---
title: "Environmental Engineer"
description: "Research, design, plan, or perform engineering duties in the prevention, control, and remediation of environmental hazards using various engineering…"
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/environmental-engineer"
last-updated: "2026-10-09T10:57:55.138Z"
---

# Environmental Engineer

**Category:** Architecture and Engineering · **SOC code:** 17-2081 · **O\*NET-SOC code:** 17-2081.00

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.

Also advertised as: Air Pollution Control Engineer; Engineer; Engineering Consultant; Environmental Analyst; Environmental Consultant; Environmental Engineer; Environmental Remediation Specialist; Hazardous Substances Engineer.

## At a glance

- **Median annual wage:** $107,110 (BLS OEWS, May 2025)
- **Median hourly wage:** $51.50/hr
- **Wage range (10th–90th percentile):** $69,990 to $162,220, with the middle half between $83,570 and $134,420
- **Total US employment:** 38,340
- **Typical entry education:** Bachelor's
- **Preparation required:** Medium preparation — O\*NET rates this "Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed"
- **Projected growth:** +6.3% over 2025–2035 (BLS EP, 2025–2035)
- **Annual job openings:** 2,300 openings a year
- **AI-resilience score:** 38/100 — a NueCareer heuristic over O\*NET work activities and context, not a BLS or O\*NET figure

## Pay

National wage distribution, BLS OEWS, May 2025, across 38,340 US jobs.

| Percentile | Annual wage |
| --- | --- |
| 10th | $69,990 |
| 25th | $83,570 |
| 50th (median) | $107,110 |
| 75th | $134,420 |
| 90th | $162,220 |
| Mean (average) | $112,910 |

### Pay by state

The 15 highest-paying states, by median annual wage. The cost-of-living-adjusted column divides the state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity, so the columns answer different questions: the first is what the job pays there, the second is what that pay buys there.

| State | Median annual wage | Cost-of-living adjusted | Employment |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| LA | $130,510 | $147,959 | 340 |
| CA | $130,410 | $117,784 | 4,550 |
| OR | $127,100 | $122,967 | 650 |
| WA | $125,460 | $117,238 | 1,920 |
| TX | $123,060 | $126,791 | 1,940 |
| NE | $120,620 | $133,869 | 270 |
| ID | $117,520 | $123,065 | 400 |
| FL | $116,840 | $112,983 | 1,800 |
| MA | $115,800 | $109,496 | 1,880 |
| MN | $115,750 | $117,369 | 1,080 |
| CT | $114,710 | $110,713 | 450 |
| OH | $113,180 | $121,995 | 730 |
| AK | $110,220 | $107,680 | 260 |
| NV | $109,720 | $109,743 | 290 |
| NM | $108,360 | $117,512 | 500 |

36 more states with published wage data are omitted here. The full table for all 51 states is at https://nuecareer.com/careers/environmental-engineer/salary-by-state, or as JSON at https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/environmental-engineer.

## Outlook

BLS projects employment to move from 39,100 in the 2025–2035 base year to 41,600 by the end of the cycle — a gain of 2,400 jobs, or +6.3%. Faster than average: 6.3% against 3.5% projected for all occupations over the same cycle. About 2,300 openings a year are expected on average, counting openings from growth as well as from workers leaving the occupation permanently. Source: BLS EP, 2025–2035.

## How to get in

- **Typical entry education:** Bachelor's degree (BLS Employment Projections).
- **Preparation level:** Medium preparation — O\*NET's preparation band for this occupation is "Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed".
- **Related work experience typically required:** None.
- **Typical on-the-job training:** None.

### Education people in this job actually hold

O\*NET surveys incumbents, so this distribution describes who is in the job today and can differ from the BLS entry requirement above.

| Education level | Share of workers |
| --- | --- |
| Bachelor's Degree | 61.9% |
| Master's Degree | 28.6% |
| Associate's Degree or other 2-year degree | 4.8% |
| Post-Baccalaureate Certificate | 4.8% |

## What the work involves

- Design, or supervise the design of, systems, processes, or equipment for control, management, or remediation of water, air, or soil quality.
- Assess the existing or potential environmental impact of land use projects on air, water, or land.
- Collaborate with environmental scientists, planners, hazardous waste technicians, engineers, experts in law or business, or other specialists to address environmental problems.
- Develop proposed project objectives and targets and report to management on progress in attaining them.
- Prepare or present public briefings on the status of environmental engineering projects.
- Assist in budget implementation, forecasts, or administration.
- Obtain, update, or maintain plans, permits, or standard operating procedures.
- Request bids from suppliers or consultants.

