What Can I Do With a Major In Environmental Engineering?

• Connect with Kyle Chiu, your Career Consultant.
• Connect with your Academic Advisors.
• School of Environmental, Civil, Agricultural, and Mechanical Engineering

CAMPUS ORGANIZATIONS

• Society of Environmental Engineers (SEE) • American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) • Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) • Society of Women Engineers (SWE) • National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) • Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers (SASE)
• Find additional clubs and organizations here. 

ADDITIONAL TRAINING

Certificate of Coastal & Oceanographic Engineering • Sustainability Certificate • Undergraduate Certificate in Water Resources • Graduate Certificate in Atmospheric Sciences • Environmental Ethics Certificate Program

To learn more about working for the federal government, review our Federal Careers page.

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 

O*NET Online – The O*NET database includes information on skills, abilities, knowledge, work activities, and interests associated with over 900 occupations.  

My Next Move – An interactive tool for students and job seekers to learn more about their career options.  

Occupational Outlook Handbook – The OOH is a career resource offering information on the hundreds of occupations that provide most of jobs in the United States.  

Vault – Vault.com provides in-depth intelligence on what it’s really like to work in an industry, company, or profession – and how to position yourself to land that job.  

Candid Career – This resource provides you with access to thousands of informational video interviews with real professionals through an easy-to-use website.  

UGA Mentor Program – Connect with a mentor (alumni, faculty, staff) to research and explore industries and careers. Research industries and careers by connecting with a mentor for a quick chat or formal 16-week mentorship through the UGA Mentor Program.  

Interstride - Interstride is an interactive tool for both international and domestic students to enhance their international experience and employment potential. The platform consists of job-listings, hiring trends, employer information, self-assessments, and up-to-date immigration guidance. 

Glassdoor - Glassdoor is a free jobs and career community that offers an inside look at jobs and companies through "employee generated content" – anonymous salaries, company reviews, interview questions, and more – all posted by employees and job seekers.  

Steppingblocks - Research your future career with real-world stats about your major, your interests, and your dream job title with career and education searches designed to find your best path based on millions of others. It’s data-powered career exploration for doers like you.

GENERAL: 

• Handshake (scroll down to the bottom of the page; login with your UGA MyID and password)  

• LinkedIn (this popular networking site also has a job board!) 

• Idealist (non-profit jobs) 

• USAJobs (federal jobs) 

MAJOR/ENGINEERING-SPECIFIC:

• American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists Career Center
• Environmental Job Board
• Environmental Protection Agency Careers
• American Society of Civil Engineers Career Connections
• Engineering Jobs, Job Source, Technical Jobs
• Engineering Jobs
• Engineering.com Jobs 
• Career Cast: IT & Engineering Job Board
• Agricultural Engineering Positions

ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER-FRIENDLY PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS

• American Academy of Environmental Engineers • American Society of Civil Engineers • National Society of Professional Engineers

ADDITIONAL ENGINEERING PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

• American Institute of Chemical Engineers • American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers • American Society of Mechanical Engineers • American Society of Naval Engineers • Association for Computing Machinery • American Society of Safety Professionals • Biomedical Engineering Society • Institute of Biological Engineering • Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers • Institute of Transportation Engineers • National Academy of Forensic  Engineers • National Society of Black Engineers • Institute of Industrial & Systems Engineers • Society of American Military Engineers • Society of Automotive Engineers • Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers • Society of Manufacturing Engineers • Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers • Society of Petroleum Engineers • Society of Women Engineers

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.