Emerging Professions: Environmental Engineering
Environmental Engineering
The profession of environmental engineering is an extremely broad field. Environmental engineers perform jobs that are historically important and are also involved in new and emerging fields. The profession includes opportunities for work in both the public and private sectors. There are many related fields of engineering as the opportunities in this field have grown from being a historically public health related field to new exciting opportunities in environmental reclamation and pollution mitigation. As opportunities in the field have grown, so has the need for advanced study and many postgraduate degrees are now available. The job outlook for the field has increased dramatically and with it the median starting salaries and expected salaries after ten years of experience. The profession of environmental engineer can be divided into two distinct areas; the first being focused on public health and the second being focused on development of new technologies to remediate environmental damage. The first area of public health is historically where environmental engineers began their work. Examples of jobs in this area include waste management, pollution control and resource allocation.1 A specific example is the design and construction of a public water system able to bring clean drinking water to a population and then dispose of wastewater in an environmentally sound manner. The area also includes design and implementation of controls in industry to promote industrial hygiene and protection from harmful chemicals and radiation. The second area in which the field has seen a great deal of new growth is in the area of environmental remediation. The collection of harmful particulates from power plants to reduce acid rain, cleaning of oil spills, and development of recycling programs are all areas in which environmental engineers have had success in their fields. The destabilization of ecosystems from the byproducts of modern
The profession of environmental engineering is an extremely broad field. Environmental engineers perform jobs that are historically important and are also involved in new and emerging fields. The profession includes opportunities for work in both the public and private sectors. There are many related fields of engineering as the opportunities in this field have grown from being a historically public health related field to new exciting opportunities in environmental reclamation and pollution mitigation. As opportunities in the field have grown, so has the need for advanced study and many postgraduate degrees are now available. The job outlook for the field has increased dramatically and with it the median starting salaries and expected salaries after ten years of experience. The profession of environmental engineer can be divided into two distinct areas; the first being focused on public health and the second being focused on development of new technologies to remediate environmental damage. The first area of public health is historically where environmental engineers began their work. Examples of jobs in this area include waste management, pollution control and resource allocation.1 A specific example is the design and construction of a public water system able to bring clean drinking water to a population and then dispose of wastewater in an environmentally sound manner. The area also includes design and implementation of controls in industry to promote industrial hygiene and protection from harmful chemicals and radiation. The second area in which the field has seen a great deal of new growth is in the area of environmental remediation. The collection of harmful particulates from power plants to reduce acid rain, cleaning of oil spills, and development of recycling programs are all areas in which environmental engineers have had success in their fields. The destabilization of ecosystems from the byproducts of modern
References: 1McMahon M. 2013. What is Environmental Engineering? [Internet]. Sparks(NV):Conjecture Corporation; [2013, cited 2013 Aug 31] . Available from: http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-environmental-engineering.htm 2What does an Environmental Engineer do? [Internet]. What Does A ___ Do?; [cited 2013 Aug 31] . Available from: http://www.whatdoesado.com/environmental-engineer.htm 3Fineday M. 2012 Apr 14. Environmental engineer salary & career outlook [Internet]. Foster City(CA):Quinstreet, Inc.; [2012 Apr 14, cited 2013 Aug 31] . Available from: http://www.schools.com/news/environmental-engineersalary-career-outlook.html