside and make sure one of these avenues interests you. As far as pay, I don't make an ungodly amount of $$; in fact, I feel I am underpaid for what I do for my company. I also live in a high COL area, but I have made some trade-offs to live where I do. I'm sure that I could find a better paying job, but I would likely have to leave my current locale, which I am unwilling to do for several reasons. I would say that step #1 for you is decide if environmental engineering is your calling, or if a different tract is right for you. If you don't truly enjoy what you are doing, no amount of $$ can make you happy (spoken from experience). I hope that my rambling has helped a little.


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## EnvEngineer (Nov 23, 2009)

This is my 28th year in environmental engineering, all I can say is its a great field with alot of opportunity. I am not sure what job postings you are talking about but in general growth in the field is limited to water treatment (fresh and sewage), and water supply. I think the best opportunities for the future are dealing with water supply, nearly all of our new water supplies are contaminated in some manner and will need treatment prior to distrubution.

I work in site investigation and remediation, great field but is not growing. Its fun and pays well but may be difficult to move up due to a stagnant market, we just are not dumping the toxic chemicals like we use to.

good luck

BTW A PE signature is needed on nearly everything so PEs do well and are very valuable.


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## ALBin517 (Nov 24, 2009)

It's not exactly what you were asking but I'd advise you to major in civil rather than environmental. I was on the fence between civil and environmental when I went back to school and the general rule I heard was: "Environmental majors can get environmental jobs. Civil majors can get civil or environmental jobs."


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## Guest (Nov 24, 2009)

I earned a B.S. in Environmental Engineering and worked primarily as an environmental engineer for the last 14 yrs. As the other posters indicated there are a number of job classes you can find yourself in: solid/hazardous waste, air pollution, remediation, water/wastewater where you can focus your efforts. For me, my education was focused on waste management and water/wastewater treatment but my jobs have focused on hazardous waste and environmentl remediation. I worked as a state regulator for 10 yrs and then made a career change earlier this year and moved to the power/utility industry which has been great! It allows me to make the most use of my knowledge of engineering and environmental reguation.

A few notes about environmental engineering based on the nature of your query:

1. Job growth is projected to improve with environmental engineering but I strongly differ in opinion with those who report that recycling and 'green' engineering will lead the way in growth. The notion that environmental engineering has anything to do promoting a healthy environment on it's face is false. Environmental engineering is geared toward managing and reducing liability and the costs associated with that liability (or compliance). That's not to say there are not outfits that are engaged in recycling wastes or promoting green (sustainable) practices but these jobs are niche jobs where an industry is looking for value-engineering. You will not find an 'industry' of such jobs. Also, many of those jobs do not specifically need 'engineers' or more to the point, do not want to pay engineering salaries for the work that they do.

2. Environmental remediation was bread and butter work after the oil field bust and lasted until just recently but the days of being able to reasonably pull down good $$ with those jobs is quickly winding down because the universe of places to clean-up plus the cash available to conduct such cleanups is dwindling. Moreover, most of that work or at least the relative efficiency of completing such work is being indexed to development, so you can draw your own conclusion as to how things are going. Competition is much more fierce for those contracts (especially government contracts) and being able to stay on top of that game is tough. That market has matured and is more geared towards being able to market your firm aggressively rather than being able to offer novel, sound engineering services. That's my honest opinion and one of the reasons why I left that market.

3. Water and wastewater work has always been the work horse jobs for environemental engineers. While the design side of the field has slowed down some, I would say the construction side (e.g. cheaper/faster/novel methods) as well as the security aspects have provided the prospect for ample growth in this area. The distribution system for water/wastewater lines as well as the treatment works are reaching the end of it's functional life in many developed areas and will eventually need to be upgraded and/or improved. Shifting population centers and demand for water/wastewater services also offer some growth in this area but realize that the jobs are primarily linked to govt $$ for those services.

4. Waste management (solid and hazardous waste) have some prospect for growth as EPA has signaled a willingness to reverse previous trends of reducing direct, increased government regulation of those waste streams. A number of industries including the fossil fuel burning power plants find themselves being pressed on several fronts with new rulemaking and the potential for onerus rules. My primary job with the power utility is addressing the operational challenges that come with such uncertainty.

