Career Explorer Engineering and architecture
Grows with AI
Environmental engineers
Research, design, plan, or perform engineering duties in the prevention, control, and remediation of environmental hazards using various engineering disciplines. Work may include waste treatment, site remediation, or pollution control technology.
Changing faster than most: more resilient than 39% of the 831 careers we score. AI exposure is high (the Bureau of Labor Statistics rates it very high), and US jobs are projected to change by +6.3% by 2035, faster than average. The work leans on creative vision and ethical judgement.
AI can help with many of the tasks, and demand is still growing. Being fluent with AI is the edge here.
- Median pay (2025)
- $107,110
- Job growth to 2035
- +6.3%
- Openings a year
- 2,300
- People doing it (2025)
- 39,100
- Usual route in
- Bachelor's degree
Where people already use AI for this work
- Present research or technical information
- Provide information or assistance to the public
- Develop technical specifications for products or operations
From Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025).
Work AI rarely helps with
- Maintain operational records
- Advise others on environmental sustainability or green practices
- Direct organizational operations, activities, or procedures
What the work looks like
- Design, or supervise the design of, systems, processes, or equipment for control, management, or remediation of water, air, or soil quality.
- Assess the existing or potential environmental impact of land use projects on air, water, or land.
- Collaborate with environmental scientists, planners, hazardous waste technicians, engineers, experts in law or business, or other specialists to address environmental problems.
- Advise corporations or government agencies of procedures to follow in cleaning up contaminated sites to protect people and the environment.
- Develop proposed project objectives and targets and report to management on progress in attaining them.
From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.
Careers using similar strengths, with a stronger outlook
- Civil engineersGrows with AI, Index 44, +6.4%
- Health and safety engineers, except mining safety engineers and inspectorsGrows with AI, Index 43, +5.4%
- Chemical engineersGrows with AI, Index 54, +4.7%
- Animal scientistsGrows with AI, Index 40, +5.8%
Also known as: Engineer, Environmental Engineer, Environmental Remediation Specialist, Sanitary Engineer, Air Pollution Control Engineer, Engineering Consultant, Environmental Analyst, Environmental Consultant.
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Sources: US Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2025 to 2035; O*NET 31.0; Microsoft Research (2025); Anthropic Economic Index (2026); Eloundou and colleagues (Science, 2024); Felten, Raj and Seamans (2023). How we score. Updated 12 October 2026.