Environmental Engineers: Salary, Job Description, How To Become One, and Quiz

Job description

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.

• Design, or supervise the design of, systems, processes, or equipment for control, management, or remediation of water, air, or soil quality.
• Advise corporations or government agencies of procedures to follow in cleaning up contaminated sites to protect people and the environment.
• Collaborate with environmental scientists, planners, hazardous waste technicians, engineers, experts in law or business, or other specialists to address environmental problems.
• Obtain, update, or maintain plans, permits, or standard operating procedures.

Salary

Environmental Engineers with little to no experience tend to make between $53180 and $66590 while the more experienced ones can earn over $112230 per year.

One of the easiest ways to increase your salary as an Environmental Engineer is to move to a higher paying state like AK. Right now, the highest paying states for Environmental Engineers are AK, LA, CA, TX and MD.

However, a higher pay at AK doesn’t guarantee that you will make more because the living expenses at AK might be twice as high than where you are currently at now.

Three other factors that can increase your salary as an Environmental Engineer is the degree you hold, the industry you work in, and lastly the company you work for.

Requirements

We asked other Environmental Engineers what degree they had when they got the job and most of them said they had a Master’s Degree followed by a Bachelor’s Degree.

Other than that, we also asked them what did they major in and here are the most popular majors that came up.

Pros and Cons

Here are some of the pros and cons of being an Environmental Engineer.

What is the job like

72% of Environmental Engineers said they were satisfied with their job and 70% said they feel like their job is making other people’s lives better.

Is this right for me

You can read more about these career personality types here.

People who are suitable for this job tends to like working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. They like searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally..

They also like work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They like working with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery.

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