Last Updated By Ankita Jha on 06 Jan, 2023
Environmental Engineers as a career option is in demand in the current scenario because the impact of humans on the environment is very transparent. Environmental Engineers are professionals that help in protecting the natural world.. Environmental Engineers can choose a wide range of career options as they help in preserving the environment by Water Management, Building Designs, Land Management, Waste Management, etc. The jobs of Environmental Engineers are very particular and crucial as they have to analyze and evaluate the impact of hazardous substances in the water or other things and they also provide solutions or recommendations to rectify the same.
The students who pursue a degree in Environmental Engineering have ideas about chemicals and hazardous materials that can impact the environment negatively and they can provide effective solutions for the same. Environment Engineers as career options also collaborate with environmental scientists, hazardous waste technicians, planners, engineers, and other specialists, such as experts in law and business, to address environmental problems and sustainability.
The role of Environmental Engineers is to protect the environment from all environment-related problems such Soil Erosion, Water Pollution, Air Pollution, etc. They provide solutions for controlling the level of pollution and getting rid of hazardous materials. Environmental Engineering jobs in India primarily involve designing environmental friendly systems for both municipal and industrial water supplies and water treatment. The civil engineers who choose the path of becoming Environmental Engineers help in the construction of buildings, roadways, flyovers, by taking environmental measures into consideration. The students can check some of the common roles of Environmental Engineers as mentioned below.
Preparing Reports
One of the primary tasks of an Environmental Engineer is to prepare, review and update environmental investigation reports for different organizations. These reports help Environmental Engineers to design their plan accordingly.
Designing
As part of the designing aspects of an Environmental Engineer, the job involves designing of several equipment for effective water management, waste disposal management, and also construction of buildings and roads with environmental measures. They also design machines and equipment for air pollution.
Planning
An Environmental Engineer with their scientific knowledge is accountable for obtaining, updating and maintaining plans, permits and standard operating systems. They also act as advisors to the government and corporation authorities in cleaning polluted and contaminated sites.
Inspection
An Environmental Engineer also inspects industrial and municipal facilities and programs. Industrial wastes are the biggest contributor to environmental and hazardous pollution. They inspect every parameter and their job duty also includes providing technical support for environmental remediation projects as well as legal actions.
There are plenty of career options as Environmental Engineer which one can explore depending upon their interest area and profile selected after completing the course. They can be seen working on the environmental impacts of different construction works that take place and provide remedies for controlling the level of pollution and several other aspects. They often visit all these sites, check for prospective problems, and analyze all other aspects. They also verify the legal documents that have been obtained for any construction work and the amount of damage that will be done to the environment. The job roles of an Environmental Engineer are mentioned below in brief:
The candidates need to fulfil the given below eligibility criteria to become an Environmental Engineer:
When and How to Start?
The candidate who has passed class 12th in Science stream can go for B.Tech or BE in Environmental Science. After pursuing a B.Tech in Environmental Engineering, the candidates can apply for a Masters degree in Environmental Engineering. During the Master degree, the candidates can attain a certification course and attend an industrial internship to gain hands-on approach and enhanced expertise in the field.
After completing a degree in Environmental Engineering, the candidates can go for either campus placement or direct interview session to pursue their career as an Environmental Engineer.
The job of Environmental Engineers is challenging as well as fascinating. As the problems related to the environment are increasing, the job opportunities are enormous and the candidates are also willing to take up their profile as Environment Engineers. In order to become an Environmental Engineer, the candidates must follow the following steps:
Step 1: Clear Class XIIth Exam
The students must complete their class XII exam from a recognized board in science stream in any combination such as physics-chemistry-biology-computer science/physics-chemistry-biology/ physics-chemistry-biology-math with minimum of 50% marks.
Step 2: Entrance Exam
There are certain colleges that grant admission on the basis of merit but must grant admission through different competitive entrance examinations. The students must be aware of the fact that in order to study Environmental Engineering technologist courses from top colleges, they will have to qualify entrance examinations. The candidates also need to score good marks in the entrance exam so that they are eligible for the admission in their choice of college. One can check the popular entrance exam for Environmental Engineer Technologist as mentioned below for the reference of the students
Step 3: Pursue Bachelor's Degree
The candidates can pursue graduation in Environmental Engineer Technologist after completing their 10 +2 in science stream. BSc (Bachelor of Science) Specialisations and BE (Bachelor of Engineering) /BTech (Bachelor of Technology) specialisations are the popular streams in Environmental Engineering. Some of the common and famous courses for doing bachelors are mentioned below for becoming Environmental Engineer Technologist.