## Skills and knowledge

### Essential skills

- Reading Comprehension — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Listening — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Writing — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Speaking — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Critical Thinking — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Monitoring — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Learning — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Mathematics — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Transferable skills

These are the skills that carry into other occupations, and they drive the related-occupation and career-change rankings on this site.

- Complex Problem Solving — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Judgment and Decision Making — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Coordination — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Systems Analysis — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Systems Evaluation — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Time Management — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Social Perceptiveness — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Persuasion — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Knowledge areas

- Engineering and Technology — importance 5.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Design — importance 4.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Chemistry — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Mathematics — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Building and Construction — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- English Language — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Abilities

- Oral Comprehension — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Written Comprehension — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Oral Expression — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Written Expression — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Problem Sensitivity — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Deductive Reasoning — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

## Who it suits

O\*NET rates every occupation on the six Holland (RIASEC) interest areas, on a 1–7 scale. This occupation's strongest areas are Investigative (I), Realistic (R), Conventional (C).

| Interest area | Score (1–7) |
| --- | --- |
| I — Investigative | 6.10 |
| R — Realistic | 5.17 |
| C — Conventional | 4.59 |
| E — Enterprising | 3.17 |
| S — Social | 2.22 |
| A — Artistic | 1.96 |

### Personality fit

These scores are **derived by NueCareer**, not published by any government agency: they are cosine similarities between a personality type's trait profile and this occupation's O\*NET interest and work-style ratings, expressed 0–100. Treat them as a starting point for exploration, not as evidence that a type belongs in a job.

| Type | Fit score (0–100) |
| --- | --- |
| ISTJ | 88.7 |
| INTJ | 83.2 |
| ISTP | 81.8 |
| ESTJ | 67.5 |
| INTP | 64.2 |

Best-fitting types: ISTJ.

## Related occupations

O\*NET's primary related occupations, in its own ranked order.

- [Environmental Scientist and Specialist, Including Health](https://nuecareer.com/careers/environmental-scientist-and-specialist) — median $82,220
- [Water/Wastewater Engineer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/water-wastewater-engineer) — median $100,840
- [Environmental Engineering Technologist and Technician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/environmental-engineering-technologist-and-technician) — median $59,920
- [Brownfield Redevelopment Specialist and Site Manager](https://nuecareer.com/careers/brownfield-redevelopment-specialist-and-site-manager) — median $141,900
- [Environmental Compliance Inspector](https://nuecareer.com/careers/environmental-compliance-inspector) — median $80,730
- [Environmental Science and Protection Technician, Including Health](https://nuecareer.com/careers/environmental-science-and-protection-technician) — median $55,090
- [Industrial Ecologist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/industrial-ecologist) — median $82,220
- [Water Resource Specialist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/water-resource-specialist) — median $167,220
- [Civil Engineer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/civil-engineer) — median $100,840
- [Conservation Scientist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/conservation-scientist) — median $73,010

## Sources

- **O\*NET** — O\*NET 31.0 Database, August 2026. https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html
- **BLS OEWS** — BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. https://www.bls.gov/oes/
- **BLS EP** — BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2, 2025–2035. https://www.bls.gov/emp/
- **BLS OOH** — BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2025–2035 edition. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/
- **BEA RPP** — BEA Regional Price Parities by State, 2024. https://www.bea.gov/data/prices-inflation/regional-price-parities-state-and-metro-area

---

This bank includes information from the O\*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). O\*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. NueCareer has transformed the data by joining it to BLS wage and projection data and deriving facet, personality-fit and AI-resilience scores. BLS and BEA data are public domain (17 U.S.C. §105).

O\*NET content is used under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). How these figures are sourced and derived: https://nuecareer.com/careers/methodology

JSON representation of this page: https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/environmental-engineer