5. Air pollution emissions and design of control equipment will ultimately become more important. Currently, my company has a capital spending budget for $1.2B for *UPGRADING* air pollution control equipment over the next five years. That budget will likely triple if the current climate control legislation passes. A key piece here is that if you are a pollution control engineer you spend a lot of time in an office making process design calculations - very little time in the field since the equipment is mostly 'black box'.

One last thought is what other posters suggested. Are you more happy in an office setting or field setting? Do you feel comfortable working with chemistry and biology? Do you feel like you could work across a few different disciplines since environmental engineering is a hodge podge of a few different things?

I also agree with Alb to an extent. If you are looking for a degree that will offer the MOST opportunity, especially coming out of college, the civil engineering degree is the best way to go. Environmental engineering degrees are usually viewed as 'specialisty' degrees and as such tend to get filtered out on the first cut when looking at a broad range of engineering jobs.

If you have any specific questions, I would be happy to offer up answers. Good luck!

JR


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## Dleg (Nov 24, 2009)

I'm licensed as an Environmental PE but my degree was in Mechanical Engineering. I've been working for almost 19 years, 11 years in the enviro field.

If you're worried mostly about money right now, I'd say you're worried about the wrong thing. You need to switch to medicine or something else. There are ways to get rich in any field, of course, and most of those ways involve taking risks and becoming a business owner.

If you enjoy engineering, you should just be on the lookout for the kind of work that you would enjoy most. If you enjoy your work, you are likely to do it well, and if you do it well, you can pretty much count on being paid "well". Personally, I find environmental engineering very enjoyable, but it hasn't resulted in what I would call a high paying job. But I live a comfortable, happy life and I sleep well at night.

Now, if you truly are interested in environmental engineering, I second the recommendation to get your BS in Civil Engineering. If you can stick it out through 2 more years of school, I suggest getting an MS in an environmental engineering specialty. But there's the rub - you will have to choose a specialty. That means committing to a career before you even have one, or know what you want to do. The ideal course of action would be to get your BS in Civil, get a job as an environmental engineer, settle on the environmental career path you want to take (wastewater/water, site remediation, air, etc.) work a few years to get your entry-level design experience, then go back to school. By then you should know what you want to do, and your employer might even foot the bill. Plus, then you can schedule your professional exams to take advantage of being in "study mode" - take your FE during the last year of your BS program, and your PE while you're in grad school, or right afterward. (Get the PE in Civil, by the way - these guys are absolutely right)


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## Safron (Nov 27, 2009)

Dleg said:


> I'm licensed as an Environmental PE but my degree was in Mechanical Engineering. I've been working for almost 19 years, 11 years in the enviro field.
> If you're worried mostly about money right now, I'd say you're worried about the wrong thing. You need to switch to medicine or something else. There are ways to get rich in any field, of course, and most of those ways involve taking risks and becoming a business owner.
> 
> If you enjoy engineering, you should just be on the lookout for the kind of work that you would enjoy most. If you enjoy your work, you are likely to do it well, and if you do it well, you can pretty much count on being paid "well". Personally, I find environmental engineering very enjoyable, but it hasn't resulted in what I would call a high paying job. But I live a comfortable, happy life and I sleep well at night.
> ...


WOW, you guys are awesome! i got way more information than i expected. you all helped me a great deal.

and about my question for money- i wasn't expecting an "environmental" job to give me a physicians salary, i just want to be paid well enough so i don't have to worry. i just want a career that's broad and full of options.

like FLbuff said, he enjoys the ''mystery" part of his job- that's what i would like as well.

Thanks everyone.


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## daywalker (Dec 31, 2009)

I ave been an EE for 15 years. Ive been fortunate to work on several large projects and for some large environmental firms. Im finally getting around to getting my PE.

I am a Hazwaste and remediation professional. My advice to you is to find an environmental concentration that you like. What I have found is that unlike a CE or a ME were one can apply engineering principals to a variety of projects, EE are more concentrated in one area. Since most of my experience is in Hazwaste, I have found it very difficult to score jobs in Wastewater engineering, because the experience does not really translate over well. unless your dealing with disposal. You being a CE should do well though. I dont have any CE experience. I am trying to move mre into WW engineering. I thing it is the future. All the digging in the North East is done. Now its all regulatory. Plus WW engineers make between 70 and 100,000 here in the NE


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