PathSource - ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER: Thought I Was Bad At Math In High School

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ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER: Thought I Was Bad At Math In High School

About this video

Jody is an Environmental Engineer for the City of Austin, Texas, who oversees the processing of waste water sewer sludge, which can be converted into electric power, and also the city's composting and recycling. In high school he thought he was terrible at math, and wasn't that interested in science, until years later when he got excited about helping the environment and obtained degrees in Agronomy and Environmental Engineering. He uses all of his schooling in his current job, and advises young people to follow whatever interests them greatly, even if they don't see a career path yet.

Degree: Agronomy - Environmental Engineering - Business Management

Job Title: Environmental Engineer

Employer: City of Austin, Texas

Job Summary: Environmental Engineers

Job Description

Environmental engineers use the principles of engineering, soil science, biology, and chemistry to develop solutions to environmental problems. They are involved in efforts to improve recycling, waste disposal, public health, and control of water and air pollution.

On-the-Job Training

None

Additional Info

At some colleges and universities, a student can enroll in a 5-year program that leads to both a bachelor’s and a master's degree. A graduate degree allows an engineer to work as an instructor at some colleges and universities or to do research and development.

Certification Requirement

Recommended by the American Academy of Environmental Engineers.

Quick Facts

Average salary

National Statistic Change Location

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$50,000 - $120,000

Projected Job Growth

20 to 30 percent

Typical schedule

Full-time

Typical workplace

Indoor, Office, Outdoor

Personal Qualities

Problem solving skills, Teamwork, Verbal communication skills, Written communication skills, Detail oriented, Mathematical skills

Educational Path

Education Requirement

Bachelor's degree

Recommended Education Degree

Bachelor's degree
Master's degree

Recommended Majors

Engineering
Chemistry
Biology
Environmental Studies
Mechanical Engineering
Civil Engineering

Related Careers

Environmental Engineering Technicians
Environmental Scientists and Specialists
Hydrologists
Natural Sciences Managers.

View Detailed Career Data

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P3.instances[0].transcript.parse_transcript_data({"transcript":"I am an environmental engineer. I work for the city of Austin, Texas. And I oversee the processing of waste water sewage sludge. We digest that like our digestive systems work, producing gases that are flammable, and we can burn those in an engine to produce electric power. So the other thing we do at the site is composting. We take all the yard trimmings and tree trimmings from the city, and compost that to make a finished product, which is sold and used all over town. So it's a total recycling system. I go out in the field. My job is a mixture of office and field. So I have some office work, because I maintain the records that show compliance with regulatory legislation. But I also go out in the field to oversee and watch what is happening. And I help plan what we do, and how we do it, as well. How did I get here? Yeah, that's a really interesting question. My perspective on things, looking back, is I'm not sure we can easily predict when we're moving forward where we're going to go, or what we're going to be doing. One of the things I would want to say see-- even though I'm an engineer, when I was in high school, I thought I was no good at math. I had given up on myself at math. I thought I was stupid at math. It took a little bit later when I had a good reason to learn it that I began to really get interested in math. So I got really interested in math and science, even though, like I said, through high school it wasn't that big a deal to me. I went back to school. I went through school in business management because I didn't know what else to do. I worked for a little while, saved up some money, and went back to school, because I wanted to learn about plants and soils. So I actually got a degree in agriculture-- agronomy. So soils and crops, farming, ranching. That's still an interest of mine. I went on to get another degree in engineering-- environmental engineering-- because I realized that what I was really turned on by was the interface between the environment that sustains us and people and our activities and our waste products. How do we figure out how to do what we need to do to be well and happy, and have that linked in with the Earth's natural systems in a way that doesn't destroy or degrade? So I had kind of a roundabout way of getting here. And oddly enough, business management, I do some of the budgeting and business operation. Agronomy, agriculture-- it turns out we have a 500-acre farm on the side, which I manage, work with a farmer for products. And then the engineering. So, I'm a big proponent of paying attention to what you like, what you love, what kinds of things make you excited. What kind of things do you enjoy doing, even if they don't seem initially like they would develop into a career path? It tells you something deep about yourself. ","file":{"id":346912,"video_id":"3133428922001","name":"1899-Jody-EnvironEngAustin1","duration":205915,"thumbnail_url":null}});