Is Environmental Engineering worth it?

[Jemal]

I've been thinking about going into environmental engineering, but I've seen many mixed descriptions on it as I search through the internet.

Some sites say that there will be a 30% growth in the number of jobs in the next 10 years, and others say that environmental engineers struggle to find a jobs and their major is a joke.

Can anyone offer me some insight?

 

[MECHster]

I don't know much about the future job market (noone really does anyways) but you should take into account that even if there is a 50% growth in that market in 10 years if the number of enviro. students increase by 50% you might not see all those opportunities some are promising. At my school environmental engineering is really taking off. There are around 5 times more students enrolling in that program than there was just 5 years ago.

 

[Jemal]

I don't know much about the future job market (noone really does anyways) but you should take into account that even if there is a 50% growth in that market in 10 years if the number of enviro. students increase by 50% you might not see all those opportunities some are promising. At my school environmental engineering is really taking off. There are around 5 times more students enrolling in that program than there was just 5 years ago.

That sounds bad for going into environmental engineering...
How are the other engineering fields? Are there lots of students enrolling in other engineering
fields as well?

 

[MECHster]

That sounds bad for going into environmental engineering...
How are the other engineering fields? Are there lots of students enrolling in other engineering
fields as well?

The majors (in my school) that have been rapidly increasing in enrollment are bioengineering and the environmental engineering type programs (sustainable and renewable design etc). All of the other numbers have been relatively constant (civil, mech, aero, elec, software). The problem with projections is that if there is a "projected" guaranteed job in a certain industry in 10 years because a 200% growth, it will influence a ton of students to take that direction, no longer making it a guaranteed job. My advice is to take whichever engineering major you find most interesting for your undergrad, and go from there.

 

[Jemal]

The majors (in my school) that have been rapidly increasing in enrollment are bioengineering and the environmental engineering type programs (sustainable and renewable design etc). All of the other numbers have been relatively constant (civil, mech, aero, elec, software). The problem with projections is that if there is a "projected" guaranteed job in a certain industry in 10 years because a 200% growth, it will influence a ton of students to take that direction, no longer making it a guaranteed job. My advice is to take whichever engineering major you find most interesting for your undergrad, and go from there.

That makes sense. Does this mean I should try to major in philosophy because it has such a bad rap and no ones going to major in it? Ha ha ha I only joke.

Thanks a bunch for the advice.

 

[Pyrrhus]

You should also consider that the skills of an Environmental Engineer might be transferable. You should first consult a program, and see what courses they take, what sort of analysis tools they use?