UGA Specific Information for Environmental Engineering

Engineering is about creating new solutions to existing or future problems. Engineers are problem solvers who employ science, math, analysis and synthesis to design unique and practical solutions to everyday problems. They must accomplish this often under the constraints of time, budgets, and safety and health issues. Engineers also must be concerned about the environmental, political and social impact their answers will create.

The environmental engineering discipline integrates science and engineering principles to improve the natural environment (air, water, and/or land resources), to provide healthy water, air, and land for human habitation (house or home) and for other organisms, and to remediate pollution sites. It involves waste water management and air pollution control, recycling, waste disposal, radiation protection, industrial hygiene, environmental sustainability, and public health issues as well as a knowledge of environmental engineering law. It also includes studies on the environmental impact of proposed construction projects. 



Class of 2022 Career Outcomes for Environmental Engineering*

** Includes Self-Employed


Campus Resources


Additional UGA Career Center Recommendations/Considerations

Potential Careers Paths in Environmental Engineering

  • Environmental Engineer: Research, design, plan, or perform engineering duties in the prevention, control, and remediation of environmental hazards using various engineering disciplines. Work may include waste treatment, site remediation, or pollution control technology.

  • Water Resources Engineer: Design new systems and equipment that help manage human water resources, including in water treatment facilities, underground wells, and natural spring. Increase the effectiveness and efficiency of water treatment and aquatic resource management.

  • Process Engineer: Design, implement, and optimize chemical and biochemical processes, especially continuous flow ones on an industrial scale. Turn raw materials, such as oil, natural gas or milk, into an end product (e.g. drugs, cosmetics, gasoline, beer, butter, etc.). 

  • Consultant: Solve business problems, using their own expertise in problem-solving, combined with an extensive support network of industry, function and local experts, as well as other specialists. Gather data and insights, run analyses, make presentations and pitch solutions. 

  • Engineering Consultant: Participate in project teams, offer professional advice in terms of delivering services to clients, coordinate the activities of all other team members, including those from different fields of expertise. May work with a firm or through freelance. 

  • Environmental Health Research Scientist: Analyze pressing environmental problems and develop solutions with the goal of improving public health outcomes and to protect both the environment and people. Find sources of pollution and determine possibilities to ensure the ultimate safety of those affected by pollution. 

  • Air Quality Engineer: Develop techniques to analyze and control air pollution by using sophisticated monitoring, chemical analysis, computer modeling, and statistical analysis. Some may design or modify pollution control equipment. 

  • Hydrologist: Study how water interacts with the earth's crust and also how precipitation affects people by influencing river levels or groundwater availability. Investigate contaminated sites to assess how water flow might disperse pollutants or how polluted water can be remediated. 

  • Field Engineer: Inspect and install equipment and new technologies, direct crews or workers on site, conduct research, and report on project status. Field engineers will make sure that everything works smoothly and engineering designs are being followed. 

  • Municipal Engineer: Management of public structures and services that are provided by a local government, which can include the construction and administration of public roads, sewers, waste management facilities, and parks. 

  • Wastewater Engineer: Design or oversee projects involving provision of potable water, disposal of wastewater and sewage, or prevention of flood-related damage. Prepare environmental documentation for water resources, regulatory program compliance, data management and analysis, and field work. Perform hydraulic modeling and pipeline design. 

  • Project Engineer: Plan, organize, and oversee the construction of civil engineering projects. Direct the construction of roads, bridges, dams, pipelines, airports and other structures, and gas, water, and sewer systems. 

  • Design Engineer: Focus on the science of how things are made, are involved with the planning, designing, and improvement of concepts, and oversee the projects from their concepts to their completion. "Design engineer" encompasses a broad range of roles, including those at hydroelectric power plants, vacuums, wind turbines, etc. Work with clients to create projects and comply with regulations. 

  • Civil Engineer: Perform engineering duties in planning, designing, and overseeing construction and maintenance of building structures and facilities, such as roads, railroads, airports, bridges, harbors, channels, dams, irrigation projects, pipelines, power plants, and water and sewage systems. 

