Environmental Engineering - Careers, Salary, Jobs, Scope

Brief Summary

Why ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING?

The environmental engineers study about the environment and reasons for its deterioration. They evaluate and develop regulations to prevent more loss to the environment through the study of environmental engineering.

Environmental engineering is a branch of engineering concerned with the application of engineering principles for the protection of the environmental conditions and quality from ill-effects of natural and human activities.

Environmental engineers work indoors as well as outdoors. Indoors they would study samples of soil, researching, preparing reports and much more. Outdoor work is usually of supervising, collecting and carrying out solutions or samples at the construction site.

Environmental Engineers on an average work up to 40- 50 hours a week depending upon the project. They usually work with government departments, environmental engineering consulting firms, property managing companies, colleges or universities or research institutes.

ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING: Jobs and Career Opportunities

After completion of this specialization, the student/candidate has several job prospects/ career opportunities, some of them are listed below.

• Air Quality Engineer

An air quality engineer is also known as an air pollution control engineer. They develop methods to analyze and control the air pollution by monitoring and control pollution with the help of the modern equipment.They usually work in government organizations, private organizations and consulting agencies.On average they are offered Rs.5 to Rs.8 lakh per annum.

• Environmental Auditor

An environmental auditor’s job is to collect data and review the overall operation of the business that has to take place. They have to prepare the final audit report, give recommendations for improvement, find new ways and manage the plans to develop the business. They usually work at Consulting firms, government departments, manufacturing companies or private resource-based companies. On average and environmental auditor is offered a salary of Rs.4 Lakh to Rs.5 lakh per annum.

• Land use planner

A Land use planner creates method and plan for the development of the land. Ensure that there are proper regularity and policy and no miss management. They conduct a regular site inspection and look after the construction progress. Land use planner usually works at architectural, constructional consultancies or at Government development firms.A student having a bachelor’s degree in environmental science or Geography is suitable for this profession. The average salary offered to land use plan is around Rs.4 lakh per annum.

• Ecologist

An ecologist studies the environment and the ill effects on it, for example, pollution, greenhouse effect etc. With help of modern methods and applications they try to conserve the environment and maintain an ecological balance. An ecologist usually works in an agricultural firm, forestry, nature conservation firms or research institutes, pollution control firms, environmental education institutes etc. An average salary paid to an ecologist is around Rs. 3.5 lakh to Rs.4 lakh per annum.

• Hydrogeologist

A hydrogeologist is a person who studies the distribution of water that moves under the Earth surface. They may work with the government, private firms, third sector organizations, educational institutes etc. They work both indoors and outdoors. On an average, a hydrogeologist is offered the salary of Rs.4 lakh to Rs.5 lakh per annum.

Some other job profiles-

• Geography Experts
• Sustainable Architect
• Public Health Expert
• Water Treatment Technician
• Hazardous Waste Management Professional
• Solid Waste Management Professional

ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING: Salary

The average salary offered to an Environmental engineer is Rs. 367,663 per annum. A fresher is offered around Rs. 180,000 per annum. In this field experience strongly influences the income, having a skill in engineering design and Microsoft office increases the pay. An experienced environmental engineer is offered Rs.6 Lakh and upwards per annum.

ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING: Recruiters

This specialization has a number of recruiters who are both government and private. Some of them are listed below.

• ION Exchange India Ltd
• BGR Energy Systems Ltd
• ATE Envirotech Pvt Ltd
• Va Tech Wabag Ltd
• IL&FS Ltd
• Batlibio
• Hitachi
• Piramal
• Tatva
• Wipro
• Ramky

Specializations

The candidates can opt for various specializations; different specializations and their job descriptions are listed and explained below.

• Air Quality Specialist

Air quality specialist job is to monitor and control emissions from the industry. They study and provide air quality report. An air quality specialist must have both technical and practical skills which he needs to apply while they work. They work towards the development of air quality and control programs and regulations. They work at government firms, manufacturing and other industrial firms.

• Environmental Remediation

An environmental remediation specialist works towards removal of pollution from the environment parts such as soil and water under the surface of the earth, sediments, water above the surface of the earth.

Initially, it involves evaluation and analysis of the site from where the contamination is to be removed and then with the help of various remediation technologies and methods they remove the contamination. On average an environmental remediation specialist may be offered a salary of Rs.7 lakh to Rs.9 lakh per annum.

• Hazardous Waste Management

A hazardous waste management specialist is also known as hazardous waste management engineer. They identify, collect, handle and safely remove the hazardous waste. They work with ideas, solutions and various equipments to reduce hazardous waste. They work both indoor and outdoor. They need to have organization skills, technical, management and decision-making skills. On an average, they are offered a salary of Rs.3 lacs to Rs.5 lacs per annum.

ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING: Syllabus

The B.Tech degree with specialization Environmental engineering is a 4-year degree which is divided into 7 semesters. The full syllabus is given below.

Popular Colleges offering ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING

Colleges offering environmental engineering as specialization in India are listed below.

Requirements for ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING

For B.Tech in Environmental Engineering, a candidate should pass 10+2 from an affiliated university and should have studied Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics (PCM) as mandatory subjects.

For M.Tech in Environmental Engineering, is concerned a candidate must qualify B.E/B.Tech with minimum 60% or equivalent CGPA.

A typical entry-level job qualification for environmental engineers is a bachelor’s degree.

Apart from the educational qualification as stated above a candidate applying for this specialization must have certain skills such as analytical and technical skill, problem solving, computer usage, decision making, good communication skills, good planning and organizing skills and last but not the least is to enjoy their work which is both technical, scientific activities.

Why should you choose ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING?

At present, environmental engineering is one of the most exciting aspects of environmental studies as compared to other specializations in engineering. It also offers a lucrative salary package. Keeping in mind the current scenario, Environmental Engineering has immense potential and scope in the near future it will help to increase awareness not only at local level but also globally.

In India, as “Clean India” is the major project and sanitation being the number one priority, Environmental Engineering has a bright future here. Employment of environmental engineers is stated to grow 8% from 2016 to 2026 at local as well as global level.