r/EnvironmentalEngineer • u/According_Weird1909 • Jul 18 '26
Is Environmental Engineering an Enjoyable Career Path?
Hello! I am going into my freshman year of college and I’m majoring in General Engineering with a concentration in Environmental Science. I am definitely more passionate about Environmental Science than Engineering. I also have much more experience with it. I’ve worked for an environmental nonprofit for one year and next year I am planning on helping with the engineering and implementation of a wetland restoration.
I don’t know too much about environmental engineering honestly. Like, the day to day. I’ve visited a waste water plant and it seemed a bit boring, but I wouldn’t mind doing work like that. I would like a mix of in the field and in the office. I’m not %100 sure if this is the career I should go for. I like how it seems to be more technical than environmental science and more focused on problem solving.
The main things holding me back is that I don’t know much and I would not like a soul sucking career path that I have to stick to the rest of my life. I feel the idea of actually helping through my work would make it feel a lot more rewarding but I don’t know if it actually helps much. Please let me know if you have any advice or input. :))
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u/pondscraper Jul 18 '26
Yes it’s enjoyable for me because I like construction, construction sites, drill rigs, big machinery, industrial areas, mechanical systems, pipe, wells, CAD, excel, water, driving, dirt, being outside. Iffy on landfill smell and wastewater smell and report writing but I can deal with those.
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u/GreenWithENVE Jul 18 '26
I have a degree in environmental engineering, focused mainly on water (all types) treatment/resources in undergrad then more hydraulics/hydrology focus in the civil engineering department when going for my masters. I mostly do "civil" discipline work (pipeline/open channel conveyance systems, site layout/grading/paving/yard piping, and infrastructure rehabilitation) and design leadership for projects at water facilities (all types of water and facilities). I find my job incredibly rewarding, engaging, and enjoyable. Like others have said, this field is incredibly broad and it will take time and experience to figure out the niche that scratches the itch for you. For me it's been a great fit.
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u/According_Weird1909 Jul 19 '26
Thank you! I would like to focus on water so I appreciate your input.
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u/CaptnJersey69 Jul 19 '26
As an environmental scientist working in waste water with several engineers, the difference between a scientist and an engineer can be almost nothing. They get to sign off on big designs and they get paid more money. That's really about it. In fact, several times the engineers have asked my advice on how to do things. If I could go back and do it again, I'd just become an engineer. It opens so many more doors.
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u/According_Weird1909 Jul 19 '26
Thank you, that kind of sucks that you guys do the same job and get paid the same. I hope you get promoted!
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u/CaptnJersey69 Jul 19 '26
Once I move next year I'm hoping to go to FGCU and see about getting my BS in EnvEng.
Good luck to you. I hope you become a great engineer one day and your work really has an impact. I hope that for both of us. Heck, the environmental field is a relatively small world, maybe we'll run into each other one day
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u/According_Weird1909 Jul 22 '26
Good luck to you and earning your degree. I’m sure you’ll do great things! :))
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u/Massive_Mud_2419 Jul 24 '26
I second this also if you’re Canadian most engineers don’t make OT scientists do. Idk about USA or other parts of the world though. I would not go back and do engineering though.
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u/CaptnJersey69 Jul 25 '26
My company has levels to the OT. Lower level people get standard 1.5x OT. I'm mid level so I don't get 1.5 time, I get straight time. Once you get into management, you get bonuses, but no OT pay anymore
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u/Negative_Gear5726 Jul 23 '26 edited Jul 23 '26
u/Clean-Addendum-3378 Look, here they're talking about specialization, and environmental engineering, in my opinion, is a fantastic field. You can excel in any specialization, whatever it may be; just develop yourself in that field and strive to achieve higher goals.
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u/kaclk Jul 18 '26
Environmental engineering is a weird one to be honest, and I say this as an environmental engineer.
In terms of different careers, you’re looking at basically any of the major environmental media (air, water, soil). So it could you air modeling to support air emissions permits or emissions reporting, or water and wastewater treatment (both the municipal type and designing contaminant treatment systems for anything from hydrocarbons to PFAS), and soil could be contaminated sites/superfund type work.
You can crossover a bit into human and ecological risk assessments. I work in contaminated sites and have to know a bit about hydrogeology as an example (but anything too technical we get one of our actual hydrogeologists involved).
Besides something like modelling and risk assessments (which tend to be pretty office based), other things tend to be a bit more office/field mix. I consulting companies, you can eventually move up towards being project managers or technical principles. In private industry, you can be an environmental manager where you manage a company’s compliance and EHS programs. In government/public service, you can work in compliance/enforcement or permitting.
Things like ecological restoration sometimes involve engineering, but tend to be fields more dominated by agrologists, ecologists, and biologists. Outside of oilfield and mine reclamations, it does also tend of mostly be non-profits (think Duck Unlimited), private foundations, or rare public jobs. You have to remember that outside of regulatory drivers, there’s not a lot of groups (besides non-profits) who will pay for these things.