Additional Job Titles: staff engineer, staff water engineer, renewable development analyst, stormwater management plan reviewer, civil designer 

Supplemental Career Research Dashboard

Additional Career Research Resources

  • O*NET: The O*NET database includes information on skills, abilities, knowledges, work activities, and interests associated with over 900 occupations.
  • Occupational Outlook Handbook: The OOH can help you find career information on duties, education and training, pay, and outlook for hundreds of occupations.
  • Firsthand: Explore a library of guides, articles, and other resources to help you explore careers, plan your job search, and learn about different work environments. Create a free account with your UGA email.
  • Candid Career: Watch recorded informational interviews of professionals in specific careers. Filter videos by career title, college major, industry, and more. Scroll down our Resources page to access Candid Career for free through UGA.
  • Interstride: View jobs/internship in other countries and country career guides. Scroll down our Resources page to access Interstride for free through UGA.
  • UGA Mentor Program: Networking with your Bulldog family can help you get ahead in life and career, and the UGA Mentor Program connects students to alumni mentors for personal and professional development.
  • Glassdoor: Glassdoor is a free jobs and career community that offers the world an inside look at jobs and companies. What sets us apart is our "employee generated content" – anonymous salaries, company reviews, interview questions, and more – all posted by employees, job seekers, and sometimes the companies themselves. Now with nearly 3 million salaries and reviews, you have all the information you might need to make your next career decision/.
  • Big Interview: Online practice interview platform. Practice basic interview questions or questions based on your industry interests or competencies! Also provides practice interview questions for graduate/professional schools. Scroll down our Resources page to access Big Interview for free through UGA.
  • Career Cornerstone Center: Career planning resources for STEM field.

Employment Websites

GENERAL: 

  • Handshake - Login with your UGA myID and password to view thousands of jobs/internships from employers looking for UGA students
  • LinkedIn - Network with professionals and view job openings
  • Interstride - Job/internship openings in countries abroad as well as country career guides providing information about finding employment in other countries
  • Specialized - Check out Idealist for jobs in the Nonprofit sector and USAJobs for opportunities in the federal government

MAJOR/ENGINEERING-SPECIFIC:


Professional Associations/Resources

ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER-FRIENDLY PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS

ADDITIONAL ENGINEERING PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

COMPANY & SALARY RESEARCH - Career Bliss • GlassDoor • Salary.com

LINKEDIN GROUPS - Join LinkedIn groups that are relevant to your career interests.  To search, select "groups" & type in your keywords.  Review the groups that professionals in your field of interest have joined & consider joining those as well. To login, visit the LinkedIn main page. 

Employers/Position Title Reported by Class of 2022 Environmental Engineering majors

The information below represents employers and position titles from the Class of 2022 Career Outcomes Survey. To view historical Career Outcomes for this major, click here and select "Historical Data" from the navigation menu.

Employer Position Title(s)
Atkins Engineer I
Atlantic Coast Consulting Staff Engineer
BGE Engineer I
Breedlove Land Planning Civil Engineer in Training
Brown & Caldwell Process Mechanical Engineer
CDM Smith Civil Engineer
Citibank Quantitative Analyst
EMC Engineering Services, Inc. Junior Design Engineer
Freese and Nichols Engineer I
Manhattan Associates Software Engineer
Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, LLC Associate Environmental Engineer
Southern Company Gas Renewable Dev Analyst
Stantec Environmental Engineer
Thompson Ehle Company Civil Designer
Triple Point Engineering Project Engineer
VHB Transportation Design Intern
Virginia Department of Environmental Quality Environmental Specialist II, Stormwater Management Plan Reviewer
* denotes no responses received.
*Source: Areas above marked with an Asterisk (*) have been created utilizing data taken from the UGA Career Outcomes Survey. The "Employers Hiring...," "Job Titles of...," "Career Outcomes for...," and "Graduate/Professional Schools and Programs..." information listed above represent UGA Class of 2022 Graduates. The lists are not exhaustive and therefore do not represent all potential career options. Click here for more detailed Career Outcomes information regarding this major.

Graduate/Professional Schools attended by Class of 2022 Environmental Engineering majors

The information below represents graduate/professional schools and programs reported through the Class of 2022 Career Outcomes Survey. To view historical Career Outcomes for this major, click here and select "Historical Data" from the navigation menu.

Graduate School Program(s)
University of Georgia Nonprofit Management and Leadership, MA
University of Georgia Not Specified, Master's
University of Georgia Business Administration, MBA
University of Georgia Civil Environmental Engineering, MS
University of Georgia Civil Environmental Engineering, MS
University of Georgia Engineering, MS
University of Georgia Environmental Engineering, MS
University of Texas at Austin Environmental and Water Resources Engineering
* denotes no responses received.