environmental engineer Career Path | See the Career Paths People Really Take

environmental planner

environmental scientist

engineering intern

chemical engineer

data scientist

environmental engineer

staff research associate

research assistant

regulatory specialist

hydrologist

transportation engineer

Chemical engineers are professionals who convert basic raw materials into a variety of products and may also deal with the design and operation of industrial plants and equipment.  A chemical engineer is one who applies and uses principles of chemical engineering including the design, manufacture, and operation of plants and machinery in industrial chemical and related processes, the development of new or adapted substances for products ranging from foods and beverages to cosmetics to cleaners to pharmaceutical ingredients, and development of new technologies such as fuel cells, hydrogen power and nanotechnology, as well as working in fields wholly or partially derived from chemical engineering such as materials science, polymer engineering, and biomedical engineering.

The Data Science position uses theory to unify statistics, data analysis, and their related methods to understand and analyze phenomena with data.  Their role is to use techniques and theories drawn from many fields within the context of mathematics, statistics, computer science, domain knowledge, and information science.  Their responsibilities are presenting their findings to management, helping with high-level decisions, and preparing data for analysis.

Engineering interns typically support experienced engineers, and understand the working environment or culture. Engineering interns are responsible for basic product modification, shadowing actual operations, helping seniors to prepare reports, prepare functional and technical document and collecting information and experience the day-to-day workings of engineering.

Environmental engineers work to prevent, control or remediate any hazards to the environment using the principles of engineering, soil science, biology, and chemistry. Their work includes the areas of waste disposal, erosion, and pollution among others.

The Environmental Planner understands and implements the safety policies designed by the organization.  Their role is to direct, supervise and review the documentation work, impact assessment, legal compliance, and permits for various environmental projects.  Their responsibilities are to support the development of consultation programs, assist in the review and coordination of factor specific environmental specialist work, and produce reports, graphic representations, drawings and proposed plans during client meetings.

An environmental scientist conducts tests to determine the effects of human activity on the environment.  Environmental scientist are involved in collecting environmental data, developing tests, creating budgets for projects, and assisting in the performance of environmental tests to evaluate the potential impact of human factors on the environment. They are expected to create reports about the health of the environment that help to raise positive and negative impacts of human activities.

The Hydrologist manages and maintains water resources to verify that water supplied to consumers is safe and cost-effective.  Their role is managing all aspects of water resource information and data collection, traveling to field sites to carry out tests, and identifying trends in data regarding hydrologic systems.  Their responsibilities are to collect samples to test for specific properties, test rivers, ponds and other bodies of water to check for pollution, diseases and foreign particles that make the water unsanitary, and test waste underground that affects the fertility of soil.

A Regulatory Specialist acts as a liaison between their organization and state, local, federal and international agencies to submit required forms and paperwork.  Their role is regularly reporting on compliance status and measures, implementing internal audits of products and protocols to identify areas of weakness, and recommending courses of remediation to help their company.  Their responsibilities are preparing for and facilitating third-party audits, reviewing marketing, legal and technical documentation to assess compliance, and maintaining data and files in the event of an audit by an administrative agency.

A research assistant assists in academic or private research and are directed by more senior researchers to provide support in furthering experiments and gathering and analyzing information. Research assistant responsibilities are to collect and log experimental data, conduct statistical analysis of data sets, prepare graphs and spreadsheets to portray results, create presentation slides and posters to help researchers present findings, review print and online resources to gather information and maintain laboratory equipment and inventory.

Curious about a career in ecology? Watch this insightful interview to learn how to get started, even without a college degree. Hear from a research assistant studying Florida scrub jays, who shares the highs and lows of the job, the importance of field experience, and tips for breaking into the field. If you love nature and science, this video is a must-watch!

<h2>How to Start in Ecology</h2><p>You don't necessarily need a college degree, it might help,but you really just have to find a job where you can get some field experience under your belt&nbsp; and then work up within the company. Probably the easiest way to do it.</p><p><br></p><h2>How I Became a Research Assistant&nbsp;</h2><p>Personally, I got a college degree at Eckerd College, which is a local school in Florida, and I gained some research experience studying black skimmers, which is a kind of bird there.</p><p>One seasonal tech job in Oregon, where I was listening for birds and doing other research, like population surveys, and then I applied for this internship and worked my way up to the research assistant level.</p><h2><br></h2><h2>Research Assistant Requirements</h2><p>This position really requires that you're detail oriented for things like data entry, but also able to be super outdoorsy or pay attention to little behavioral issues and kind of be okay with waking up at sunrise and whacking through all of that mess that’s really fun, stuff like that. So it really requires that you wear a lof of different hats. I love it.</p><p><br></p><h2>Average Day</h2><p>Currently what my average week looks like is waking up at sunrise, coming to the office, going out in our ATVs into this shrub. And then going to the three territories of different Florida scrub jays, which is the species that I study, and trying to find their nests. Continue monitoring the nests that we do find throughout the year and just generally collecting demography information on them, and it is super fun.</p><p><br></p><h2>Pros and Cons of a Field Research Assistant</h2><p>Some of the pros of this job are that I get to spend all of my mornings in nature, which is beautiful and awesome, and I get to learn so much about the ecosystem that I'm in.</p><p>And I also just love the people that I work with. I love the community here at the biological station. Some of the cons are that when you're having a rough morning in the field, you'll really just kind of wish you had an office job. So it's definitely not all peaches and roses being in nature every day.</p><p><br></p><h2>Advice From an Expert</h2><p><br></p><p>I would just recommend getting field experience early on, looking for those seasonal tech jobs and a lot of local places that&nbsp; do bird banding. You can reach out to them, and they're always accepting volunteers. That's a great experience to get.</p><p><br></p><h2>Things to Know</h2><p>Looking back, I do wish I had known how exhausting the job can be, because it's fun and the highs are so high, but the lows can be low and frustrating. But at the end of the day, I love my job and I love what I do, so it makes it all worth it.</p><p><br></p><p><br></p>

The role of a staff research associate is to organize and conduct research in scientific, creative, or artistic fields for work in a project of sponsoring institutions. Responsibilities of a staff research associate include assisting senior researchers in the planning and designing of research projects, developing plans for the project, performing data collection, and providing statistical and analytical support.

A Transportation Engineer is an engineer that designs or improves transportation systems to allow for safe and efficient traffic flow on roadways, airplanes, trains, ships, buses, and more. Solve complex problems typically require the collection and evaluation of systems, traffic flow, accidents, costs, and other statistics.

Environmental Engineer Career Path