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.
38,340 people do this job in the US. $107,110 a year.
of the working time. Estimate.
- 58%
- 37%
- 5%
Measured, from Anthropic's usage data (2025). Counts help on part of a task.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 4.4 h long four times in five.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 0%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 3%. Today's estimate: 6%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
The tasks
Sorted by . 29 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Design, or supervise the design of, systems, processes, or equipment for control, management, or remediation of water, air, or soil quality.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 15% | 1.7 work weeks4.2 work days to 3.5 work weeks | Stays with people | |
| Advise corporations or government agencies of procedures to follow in cleaning up contaminated sites to protect people and the environment.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 13% | 2.1 work days6.7 h to 4.2 work days | Stays with people | |
| Assess the existing or potential environmental impact of land use projects on air, water, or land.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 11% | 2.1 work days6.7 h to 1 work week | 0%Half by Feb 2028 | |
| Develop, implement, or manage plans or programs related to conservation or management of natural resources.Done yearly or less by most who do it. | 10% | 3.3 work days1 work day to 1.7 work weeks | 0%Half by Jul 2028 | |
| Coordinate or manage environmental protection programs or projects, assigning or evaluating work.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 10% | 6.7 h3.3 h to 2.5 work days | 10%Half by May 2027 | |
| Provide technical support for environmental remediation or litigation projects, including remediation system design or determination of regulatory applicability.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 6% | 2.1 work days6.7 h to 1.7 work weeks | 1%Half by Apr 2028 | |
| Monitor progress of environmental improvement programs.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 4% | 4.2 h1.7 h to 1.3 work days | 27%Half by Jan 2027 | |
| Collaborate with environmental scientists, planners, hazardous waste technicians, engineers, experts in law or business, or other specialists to address environmental problems.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 3% | 2.5 h50 min to 6.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Direct installation or operation of environmental monitoring devices or supervise related data collection programs.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 3% | 1 work day3.3 h to 2.5 work days | Stays with people | |
| Provide environmental engineering assistance in network analysis, regulatory analysis, or planning or reviewing database development.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 3% | 6.7 h2.5 h to 2.5 work days | 9%Half by Jul 2027 | |
| Develop proposed project objectives and targets and report to management on progress in attaining them.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 2% | 6.7 h1.7 h to 2.1 work days | 9%Half by Aug 2027 | |
| Prepare, review, or update environmental investigation or recommendation reports.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 2% | 1 work day3.3 h to 2.5 work days | 5%Half by Jul 2027 |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
- Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health4% now, 57% by 2028
- Water/Wastewater Engineers3% now, 43% by 2028
- Environmental Engineering Technologists and Technicians16% now, 62% by 2028
- Brownfield Redevelopment Specialists and Site Managers3% now, 27% by 2028
- Environmental Compliance Inspectors37% now, 63% by 2028
- Environmental Science and Protection Technicians, Including Health11% now, 61% by 2028
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).