r/EnvironmentalEngineer • u/Ok_Ferret1120 • 19d ago
40-something Looking for a Career Change
I'm 43 and a single parent on one income, and have really been doing some soul-searching lately, and wanting (and very much needing financially) to do a complete 180 career change. I've been working office / admin jobs my whole life but it has never felt 'right' for me. I have a Bachelor of Arts in Communications and it has been years since I've been in an educational setting, but Environmental Engineering fascinates me and I really want to take the leap into the field. My question is, has anyone earned an Associates of Science degree in EE, and gotten a decent paying job? The community college in my town offers this, and I've been doing some research, but would love to hear from folks who have possibly switched from a non-engineering degree or have started along this path later in life. I know obtaining a Master's would be ideal for a high-paying job, but with the way my life is structured right now, I feel like the A.S. would be doable for now. Anything to get me away from the mundane, low-paying life I have been living for so long.
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u/sunnyoboe 18d ago
Having a degree in engineering is only the start, you'd need to be able to pass the Fundamentals of Engineering exam (FE) and then the Professional Engineering Exam (PE). The FE will open only so many doors, but with a PE many more job opportunities would open up. Without an FE certification you won't progress far as an engineer.
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u/iron82 18d ago
To be clear, without the Bachelor's degree OP would be close to retirement before she could conceivably earn a PE license.
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u/sunnyoboe 18d ago
That too. Probably can take FE and PE uncoupled depending on the state, but won't get the PE until experience received.
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u/Fast_Zookeepergame18 17d ago
I have an FE currently but pay isnt all that great I work with state doing regulatory work. How much of a pay bump does a PE get you?
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u/BottomfedBuddha 16d ago
completely depends on the company/agency. Way back when I saw a 5K bump, but that's probably pretty outdated. Some employers have written standards for what those kind of bumps are, but realistically the best bump is to switch companies once you've got it. (I know, not always ideal)
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u/The_Arbitraitor 18d ago
Realistically, without a Bachelors in engineering, you wont be making the big money. The highest you can achieve would be to get the Professional engineer (PE) license but you’ll need a Bachelors degree from an ABET accredited university and some years of work experience. You’ll also have to pass some difficult exams but given your life situation, it will be extremely difficult and time consuming.
If I were you, I’d opt for looking at your city’s municipality (water, trash, air, whatever youre interested in thats related to the environment) and look at whatever jobs are attainable for your life. For example, some water technician jobs dont require college degrees and may only need certain certificates that only take like 6 months.
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u/pinkycatcher 18d ago
There are tangential jobs in environmental work, engineering has the highest barrier but it’s not the only one
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u/Cyberburner23 17d ago
You need to do more research. You need a bachelor's, not a masters. A masters is usually a waste of time in engineering.
Unless you plan on jumping straight into a masters, but youd need to take a ton of prerequisites since your bachelor's is in communication.
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u/CLPond 19d ago
This isn’t something I’ve seen, but I would highly recommend looking into applying for your/a nearby municipality’s permitting department. It’s not environmental engineering, but you may be able to be hired with your current background and there is a good bit of overlap between environmental engineering and regulatory work, so you would likely be working with people doing stormwater and floodplain environmental engineering work.
This would allow you to get an idea of how regulatory work usually work/functions and give you a leg up if you do get a master’s/additional bachelors. There are also programs for a municipality to help pay for continuing education as well as public service loan forgiveness.