<p>Hey,</p>
<p>I think environmental engineering sounds really interesting and I am looking into it more for a career option. Does anybody know anything about it? I wouldnt be in a lab all day would I ? Does it involve a lot of chemistry ? ( dont like chemistry very much) Is the job outlook good and where could I work? </p>
<p>Thanks!!</p>
<p>Environmental engineers have a pretty good outlook according to the BLS:</p>
<p>[Environmental</a> Engineers : Occupational Outlook Handbook : U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics](<a href=“http://www.bls.gov/ooh/architecture-and-engineering/environmental-engineers.htm]Environmental”>http://www.bls.gov/ooh/architecture-and-engineering/environmental-engineers.htm)</p>
<p>I have noticed so far that a lot jobs in Environmental Engineering is consulting businesses to see if they are following environmental regulations set forth by the state or federal government. They test air quality, water quality, etc.</p>
<p>I assume in that position, if something was wrong, the engineer would use engineering principles to help redesign a system that would be less environmentally harmful. This part I don’t know what the job would entail as much.</p>
<p>I have seen some job openings in this field, and a lot of them don’t even ask for the specific degree! Many are fine with a MechE, ChemE, or CivilE degree “or other related field”. Most schools don’t have the specific degree, but rather a minor or an “emphasis” which offers a couple classes or so to take on the subject. For most schools, I have seen the EnvE program in the Civil Engineering department (which would make sense, having to deal with waste management would involve Civil for sure). My school, for an example, is in the ChemE department that offers a few courses and then an accelerated Master’s program. I think ultimately it depended on what you wanted to do. If you wanted to test quality of the air and water for pollution, I’d say ChemE is a better bet but if you wanted to work in Waste Management and possible recycling the CivilE would be better.</p>
<p>This job wouldn’t be in a lab very much. Probably a lot more field work in the sense of actually being outdoors, or in plants checking meters or whatever. It could involve Chemistry, depending on what you’re testing, but it would be more likely to assume that it does. But maybe another smart engineer made a device for you that does the work ;)</p>
<p>Since states have their own regulations on top of the federal ones, you could work in Montana if you wanted. Most jobs I have seen are in California (which probably has a lot more regulations than say, my Republican state of Arizona) and Florida.</p>
<p>Sorry for the essay, but they do more than dealing with regulations from the government. A lot of them work in an Environmental Health and Safety department… for an example, there are environmental engineers who work at Disney World in this department! Can’t say what they would do, but the field appears to be broad.</p>
<p>What the job involves, depends very much on what the job is. But chemistry is surely an essential analysis tool for environmental engineering. You need it for doing tests and for understanding and controlling waste (which in many industrial settings is chemical substances or mixtures) and it’s effects to the environment. That is what environmental engineering is essentially about, studying, controlling, advising and balancing industrial or other human processes (or mainly their material flows and outputs) and practices so that they are less harmful or entirely harmless for the environment, humans and animals.</p>