Career-PathGPS
← All education and training
Career

Environmental Engineers

Typical education: Bachelor's degreeHigh pressure

What they do

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.

Kinds of work

  • Investigative: Science, research, figuring out how things work and solving complex problems.
  • Realistic: Hands-on work with tools, machines, plants or animals, often outdoors.
  • Conventional: Organizing information, following clear procedures and working with data and details.

High pressure: How much pressure workers in this job report: deadlines, conflict, dealing with upset people, the cost of mistakes, responsibility for others' safety, competition and long hours. It varies a lot from one employer to the next. Source: U.S. Department of Labor worker surveys.

Pay, tasks and more

Salary

United States $107,110 Median per year · $51.50/hr Most earn $69,990–$162,220

BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, 2025.

What you might do

  • Prepare hazardous waste manifests or land disposal restriction notifications.
  • Develop or present environmental compliance training or orientation sessions.
  • Coordinate or manage environmental protection programs or projects, assigning or evaluating work.
  • Design, or supervise the design of, systems, processes, or equipment for control, management, or remediation of water, air, or soil quality.
  • Write reports or articles for Web sites or newsletters related to environmental engineering issues.
  • Provide assistance with planning, quality assurance, safety inspection protocols, or sampling as part of a team conducting multimedia inspections at complex facilities.

Job outlook

United States
6% more jobs by 2035, faster than average · about 2,300 openings a year

Openings include new jobs and jobs left by workers who retire or change careers. Projections: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. "Bright Outlook": U.S. Department of Labor.

Where they work

  • Engineering services24.3%
  • State government, excluding education and hospitals19.6%
  • Management, scientific, and technical consulting services19.0%
  • Local government, excluding education and hospitals7.2%
  • Federal government, excluding postal service6.4%

Share of all workers in this career. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Employment Matrix.

Experience before this job: 6 months to 1 year

Career path

How people usually get into this career, from school to their first job and beyond.

Typical education: Bachelor's degreeExperience before this job: 6 months to 1 year

Environmental engineering is usually an entry-level job for people with a bachelor's degree, plus some hands-on experience. Most people get there in about 4 to 5 years after high school, counting college and a short internship or entry role.

  1. Bachelor's degree in environmental, civil, or chemical engineering

    4 years

    You learn the math, chemistry, and engineering design that environmental work depends on, and you can sit for the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam, the first step toward a professional license.

  2. Engineering internship or co-op

    6 months to 1 year

    Working at an engineering firm, water utility, or government agency lets you apply classroom skills to real sites and build the experience employers look for.

  3. Environmental Engineer

    Once hired, you design, test, and monitor systems that clean water, treat waste, or clean up contaminated land, often working toward a Professional Engineer (PE) license.

Where it can lead

  1. Senior Environmental Engineer

    3-5 years of experience first

    You take on bigger projects, lead small teams, and review other engineers' designs, usually after earning your PE license.

  2. Environmental Engineering Manager

    5-10 years of experience first

    You oversee several projects or a whole team, manage budgets and client relationships, and focus more on planning than hands-on design.

What you can do now

Ideas for high school and college students.

In high school

  • Take advanced science and mathChemistry, physics, biology, and calculus classes build the skills you will need for an engineering degree.
  • Join a science, robotics, or engineering clubBuilding and testing projects with a team gives you practical problem-solving experience and something to show colleges.
  • Enter a science fair on water, air, or soilA project about pollution or cleanup teaches you how to plan an experiment, collect data, and explain results.
  • Volunteer for a local river, park, or recycling cleanupHands-on environmental work shows you what the job is really about and looks good on applications.
  • Get a part-time job or summer jobAny job that teaches responsibility, teamwork, or careful record-keeping is useful preparation.

In college

  • Major in environmental, civil, or chemical engineeringChoose an accredited engineering program, since most environmental engineering jobs require an engineering bachelor's degree.
  • Pursue an internship or co-opWorking at an engineering firm, utility, or government environmental office gives you real project experience before you graduate.
  • Join a student engineering or environmental organizationClubs such as chapters of an engineering society or a campus sustainability group build teamwork skills and professional contacts.
  • Work as a lab or research assistantHelping with water or soil testing in a professor's lab gives you hands-on technical skills and a reference.
  • Learn CAD or GIS software and plan to take the FE examDesign and mapping tools are common in this work, and passing the FE exam after graduation is the first step toward a PE license.

Tips for getting started

  • Take the strongest math and science classes you can, especially chemistry, biology, and calculus, since they are the foundation for every engineering major.
  • Look for internships or summer jobs early, even unpaid or volunteer ones, because experience is what most employers ask about after graduation.
  • Learn basic spreadsheet and mapping tools such as Excel and GIS, which are used constantly in environmental work.

Related jobs a step up

Education, experience and related careers: U.S. Department of Labor. The step-by-step path, where it can lead and what you can do now were written by AI as typical examples; many people take other ways.

College majors that lead here

Majors: U.S. Department of Education and BLS (CIP–SOC crosswalk). Earnings and debt: College Scorecard, typical across U.S. colleges.

Related careers