Environmental Engineering

Types of Degrees Environmental Engineering Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many environmental engineering graduations there were in 2020-2021 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	746
Doctor’s Degree	149
Graduate Certificate	24

What Environmental Engineering Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, environmental engineering majors were asked to rate what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important in their occupations. These answers were weighted on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the most important.

Knowledge Areas for Environmental Engineering Majors

This major prepares you for careers in which these knowledge areas are important:

• Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
• Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

Skills for Environmental Engineering Majors

environmental engineering majors are found most commonly in careers in which the following skills are important:

• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Abilities for Environmental Engineering Majors

A major in environmental engineering will prepare for your careers in which the following abilities are important:

• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

What Can You Do With a Environmental Engineering Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with environmental engineering:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Architectural and Engineering Managers	5.5%	$140,760
Engineering Professors	14.7%	$101,720
Environmental Engineers	8.4%	$87,620
Fire-Prevention and Protection Engineers	8.5%	$89,130
Industrial Safety and Health Engineers	8.5%	$89,130
Product Safety Engineers	8.5%	$89,130
Water/Wastewater Engineers	8.4%	$87,620

Who Is Getting a Master’s Degree in Environmental Engineering?

According to recent stats this major attracts about equal numbers of men and women. Roughly 52% of the graduates are women, and 48% are men.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of environmental engineering majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	59
Black or African American	23
Hispanic or Latino	53
White	294
International Students	279
Other Races/Ethnicities	38

Geographic Diversity

Americans aren’t the only ones with an interest in Environmental Engineering. About 37.4% of those with this major are international students. The most popular countries for students from outside the country are:

• China
• India
• Kuwait
• Iran
• Saudi Arabia

How Much Do Environmental Engineering Majors Make?

Master’s Degree Starting Salary

The median starting salary of students who graduated in 2017-2019 with a master’s degree in environmental engineering was $69,585 per year. These stats come from the U.S. Department of Education. During this timeframe, most salaries fell between $62,701 (25th percentile) and $73,322 (75th percentile).

Note that some of these people may have jobs that are not directly related to a environmental engineering degree.

Salaries According to BLS

Environmental Engineering majors often go into careers where salaries can range from $92,640 to $113,680 (25th to 75th percentile). This range includes all degree levels, so you may expect those with a more advanced degree to make more while those with less advanced degrees will typically make less.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Environmental Engineering

Some careers associated with environmental engineering require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to environmental engineering have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	1.0%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	1.5%
Some College Courses	2.1%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	2.9%
Bachelor’s Degree	57.8%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	7.2%
Master’s Degree	19.7%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	2.5%
Doctoral Degree	5.3%
Post-Doctoral Training	1.4%

Online Environmental Engineering Programs

In 2020-2021, 160 schools offered a environmental engineering program of some type. The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	1	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	5	0
Bachelor’s Degree	11	1
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	91	6
Post-Master’s	4	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	48	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Environmental Engineering Worth It?

The median salary for a environmental engineering grad is $93,630 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 135% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $1,074,600 after 20 years!

Majors Related to Environmental Engineering

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to environmental engineering.

Major	Number of Grads
Electrical Engineering	11,021
Mechanical Engineering	9,007
Civil Engineering	6,042
Computer Engineering	5,557
Biomedical Engineering	4,252
General Engineering	3,548
Systems Engineering	3,068
Industrial Engineering	3,028
Chemical Engineering	2,662
Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering	2,375
Other Engineering	1,820
Materials Engineering	1,810
Operations Research	1,191
Electrical and Computer Engineering.	928
Robotics Engineering	560
Engineering Science	451
Nuclear Engineering	437
Manufacturing Engineering	423
Petroleum Engineering	401
Agricultural Engineering	332
Construction Engineering	288
Engineering Physics	286
Architectural Engineering	243
Geoscience Engineering	173
Polymer & Plastics Engineering	167
Engineering Mechanics	144
Mining Engineering	132
Ocean Engineering	112
Textile Engineering	96
Biological Engineering	80
Energy Systems Engineering	79
Marine Engineering	44
Metallurgical Engineering	40
Biochemical Engineering	21
Ceramic Engineering	20
Electromechanical Engineering	16
Surveying Engineering	11
Paper Science & Engineering	7
Forest Engineering	0

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Alesia Goosic under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.