Water/Wastewater Engineers

Design or oversee projects involving provision of potable water, disposal of wastewater and sewage, or prevention of flood-related damage. Prepare environmental documentation for water resources, regulatory program compliance, data management and analysis, and field work. Perform hydraulic modeling and pipeline design.

The median annual salary for Water/Wastewater Engineers in the US is $99,590. The middle 80% of workers earn between $61,040 and $149,970 annually. Entry-to-mid-career earners typically fall between $75,400 and $121,690.

The role is projected to grow 5% over the next decade (about as fast as average). Current US employment is approximately 368,900 workers.

The typical entry education is a Bachelor's degree. Building a foundation in the top skills below will strengthen your application.

The most in-demand skills for this role include Critical Thinking, Complex Problem Solving, Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Mathematics, Judgment and Decision Making. These are the skills O*NET identifies as most important for competent performance.

Our AI-durability model gives Water/Wastewater Engineers a score of 0.52 on a 0-1 scale (higher = more exposure). That places it at moderate AI exposure — some tasks are being automated but the role adapts. Learning to work with AI tools rather than against them is the path forward.

Water/Wastewater Engineers has moderate barrier to entry — moderately gated — a bachelor's degree or equivalent training is typically required.