Environmental engineering careers

With rising temperatures across the globe, wildlife habitats are being affected and the vanishing ice has challenged species such as penguins in Antarctica.

Some regions face severe drought, rise in forest fires and drinking water shortage.

So the big question before us is — how do we protect the environment?

The responsibility lies equally with each one of us, but more with Environment Engineers, who work to protect our environment through proper use of science and engineering and can look at the issue from a management point of view.

Scope of the subject

Environmental engineering is a professional engineering design discipline that dabbles in broad scientific subjects and is concerned with protecting people from drastic environmental change. Environmental engineering can be a sub-discipline of civil engineering, chemical engineering or mechanical engineering. Its purpose is to improve and maintain the environment.

Scholars work on solutions for waste management, water and air pollution, and public health.

They work on designing municipal water supply systems, industrial waste disposal, water treatment systems, plans to prevent waterborne diseases, sanitation in urban and rural areas, among others.

They also evaluate hazardous waste management systems, including advice on the security risks of such hazards, treatment and containment, and also develop regulations to prevent mishaps. They often work as advisors to legal firms dealing with such issues.

They also study the effect of technological advances on the environment, addressing local and worldwide environmental issues such as acid rains, global warming, ozone depletion, water pollution and air pollution.

So, how does one train to become an environmental engineer?

The basic eligibility is 10+2 with Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics. Depending on the institute the candidate wishes to apply to, there could be an entrance test. For a premium institute like the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT), you have to appear for the Joint Entrance Examination, while for state-level government colleges, a candidate has to appear for the state level entrance examinations.

IITs in Mumbai, Madras and Kharagpur offer both BTech and MTech programmes.

IIT Kharagpur and IIT Madras offer dual degree programmes.

Many other engineering colleges offer environmental engineering course as well.

Environmental engineers can be recruited at research centres, NGOs, food processing and technological companies, forest department, government department, municipal corporations, pollution control departments, industrial safety departments as well as consultancy firms.

Environmental engineering is an emerging career, and is an important one as the survival of our planet is at stake — solutions are needed for issues ranging from pollution to public health. As demand for inventions and innovations rise, the future prospects for an environmental engineer are bright.

(The author is a career counsellor)