I know a lot of us recent grads are struggling with the job search right now, and honestly it’s been pretty frustrating.
From my experience, I’ve applied to so many jobs online where I either never heard back or got a response months later. Would love to hear experiences of people who actually got the job by applying online.
Hello, I'm currently a senior looking for environmental engineers who are willing to answer some questions for a school project where I interview someone who is an environmental engineer.
Name and position
Questions:
How did you decide what you wanted to do for a living?
What was your major in college, and how was it?
What does this position/job title entail?
How long did you go to school for?
Any challenges you faced in school, and how do those compare with the challenges you face today in your professional experience?
What did you do for fun in college?
Was this your intended field of study, or did you transfer to this field, and why?
ect like was it hard to get a job, or is it a difficult job that requires a lot of physical work, or more mental strength.
I just finished my junior year and have no summer internship 🥲 i’ve applied and applied but to no avail and at this point I’m back in my small rural town. i did reach out to my local WWTP who did respond about a month ago and i’ve followed up about 2 times now, but nothing has been confirmed/haven’t gotten a response from my second follow up.
i’ve read that the best way to fill this blank during the summer is to do projects. what would these look like for an environmental engineer? i’m also planning on getting a job and doing land/water related volunteer opportunities.
I could go three days without producing anything at work, and my boss genuinely would not know. No deadlines, no tracking, no management tools. Everything runs on verbal agreements and mutual trust. Two years in, I'm starting to wonder if this is a privilege or a slow trap.
I'm a hydraulic engineer, graduated in 2024, currently two years into my first job at a small civil/roads consulting firm in France. We're three people: my boss (the owner, 68 years old, the technical lead and the only other engineer), and an office manager. That's it.
I'm not French. I came through an international exchange program between my university in South America and a French engineering school, ended up staying, and this firm was my first real work experience as an engineer, aside from a few internships I had done during my studies.
My role is hydraulic modeling, flood analysis, and checking whether road projects are compatible with inundation constraints. I have a solid technical background but limited field experience. When we do align on a project, the dynamic works well. We brainstorm together, he sets the overall direction, and I follow his lead. After those exchanges, I handle roughly 95% of the production, and he fills the gaps and reviews before it goes to the client.
The problem is that those moments of alignment are becoming rarer. The firm has a reputation for being technically strong but chronically late. He's managing clients, production, and the business basically alone, and I fall somewhere at the bottom of his priority list, not out of indifference, but because there's always something more urgent. In practice, this means:
I work at my own pace, and that pace is probably slower than it would be somewhere else. I figure things out as I go, which has taught me a lot, but without external pressure, I don't really know if my output speed and work habits are anywhere close to what's expected in a normal firm.
In March, my boss had a cardiovascular incident and I was alone in the office for a month. When he came back, we briefly went over my projects, but that was about it. He is still catching up on his own backlog, and he can barely manage his own production, let alone mine.
He's also mentioned wanting to sell the firm. But he is the firm, his relationships, his expertise, his reputation. I don't know how that plays out. What I do know is that something will likely shift in the next year, and I might have to look for another job.
That's what worries me. Not the job change itself, but whether two years of low-pressure, self-directed work has quietly shaped habits that won't survive in a more structured environment. Real deadlines, actual project management, someone tracking deliverables. And doing that transition with a visa in the background, raises the stakes a bit more.
Has anyone navigated something similar? Small firm, high autonomy, then moved to a more traditional structure? Was the transition hard? Is this kind of environment a gift or a trap?
Note: I used an AI tool to help structure and phrase this post. English is not my first language and I wanted to make sure my thoughts came across clearly.
Any thoughts on taking regenerative design as a career path(i am passionate about the environment)? My conditions are job satisfaction, job security, pay shouldn't be minimum wage, flexibility.
Just finished finals in my second to last year of undergrad in environmental engineering. I know this is what I want to do. This summer I will be completing my third internship. I have both private sector/consulting and public/regulatory internship experience. I see all of these other students so concerned about GPA and I am feeling discouraged because my GPA is expected to drop this semester.
I just want to know what other environmental engineers experienced when they were first out on the job market: did all entry level jobs ask for GPAs? If my GPA ends up dipping below 3.0 by the time I graduate am I cooked?
Also for reference- I plan to take my FE this coming summer before my final two semesters.
Thanks in advance.
Hi engineers. What softwares did you learn to use in undergrad. Which one do you think helped you out the most in getting job? In how much depth did you learn it? like EPANET, CAD, MATLAB etc.
Hi everyone!!
I’m entering my junior year of college and making a late switch to engineering from environmental sciences for many reasons. However, I’m stuck between environmental or civil engineering and would like some help.
Environmental pros:
- Classes are closely aligned with what I’m interested in
- I wouldn’t have to take the more “difficult” classes like statics, strength of materials, structural analysis, dynamics, concrete, etc.
