Environmental Engineering — careers, salary and study routes
Engineering clean water, safe waste disposal and breathable air.
Check your fit for Environmental Engineering →What Environmental Engineering is about
Environmental engineers design water treatment plants and sewage networks, landfill and recycling systems, air-pollution controls for factories and power stations, and ways to clean up contaminated land and rivers. They also carry out environmental impact assessments before new projects are approved.
It suits students who want to solve visible problems in Indian cities, and who are comfortable with chemistry, biology and fluid mechanics together. In India the dedicated B.Tech is offered at only a few places; many people reach the field through civil or chemical engineering followed by an M.Tech. Work comes from municipal bodies, pollution control boards, consultancies and industry compliance teams.
What you'll study
- Water and wastewater treatment engineering
- Solid and hazardous waste management
- Air pollution control and monitoring
- Environmental chemistry and microbiology
- Hydraulics, hydrology and groundwater
- Environmental impact assessment and law
- Climate change, sustainability and life-cycle assessment
- GIS and remote sensing for environmental planning
Studying Environmental Engineering in India
You need PCM in Class 12. The few dedicated B.Tech programmes, such as those at Delhi Technological University and IIT (ISM) Dhanbad, admit through JEE Main or JEE Advanced; the more common route is civil or chemical engineering and then an M.Tech via GATE. Employers include the Central and State Pollution Control Boards, urban water utilities and environmental consultancies.
Typical degrees
- B.Tech in Environmental Engineering (four years)
- B.Tech in Civil Engineering followed by M.Tech in Environmental Engineering (four plus two years)
- M.Tech in Environmental Science and Engineering (two years)
Entrance exams
- JEE Main
- JEE Advanced
Routes in the US and UK
United States
US students can take an ABET-accredited BS in Environmental Engineering, then the FE and, after experience, the PE exam; a PE is valuable for anyone designing public water or waste systems.
United Kingdom
In the UK the subject is typically a BEng or MEng in civil and environmental engineering accredited through ICE, and professionals often join the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM), which can register chartered environmentalists and engineers.
Frequently asked questions
Should I take environmental engineering or civil engineering?
Civil keeps more doors open and is offered everywhere; you can specialise in environmental engineering in your final year or through an M.Tech. A dedicated environmental B.Tech makes sense if you are certain and can get into a strong programme.
Is environmental engineering the same as environmental science?
No. Environmental science studies natural systems and pollution; environmental engineering designs the plants, networks and controls that fix the problems.
Careers this major opens
The US Department of Education maps Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering (CIP 14.1401) to 4 Standard Occupational Classification codes. Salary and employment figures come from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics via O*NET; the AI-durability signal is our own composite score.
Sources: NCES CIP-2020 → SOC-2018 crosswalk · US Bureau of Labor Statistics (via O*NET) · WhatTNext Ai AI-durability score. Careers ranked by US employment volume.
- → Civil Engineering major
- → Environmental Science major
- → Chemical Engineering major
- → Public Health major
- → Civil Engineering vs Environmental Engineering
- → Environmental Engineering vs Environmental Science
- → Chemical Engineering vs Environmental Engineering
- → Environmental Engineering vs Public Health
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