Purposes of Environmental Engineering Career - Research Paper Example

Environmental Engineering Background This paper gives a general overview on environmental engineering career. Career in environmental engineering entails the use of science and technology to make the environment a better place. Creation of environmental engineering was influenced by the need to have a better environment in order to maintain proper health. Environmental engineers are concerned with a number of scopes such as sewerage treatment, control of pollution, clearing pollutants, recycling, and waste disposal among other things. Over the past few decades, demand for environmental engineers has increased significantly. Contributing factors to the rise in demand include continued industrialization, urbanization, and the increased concern over greenhouse gas emissions. Reason for its creation The main reason for the introduction of environmental engineering was the increased concern to have a healthy environment due to increased pollution. Therefore, measures to control environment pollution were highly critical (Vesilind & Morgan, 2009). Special Education/Training As stated earlier, a career in environmental engineering requires a strong background in science courses. Therefore, high school courses in science are a prerequisite before joining the college. Science courses include physics, biology, chemistry, and mathematics with calculus, algebra, and trigonometry. Candidates interested in environmental engineering and have the mentioned science courses can apply for the course with certified colleges. Apart from training in environmental engineering, one can become an environmental engineer through mechanical, chemical, and civil engineering. These engineering courses typically run for 4 years, and they entail classwork, laboratory, and field studies. In some colleges, students can enroll for a five year course that includes both the bachelor’s and master’s degree (Vesilind & Morgan, 2009). Desired qualities Apart from academic qualifications, persons pursuing a career in environmental engineering should specific personal attributes in order to be effective in their job (Srinivasan, 2009). Some of the most significant attributes are summed up in the skills mentioned below. Communication skills: This includes both writing and speaking skills. Environmental engineers should be able to communicate in such a way that people outside their career can understand their proposals, plans, and other documents. Excellent problem solving skills: Tasks in environmental engineering revolve around finding solutions for environmental problems. Therefore, a person must be able to identify and predict problems. With such abilities, an environmental engineer can protect worker’s health, and environmental damage. Reading skills: This skill is vital because environmental engineers receive documents from other professionals such as lawyers. Therefore, understanding contents within such documents requires substantial reading and comprehending skills. System analysis: This skill comes in handy when a task requires development of a system that is a component of a larger system. Such tasks require an environmental engineer to foresee the outcomes of the proposed design. Teamwork: This skill is a prerequisite in all workplaces. In environmental engineering, professionals in this field need each other in all steps of their job. Without teamwork, it is difficult to accomplish any task in the best way possible. Certification Obtaining a professional engineer license increases chances for someone to secure a job. In order to get the license, a person must meet some requirements. These requirements include a degree in engineering from an accredited institution, a pass in fundamentals of engineering, relevant job experience, and a pass in professional engineering. A person can take initial exams in fundamentals of engineering after graduating from college. After passing the exams, a person becomes an engineer in training. Obtaining relevant job experience enables engineers in training to sit for exams in principles and practice of engineering. In most states, engineers are required to continue studying in order to retain their licenses (Weiner & Matthews, 2003). After obtaining a license, an environmental engineer qualifies for “Board Certified from the American Academy of Environmental Engineers”, which serves as an indicator that the environmental engineer has other areas of specialization (American Academy of Environmental Engineers, 2012). With a license and a certificate, engineers are able to exercise their profession to gain experience, which enable them handle difficult projects. Sufficient experience in planning, decision making, and problem solving skills puts an engineer in a position to become a technical specialist or a supervisor of engineers and technicians (Vesilind & Morgan, 2009). Professional organizations Available professional organizations are instrumental in providing diverse resources that help in the making of an environmental engineer. Organizations play a vital role in keeping its members informed on the happenings within the engineering profession. Therefore, organization bodies serve to address members’ interests as well as creating a network that is helpful in job hunt and career advancement. Services offered by engineering organizations include job referrals, refresher courses, periodicals, insurance, and conference opportunities (American Academy of Environmental Engineers, 2012). Some of the professional organizations as discussed below. American Academy of Environmental Engineers; It aims at improving public health, safety, and wellbeing of humankind for mutual coexistence with nature. The organization is vital in the accreditation of environmental engineering program. American Institute of Chemical Engineer Environmental Division; Focuses on