Environmental

Environmental engineering is driven by land development and it is the job of an environmental consultant to assess the risks and potential environmental impact of a proposed project, and then minimise, mitigate and remediate the identified potential impact. Much of this work is carried out by teams within large engineering consultancies but there are also a considerable number of niche firms that specialise in a particular area of environmental impact assessment.

Graduate environmental engineers are given as much responsibility as they can handle.

After this stage, environmental contractors take over to carry out the practical tasks on site. There are two main routes for engineers to get involved with environmental work: specialist or environmental impact assessment and making an engineering project as sustainable as possible is no longer an optional extra – it’s essential.

Environmental consulting: a graduate job with increasing creativity

The rise of eco-towns and similar developments that strive to be as environmentally friendly as possible has allowed environmental consultants an increasing amount of creativity. Although the current economic climate means that there are fewer projects to bid for, those that do secure funding and get the go-ahead are increasingly environmentally conscious. Having solar thermal heating or a green roof is not simply a fad or something that is expensive to install – it is a project requirement and may save money in the long run.

Starting out as a graduate environmental engineer

A graduate environmental consultant can expect to get stuck in from the outset. The risk of an inexperienced employee causing a problem is lower than in other areas of engineering, as environmental work is more about knowledge and problem solving than getting your hands dirty.

This means that graduates are given as much responsibility as they can handle, and are encouraged to get involved with client meetings and stakeholder consultation from an early stage. International travel is unlikely at entry level, but there are often opportunities after one to two years – travel within the UK is common.

Engineering degrees not necessarily required

Most environmental consultants are trained as civil engineers, environmental engineers or specialists in environmental disciplines. Many do not have an engineering background, as the specifics are important: members of an environmental team are more likely to have studied hydrology, acoustics or pollution than to be engineers per se. There are a variety of specialist first degrees available, from geology to environmental management, but postgraduate degrees are commonly taken to build on a specialism.

Most environmental consultants are trained civil engineers, environmental engineers or specialists in environmental disciplines, such as geology, hydrology, acoustics or pollution.

There is a lot of team work and client liaison in the role of an environmental engineer, so good personal skills are essential. It is also important to have a wide understanding of engineering and environmental risks, and to be quick to grasp new issues.

Highs and lows

The worst part of being an environmental engineer is dealing with a difficult client – it is often clear from the outset when it is going to be a struggle to make someone see that sustainability is of fundamental importance and not just an ‘airy fairy’ extra to squeeze more money out of them. The best times are when a difficult project finally receives planning permission or when a client or an architect allows the environmental team to be involved from the very beginning of the design stage.

Paul Collins, IEMA, is a senior environmental consultant at Ramboll UK. He has an undergraduate degree in natural sciences and a masters degree in management, and has been working in this sector for five years.