Step 4: Pursue Post Graduation
The candidates can also opt for a master’s degree in the relevant stream after completing bachelor’s degree in Environmental Engineering. They can also prefer to do a job after completing graduation and can pursue masters at a later stage after dropping a year or two as per the situation. MSc (Master of Science) Specialisations and ME (Master of Engineering) /MTech (Masters of Technology) Specialisations are the popular streams in Environmental Engineering. Some of the common programs for doing masters in Environmental Engineering are mentioned below.
An Environmental Engineer can go for a private or a government based company where they will be responsible to manage and evaluate the different problems related to Environmental Science and develop a cost-effective solution to the problems.
The Environmental Engineers can also pursue their career as a researcher along with other researchers where they can collect chemical samples and formulate how different organisms interact with each other and the environment.
An Environmental Engineer can also become a professor in top universities where they can educate the students about the different theoretical and practical concepts of Environmental Science.
Some of the top recruiting companies/ agencies/ organisations for Environmental Engineers are given below:
The numerous job profiles offered for Environmental Engineers are the main reason for the maximum number of students opting for this course. Some of the popular career opportunities in Environmental Engineering with interesting job profiles are mentioned below.
Apart from their course knowledge about environment, impact on environment by human beings, different hazardous materials, etc. the students must possess additional skills for getting jobs in different sectors. The students can check additional skills as mentioned below:
The work place of Environmental Engineers is dependent on the organization they have selected for giving their service. They work in different settings as per the project they are working on and the kind of people they are interacting with. They adjust with the kind of environment they are exposed to. Sometimes they might work with big corporate houses and design their factories and industries and sometimes they become part of Clean Ganga, Clean Yamuna Project. For all construction related work, they are supposed to be present on construction sites. They might have to travel to different places to carry out projects and they are also responsible for carrying out awareness programs for environmental protection in the form of Lectures, Workshops, Seminars, etc.
The salary structure of Environmental Engineers varies as per their profile and experience. The initial salary may not be very motivating, but once you get experience in this field, there is no looking back. The salary structure also varies with time, place of work, experience or any additional factors.
The pay scale for an Environmental Engineer depends upon the expertise and experience of the engineer. The average pay school for different job roles of an Environmental Engineer on the basis of experience level is given in the table below:
Job Role | Starting Salary Package (INR) | Mid Level Salary Package (INR) | Senior Level Salary Package (INR) |
Biologists | 30,000 | 80,000 | 1,00,000 |
Agricultural Engineers | 40,000 | 70,000 | 1,50,000 |
Geologists | 35,000 | 60,000 | 1,00,000 |
Ecologists | 45,000 | 70,000 | 1,50,000 |
Chemical Engineers | 50,000 | 90,000 | 2,00,000 |
Note: The above-specified payscale is an estimated average package and may vary depending on the expertise of the person and different organisation.
Some of the recommended books and study materials for Environmental Engineers are given below:
Take our test and find out if it suits your strengths.
There are many top environmental engineering colleges in India like Saveetha School of Engineering Chennai, IIT Dhanbad, Amity University Raipur, KL College of Engineering Guntur etc.
Environmental engineers get hired in various government and private companies like IDS Group, UEM Group, Sima Labs Pvt Ltd, Goodrich Corporation, AECOM etc.
Yes, environmental engineers do use maths like trigonometry, algebra, statistics, probability, calculus etc.
Yes, those who think about the well-being of the planet and want to lessen the impact of industries on the planet should definitely pick up environmental engineering as their career.
The major environmental engineering fields are stormwater management, wastewater management, toxic materials control, radiation protection, air pollution control etc.
Environmental engineers are offered various kind of job roles like ecologists, geologists, biologists etc.
Yes, to become an environmental engineer, the candidates must have creative thinking skills along with a set of various other skills like good writing skills, strong project management skills, exceptional problem-solving and analytical skills etc.
An environmental engineer makes around INR 30K and INR 50K per month at the beginning which increases to around INR 1 LPA and INR 2 LPA after a few years.
Yes, usually environmental engineers have the conventional 8 hours job but at certain times they have to out in some extra hours as well.
An environmental engineer finds solutions to environmental problems by using the principles of chemistry, biology, social science and engineering.