Career
Environmental engineers
Solve environmental problems with engineering.
$107,110
Median pay
+6.3%
Job growth, 2025–35
2,300
Openings a year
Bachelor's degree
Typical education
4 years
Typical time after high school
Here's what you actually need to know.
The work
What people in this job do
- Design, or supervise the design of, systems, processes, or equipment for control, management, or remediation of water, air, or soil quality.
- Assess the existing or potential environmental impact of land use projects on air, water, or land.
- Collaborate with environmental scientists, planners, hazardous waste technicians, engineers, experts in law or business, or other specialists to address environmental problems.
- Advise corporations or government agencies of procedures to follow in cleaning up contaminated sites to protect people and the environment.
- Develop proposed project objectives and targets and report to management on progress in attaining them.
The outlook
How the forecast changed this year
The deeper question
What kind of person does this path ask you to become?
What this work centers on
O*NET interest profile, scored 1–7.
The work
Do you want most of your days spent on ideas & analysis, then objects & tools?
Responsibility
Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?
“Design, or supervise the design of, systems, processes, or equipment for control, management, or remediation of water, air, or soil quality.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Writing, Speaking.
Trade-offs
What does it ask of you in exchange?
4 years of education after high school (bachelor's degree), for a median of $107,110 a year and 2,300 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
- Civil EngineeringSee the degree →
- Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental EngineeringCIP 14.0802
- Water Resources EngineeringCIP 14.0805
- Environmental/Environmental Health EngineeringCIP 14.1401
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health$82,220 · +6.1%
- Water/Wastewater Engineers
- Environmental Engineering Technologists and Technicians$59,920 · +3.1%
- Brownfield Redevelopment Specialists and Site Managers
- Environmental Compliance Inspectors
Ask anything about this career.
“Would this make sense if I don't want to sit at a desk all day?” Answers will come from the sources on this page, with citations. Coming soon.
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Sources
- BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34 (archived), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- O*NET 31.0 Database (August 2026), National Center for O*NET Development / U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk, NCES and BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-01.