offering leadership for the advancement of chemical engineering. ASCE Environmental & Water Resources Institute; This organization falls under the "American Society of Civil Engineers", which is an umbrella that covers different professionals in the field of engineering (American Academy of Environmental Engineers, 2012). ASME Environmental Engineering Division; the aim of this organization is to promote the application of engineering in all aspects of the environment. Initially, it focused on control of pollution from electric power, but currently it is focused on technologies that control air, water, and ground pollution. Water Environment Federation; this organization is a non-profit organization that has members from various fields. The organization relies on skills and experience of its members to achieve its objective, which is the preservation and enhancement of water globally (American Academy of Environmental Engineers, 2012). Salary/Demand Statistics from the US Bureau of Labor indicate that the median earnings of environmental engineers are $69,940 per annum. Further statistics indicate that holders of a bachelor’s degree in environmental engineering get an average of $ 47,960 per annum as a starting offer. In the US, environmental engineers hold 3.6% of the total jobs held by engineers. The US department of labor and Bureau of labor statistics, career in environmental engineering is projected to have a 25% employment growth from 2006-2016. This is much faster compared to averages of other occupations (US department of labor, 2012). Over the past few years, career in environmental engineering has gained immense popularity. Factors contributing to this phenomenon include industrialization and economic growth. As the demand for environmental engineers continues to increase, the need to comply with environmental measures comes in handy. Therefore, there will be more cleanup methods to clear existing hazardous wastes. The need to have preventive measures rather than controls and increased population growth are examples of factors that contribute to a rise in demand for environmental engineers. However, poor economic performance may affect the job market for environmental engineers due to less investment on environmental issues (US department of labor, 2012). In the US, the federal government calls for a thorough clean up on all contaminated sites. In addition, there is an increased demand for wastewater treatment in areas where new methods are in use for drilling of shale gas. These methods require large quantities of water for waste disposal. These two factors may also lead to a rise in demand for environmental engineers. Major duties and responsibilities Environmental engineering is a multidisciplinary course that applies principles of chemistry, soil science, biology, and engineering to find solutions to environmental problems. Its main goal is to control air and water pollution, improve public health, waste disposal and recycling. In addition, environmental engineering addresses issues that are of global concern such as greenhouse gases, climate changes, and water safety. Environmental engineers carry out assessments on management of hazardous waste, where they do a thorough study on the hazard, and offer advice on treatment options. Other than assessments, they design wastewater treatment plants and municipal water supply systems. They also have the responsibility to research on environmental impacts of ongoing construction work (Nemerow & Agardy, 2009). Environmental engineers interested on global issues achieve their mission by studying ways to reduce effects of global warming, ozone depletion, acid rains, and automobile emissions. Accomplishing tasks may require the environmental engineer to collaborate with other professions. Examples include other engineers, lawyers, planners, waste management technicians, and environmental scientists (Nemerow & Agardy, 2009). History of successes Application of environmental engineering in different fields has brought significant improvements in those fields. The most significant success is evident in the way management of environment pollutants is conducted today. Through concepts of environmental engineering, harmful pollutants are easily managed, which makes the environment a suitable place for humans and animals to inhabit. Environmental engineering has also played a significant role in natural resource management. In water management, there are countless techniques used to purify wastewater from industries and other plants that utilize large amounts of water. After purification, the water is reused in the production process. Moreover, proper wind management has been achieved through construction of windmills that generate energy from wind (Vesilind & Morgan, 2009). Conclusion It is clear that environmental engineering forms a fundamental principle in the sustenance of the environment. Continued increase in urbanization, industrialization, and population growth pose a significant danger to the environment. Therefore, stringent measures must be undertaken to protect the environment from harmful pollutants. Efforts to protect the environment will come along with increased job opportunities for environmental engineers in the next couple of years. Increased demand for environmental engineers may result to introduction of tight requirements for engineers and other professions. Therefore, in order to produce competent environmental engineers, training institutions should be up to date with the current developments in environmental engineering and its related disciplines. References American Academy of Environmental Engineers (2012). Environmental Engineering Foundation. Retrieved from: http://www.aaee.net/ US department of labor (2012). Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2011: 17-2081 Environmental Engineers. Retrieved from: http://www.dol.gov/ Read More