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Engineering

Water/Wastewater Engineers

Design or oversee projects involving provision of potable water, disposal of wastewater and sewage, or prevention of flood-related damage. Prepare environmental documentation for water resources, regulatory program compliance, data management and analysis, and field work. Perform hydraulic modeling and pipeline design.

Median salary (BLS)

$100,840

10th–90th percentile (BLS)

$68k – $163k

Job outlook

+5% (faster than average)

AI exposure

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports one wage for this occupational group, which covers 2 related roles — so read the median as an approximate group figure, and the range as the truer picture for this specific title. BLS source.

Early-career check: graduates of the matching programs below typically earn $99,000 ten years after starting college — an early-career figure, vs. the all-experience BLS median above. Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard.

Plan a path to Water/Wastewater Engineers

Qualification costsStack incomeBest cities/statesSchool ROIJob-posting fitTailored resume

Education

Typical entry: Bachelor's degree

Plan my path to this →

Typical progression

  1. Water/Wastewater Engineers Intern

    Internship

    $36,000

    ~4 mos to advance

  2. Junior Water/Wastewater Engineers

    Entry / Junior

    $68,240

    ~2 yrs to advance

  3. Water/Wastewater Engineers

    Established

    $100,840

    ~3 yrs to advance

  4. Senior Water/Wastewater Engineers

    Senior

    $132,030

Internships are a common on-ramp here — they speed up landing that first role and improve your odds, which is why the Safe and High-ceiling plans build one in.

Key skills

A typical day

  • •Provide technical direction or supervision to junior engineers, engineering or computer-aided design (CAD) technicians, or other technical personnel.
  • •Review and critique proposals, plans, or designs related to water or wastewater treatment systems.
  • •Design domestic or industrial water or wastewater treatment plants, including advanced facilities with sequencing batch reactors (SBR), membranes, lift stations, headworks, surge overflow basins, ultraviolet disinfection systems, aerobic digesters, sludge lagoons, or control buildings.
  • •Evaluate the operation and maintenance of water or wastewater systems to identify ways to improve their efficiency.
  • •Design or select equipment for use in wastewater processing to ensure compliance with government standards.

Fields of study

Any field

Top colleges for Engineering

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Reputation-based selection; stats shown are outcome data per school.