Headline risk
4%
Very Low RiskEnvironmental engineers
United States AI Work Index tracks this occupation on the shared structural baseline and then layers on local demand resilience, wages, and confidence.
Why This Score
Share of job tasks that overlap with current AI capabilities
Median annual wage
Projected employment change over 10 years
Typical preparation needed for this occupation
Occupation profile
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.
Task evidence
97% weighted task match · 3% effective coverage
Scores combine AI task overlap, human advantages, and local demand. How it works
United States Now
Median Wage
USD 104,170
Employment 2024
39.4K
Projected Change (2024–34)
3.9%
Openings (2024–34)
3.0K
Wage distribution
Demand outlook
Employment of environmental engineers is projected to grow 4 percent from 2024 to 2034, about as fast as the average for all occupations.
Role Profile
Tasks
- 1. Design, or supervise the design of, systems, processes, or equipment for control, management, or remediation of water, air, or soil quality. AI use: 0%
- 2. Assess the existing or potential environmental impact of land use projects on air, water, or land. AI use: 0%
- 3. Collaborate with environmental scientists, planners, hazardous waste technicians, engineers, experts in law or business, or other specialists to address environmental problems. AI use: 0%
- 4. Develop proposed project objectives and targets and report to management on progress in attaining them. AI use: 0%
- 5. Advise corporations or government agencies of procedures to follow in cleaning up contaminated sites to protect people and the environment. AI use: 0%
- 6. Prepare or present public briefings on the status of environmental engineering projects. AI use: 0%
Technologies
Requirements
Work context
Worker profile
Median age 41.3 · 525K employed
Under 25: 9% · 25–54: 70% · 55+: 21%
Related
No direct US role match is available yet for this occupation.
Source coverage
11/11 source families · O*NET 30.2 / OEWS 2024 / ORS 2025 / OOH 2025-08-28 / Projections 2024-34 / CPS 2025 / Anthropic task penetration
Mapping quality
crosswalk_exact · employment series present
Narrative & sources
Environmental engineers use engineering disciplines in developing solutions to problems of planetary health.
Environmental engineers work both in an office setting and in the field. Most work full time, and some work more than 40 hours per week.
Environmental engineers typically need a bachelor’s degree in environmental engineering or a related field, such as civil, chemical, or general engineering. Some employers prefer to hire candidates who have gained practical experience in an internship or a cooperative education program.
The median annual wage for environmental engineers was $104,170 in May 2024.
Employment of environmental engineers is projected to grow 4 percent from 2024 to 2034, about as fast as the average for all occupations.
Published limitations
This page shows the local country layer, not realised individual job outcomes. The global structural baseline is shared across countries; only the local demand and wage layer changes here.
Built from O*NET occupation descriptions, task statements, technology skills, work context, Job Zones, Anthropic task penetration, BLS OEWS wages, BLS projection tables, BLS ORS requirements, BLS OOH narrative content, BLS skills data, and BLS CPS occupation age tables.