Environmental cons:
- Possibly more niche and not as many job opportunities after graduation
- Still some large classes required like chem 2, organic chem, and bio that wouldn’t be needed for civil
- The program at my school is currently not accredited but is anticipated to be by the end of this year
- New program at my school so only a handful of people majoring in this
Civil pros:
- More broad, more job opportunities after graduation
- Could still work in Env Eng but not vice versa
- Would not need to take chem 2, organic chem, or bio
- accredited and more people with this major
Civil cons
- Not as closely aligned with my personal interests
- Would have busier semesters the next few years as I have fewer civil courses completed already compared to environmental
- Would have to take difficult classes like dynamics, strength of materials, statics, structural analysis, reinforced concrete design, etc.
Any advice is much appreciated!!
Hi! I’m a high school student who unexpectedly won a local environmental contest with a $1,000 grant to kickstart the project. My idea focuses on reducing dog waste pollution in our area (we have a local reservoir, and uncollected dog waste is a pretty significant water contaminant)
My plan is to safely compost dog waste by eliminating pathogens and then use the finished compost for non-edible landscaping. Half of the budget would be going toward working with a professional composter (like the beyondGREEN, but if any of you have any suggestions lmk), while the other half would fund DIY composters built by local woodshop students. I’d also be sourcing sawdust/carbon material from those programs.
Originally, I planned on a simple bucket-style composter based on online research, but now I’m worried it won’t reach the consistent ~140°F sweet-spot temperature needed to kill the pathogens in dog waste.
Does anyone with composting experience have suggestions for a better structure/design that could safely maintain those temperatures? I’m definitely not an expert, so any advice would be hugely appreciated!!!
I have a BSc in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology but i think i’d like to get my master’s in Enviro Engineering. I contacted the graduate advisor of the school who let me know that some states require a BS in engineering to get a PE. Will this be a big problem as far as job prospects if i decide to go through with the masters? Thanks!
Hey everyone. I'm a 17 yr old guy from Europe, and I wanna study enviro engineering in the states and stay and work there either as an enviro engineer or enviro consultant (I'm rlly passionate abt air and water pollution, and also like bioremediation). I've been really focusing on getting into these good schools (MIT, UC Berkeley, UMich), but I'm starting to lose grip and it's made me really anxious. Is it even worth it going to the US if I don't get into a good school? I guess I'm searching for some reassurance. Does the college I go to really matter that much? What's important for me is getting a job out of college.
I have approx 2 years out of college, both in water/wastewater consulting. Im finding the design process to be a lot more stressful and less fulfilling than I was hoping for. It feels like most projects are under constant pressure from clients to work under a tight timeline, and im not exactly passionate about designing force mains and lift stations. Its a lot of stress for the amount im getting paid compared to what some of my friends are making in other careers.
What i wanted to do before engineering was marine biology / environmental science (but switched for the money). During my studies i imagined working in wetland remediation or something similar. My partner suggested looking into working for an aquarium or another private entity. It sounds interesting but seems like that would be extremely niche.
Is it any better / different in the client side, private utility, construction, or sales? Or does it make more sense to pivot into a different sector completely?
How have your careers and attitudes changed after switching out of consulting?
I have over 100 acres of creek bottom land full of nothing but hardwood with a huge natural creek running through the middle of the property connecting to the river about 15 miles away. The local utility company Entergy wants to put in a new high line leading from Entergy plant in Calion, Ar leading to Louisiana. This proposal goes right through the middle of our land, and will destroy any future we plan to have out there. Not only will this destroy our forest, but it will also destroy the creek and all the wildlife that comes with it. Not to mention this high line is only to make a quick route down to Louisiana. This will in no way help Arkansans. We do NOT want this high line on our property!! How can I fight this? It is currently only in the proposal stage!? Please help!!!!
Sort of an odd question here but suppose you had unlimited funding and the goodwill of nations. What's an opportunity here on earth to turn ecological dead zones into a thriving environment? Something like the Millenium Forest on St. Helena or other cases of people rebuilding island ecosystems.
I recently got academically admitted to a 3 week short course at IHE Delft on On-site Sanitation and Treatment, and I’m seriously considering it but I’m not sure if it’s worth the huge financial cost for me.
For context: I graduated in civil engineering from a third world country last year. My GPA is honestly terrible because of a lot of personal/academic problems during my bachelor’s, but both my graduation projects were A+ and most of my environmental/water engineering subjects were actually good too. My graduation project was environmental engineering related, and I currently work as a wet utilities engineer at an environmental engineering consulting firm.
I’ve been trying to pursue a master’s abroad and even applied to a university in Austria before but it didn’t work out. Long term, I’d love to do a master’s and maybe even a PhD abroad.
So my question is: realistically, how useful could a course like this be for someone in my situation? Could it help with networking, future master’s opportunities, maybe even improve my chances later at IHE Delft or elsewhere? Or is it not really that significant academically/career-wise?
The issue is that for me this is a LOT of money between the course fees, accommodation, visa, flights, living expenses, etc. I’d have to save for a long time for just 3 weeks, so I’m trying to figure out if the experience/connections/opportunities could realistically outweigh that.
Would really appreciate honest advice from anyone who’s done something similar or who at least has more expertise than i do.