Details for Environmental Engineers
Description
Design, plan, or perform engineering duties in the prevention, control, and remediation of environmental health hazards utilizing various engineering disciplines. Work may include waste treatment, site remediation, or pollution control technology.
Tasks
- Prepare, review, or update environmental investigation or recommendation reports.
- Obtain, update, or maintain plans, permits, or standard operating procedures.
- Provide technical support for environmental remediation or litigation projects, including remediation system design or determination of regulatory applicability.
- Monitor progress of environmental improvement programs.
- Inspect industrial or municipal facilities or programs to evaluate operational effectiveness or ensure compliance with environmental regulations.
- Provide administrative support for projects by collecting data, providing project documentation, training staff, or performing other general administrative duties.
- Develop proposed project objectives and targets and report to management on progress in attaining them.
- Advise corporations or government agencies of procedures to follow in cleaning up contaminated sites to protect people and the environment.
- Advise industries or government agencies about environmental policies and standards.
- Inform company employees or other interested parties of environmental issues.
- Assess the existing or potential environmental impact of land use projects on air, water, or land.
- Assist in budget implementation, forecasts, or administration.
- Develop site-specific health and safety protocols, such as spill contingency plans or methods for loading or transporting waste.
- Coordinate or manage environmental protection programs or projects, assigning or evaluating work.
- Serve as liaison with federal, state, or local agencies or officials on issues pertaining to solid or hazardous waste program requirements.
- Prepare hazardous waste manifests or land disposal restriction notifications.
- Develop or present environmental compliance training or orientation sessions.
- Develop, implement, or manage plans or programs related to conservation or management of natural resources.
- Assess, sort, characterize, or pack known or unknown materials.
- Request bids from suppliers or consultants.
- Provide environmental engineering assistance in network analysis, regulatory analysis, or planning or reviewing database development.
- Design, or supervise the design of, systems, processes, or equipment for control, management, or remediation of water, air, or soil quality.
- Direct installation or operation of environmental monitoring devices or supervise related data collection programs.
- Prepare or present public briefings on the status of environmental engineering projects.
- Write reports or articles for Web sites or newsletters related to environmental engineering issues.
- Collaborate with environmental scientists, planners, hazardous waste technicians, engineers, experts in law or business, or other specialists to address environmental problems.
- Provide assistance with planning, quality assurance, safety inspection protocols, or sampling as part of a team conducting multimedia inspections at complex facilities.
- Prepare, maintain, or revise quality assurance documentation or procedures.
Interests
- Realistic - Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.
- Investigative - Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.
- Enterprising - Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.
- Conventional - Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.
Education, training, experience
- Education - Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
- Training - Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.
- Experience - A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
Knowledge
- Sales and Marketing -Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
- Personnel and Human Resources -Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
- Geography -Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
- Education and Training -Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
- Public Safety and Security -Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
- Law and Government -Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
- Mechanical -Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
- Computers and Electronics -Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- Building and Construction -Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
- 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.
- Biology -Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
- Administration and Management -Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- English Language -Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
- Physics -Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub- atomic structures and processes.
- Chemistry -Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
- Mathematics -Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Design -Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
- 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.
Skills
- Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
- 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.
- Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Mathematics - Using mathematics to solve problems.
- Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
- Active Learning - Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Complex Problem Solving - Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Systems Evaluation - Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
Related careers
None found.
