<p>I'm an engineering major at a CC & planning to transfer to a 4-year uni in another year. I'm mainly looking at USC, UCSB, & Cal Poly SLO to transfer to. I want a career as an environmental engineer, but I have heard contradicting statements about career opportunities for environmental engineering that have made me reconsider my major. I'm considering Mechanical engineering as my major because I know Mechanical engineering is a very versatile degree that would still allow me to find jobs in other engineering fields such as Bioengineering, Aerospace eng... etc.... But I'm not sure how likely it is for a mechanical engineering degree to open up opportunities in the environmental engineering field.</p>
<p>USC & CalPolySLO both have very different pre-reqs for EE & I will not be able to satisfy both. USC wants a year of Bio while SLO wants a year of O-Chem & a semester of MicroBio. I can only satisfy one school's pre-reqs & if I do satisfy them, there's still a chance that I won't get accepted to that school. So I may not end up getting accepted to either USC or Cal Poly. </p>
<p>The next school I'm considering is UCSB which although has a strong engineering program, does not offer environmental engineering as a major. UCSB is my safety school & if I end up attending there, I will most likely major in Mechanical Engineering.</p>
<p>So how likely is it for a Mechanical Engineering major to land a job as an environmental engineer? PLEASE HELP!!</p>
<p>How about Chemical Engineering? People with Chemical Engineering backgrounds have found jobs in Environmental Engineering. It is also a much more versatile degree than Environmental Engineering.</p>
<p>Chemical Engineering doesn’t really appeal to me. I’ve heard of Civil Engineers getting jobs as Environmental Engineers but UCSB doesn’t offer CE either so it’s likely gonna be Mechanical Engineering if I go there. :/</p>
<p>Of course you can get a job in environmental engineering as a MechE. It just depends on what type of environmental engineering type you are interested in - it’s a huge field with very different areas. MechE is still considered the most versatile eng degree and you’ll find MechE’s in almost any engineering environment. I’m sure there are some niches of Env. Eng that wouldn’t be easy to get into from mechE though, so again, it depends on what you really want to do.</p>
<p>My Mech E son has worked in prototype/new product design, including in the water purification field. My Chem E son works in envorinmental/air quality/analytical lad instrument development. You might want to look at job postings for jobs you might be interested in and see what classwork/skill set you need. For example, if you are going to need chemcad, then take the Chem E degree.</p>