<p>I'm a high school junior researching colleges, majors, etc. I am most likely going to major in some sort of engineering field, and am interested in environmental and civil engineering. However, I don't know anybody who is in the field (or in any engineering field) and so I was wondering if anybody could tell me more about the majors/careers. </p>
<p>I'd like to work in engineering design/management/consulting or go to graduate school and work in academia. </p>
<p>I'm an international student and am female. I've got good stats but not enough for HYPSM. (2340 SAT, 3.8 GPA, mediocre EC's, etc.) </p>
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<li>What are the job prospects like for environmental engineers? </li>
<li>What are the working conditions like? Generally indoor/outdoor? Messy? Requiring lots of physical activity? Working hours? In teams/individually?</li>
<li>Would it be better to major in a more general field like civil engineering and focus on environmental engineering or just major in environmental engineering?</li>
<li>Are there many women in environmental/civil engineering? (Relative to other STEM fields)</li>
<li>How difficult would it be for an international student to obtain an environmental engineering job in the U.S.? I know it's difficult regardless of major but I would like to know the specifics. Would it give me an edge over other less specialized majors?</li>
<li>How much difference would a master's or ph.d. make in employment/salary/etc.? </li>
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<p>Job prospects for civil and environmental engineers is really good spurred by the need for better infrastructure in both public and private domains.</p>
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<p>You can find design work inside but both civil and environmental engineers typically have to venture outside once in a while due to the projects they are on. Some are really messy (waste water treatment) but others aren’t too bad. Some require physical activity while others dont. Working hours typically 8-5. Team/individual really based on the company.</p>
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<p>I don’t think civil and environmental engineering are too similar. I would find what you like best and go for that as a major if you can.</p>
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<p>Civil is heavily guys, particularly in construction management. environmental not too bad.</p>
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<p>Really difficult. You typically need to get a Professionals Engineer which requires you to be a US PR or citizen. You might be able to snag a job at a top corporate office which typically don’t look too heavily on PE certification.</p>
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<p>This number should be somewhere but I can’t find it. Take a look online or maybe someone else has it.</p>
Due to its nature, infrastructure - mostly owned by the public and government - tend to be unionized so it’s really hard to get into unless you know someone, let alone an international student. It’s really hard to get into since due to economic collapse have been giving people early retirement in place of keeping the younger ones (but not hiring). </p>
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The bigger parsons/ch2mhill type of firms most of the time act as a consultant to government/public agencies. So due to its nature of the industry, the ones who have been able to snag a job at these corporate - at least from my observations - are people with contacts at public agencies or who have experience in public agencies. </p>
<p>One example, an old coworker who used to work on major lightrail project for MTA was snagged by AECOM recently for a sr level position. Just because he knows the system works.</p>
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These days for an international, close to impossible.</p>