<p>What exactly would an environmental engineer be doing? Although I haven't been exposed to much of this as a junior in high school, I took earth science freshman year and hated it because I found the topics dry. But I want to get into an engineering field that has a direct impact, like something an Engineers Without Borders would do. Also, I don't necessarily like the idea of physically building and designing things like a civil engineer would do.</p>
<p>I have to admit, I am rather curious myself as to what exactly Environmental Engineering entails. I presume the area is the combination of environmental science and civil engineering, (though I could be wrong), but what does an environmental engineer do?</p>
<p>I am not an environmental engineer but I have worked with a few and am married to one. There is a wide range of things you can do with that background. </p>
<p>My wife works for a high tech company that has some manufacturing capability. She tracks the various hazardous chemicals they use and sees that they are dealt with and disposed of properly. She is also their company safety person. That requires that she reviews their various processes to insure that they can be done in a safe manner. It seems like she is constantly interfacing with some government agency or another all the time. She enjoys the work but it seems a little dry to me. </p>
<p>I worked in the aerospace world including the International Space Station. There were environmental engineers on that project. You had your own environment within the station and you have direct control over it. You needed to make sure you had the proper equipment and monitoring systems to keep things healthy for the astronauts. </p>
<p>Those are just some of things that one can do. I am sure that there are lots more areas within the field. Just do a search of environmental engineering within the job postings online. You’ll find all kinds of things that they do just reading those postings.</p>
<p>Environmental Engineers may be involved with studying how noxious things get into the environment (air or water), what happens when they get into the environment, or how to remove them from the environment (such as the previous poster). The work can be very applied such as implementing engineering solutions to protect the environment, or very basic, such as examining the chemical reactions taking place in the environment. It can be very hands-on, or very theoretical and mathematical, developing models of transport phenomena in the environment. The environmental engineering program may differ at various schools because the programs may develop from a chemical, mechanical, civil, or other basic engineering disciplines.</p>
<p>I know mining has environmental engineers, which is a lucrative industry.</p>