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03.10

Environmental Engineering Poised for Growth in United States

By John R. Platt

Times are tight and traditional electrical engineering jobs are becoming scarcer. But some specialties are doing better than others, and one area you might consider to maximize your future job potential is environmental engineering, according to Laurence Shatkin, author of the new book, 200 Best Jobs for Renewing America (JIST Publishing, 2009). In fact, of the "green" careers with the highest job growth listed in Shatkin's book, environmental engineers took the top slot.

"I am very bullish on engineering careers, and environmental engineers have a particularly promising outlook right now," says Shatkin, who spoke to Today's Engineer from his New Jersey office.

In his book, Shatkin cites research from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) which foresaw a 25.4 percent increase in environmental engineering jobs over the ten years from 2006 to 2016. That's not bad at all, but Shatkin says the actual prospects are even better.  "The outlook for environmental engineers has actually improved since I wrote the book," he says. "The BLS now projects 30.6% growth between 2008 and 2018."  This translates to an additional 16,600 environmental engineering jobs expected to be created in the United States during that decade.

Meanwhile, the BLS predicts around 11 percent growth predicted overall for engineering jobs, and just 2 percent for electrical engineers.

According to the BLS, changes in business models will spur the need for environmental engineers, causing the field to grow faster than the average growth for all other occupations. As the BLS reports, "More environmental engineers will be needed to help companies comply with environmental regulations and to develop methods of cleaning up environmental hazards. A shift in emphasis toward preventing problems rather than controlling those which already exist, as well as increasing public health concerns resulting from population growth, also are expected to spur demand for environmental engineers."

"The nation is starting to pay greater attention to environmental issues,” says Shatkin, who says politics play a role in part of this growth, starting with an administration that is more active in enforcing environmental regulations.

But how will this growth translate into actual jobs? "The BLS expects that the largest area of growth will be in technical consulting services," says Shatkin. "85 percent growth is projected for that sector. Another specialization with high growth, 37 percent, will be waste treatment and disposal."

Within traditional engineering specialties, computing and software engineers will continue to be in high demand, says Shatkin. "One high-growth industry, with 42 percent growth projected, is computer systems design and related services. Many environmental engineering jobs will focus on developing computer systems to model future environmental impacts and cleanup projects, and also to monitor and assess present environmental conditions," he says.

Engineers with environmental specialties will not only find that their job prospects improve, so may their salaries; although, as of May 2008, environmental engineers still earn about $12,000 less per year than electrical engineers. ($74,000 vs. $82,100 when comparing median salaries.)

Environmental engineering also attracts a more gender-balanced workforce. According to a December 2008 IEEE Spectrum article, women represent as many as half of environmental engineering students.

According to Shatkin, all of the top green fields he discusses in his book are full of engineering specialties. Industrial engineer jobs are expected to rise more than 20 percent, geoscience jobs will rise 21.9 percent, and other jobs for environmental scientists and specialists will go up more than 25 percent.

With BLS predicting a meager 1.6 percent job growth in the electrical engineering field over the next ten years, and a slower-than-hoped-for economic recovery, environmental engineering seems may be an attractive career option.

John R. Platt is a freelance writer from coastal Maine. He is a frequent contributor to Today's Engineer, and writes the Extinction Countdown blog for Scientific American. http://www.john-platt.com

Comments may be submitted to todaysengineer@ieee.org.