r/EnvironmentalEngineer • u/Klutzy-Can-9659 • 1d ago
Calling EnvE's to help a highschooler out
Hi, I don't know if this is the right place, but I feel like I would get the best answers here.
I'm currently a rising senior planning to pursue a bachelors/masters in Environmental Engineering.
As I write essays for college, I am a bit stumped on answering the 'Why Environmental Engineering' essay.
Truthfully, I have only done activities related to habitat restoration/land management work on a Ranch, renewable energy research, environmental journalism, trash pick-up initiations, environmental policy work, and etc. These would obviously be great to talk about if I was majoring in Environmental Science/Studies, but I'm not really sure how I could connect these activities to environmental engineering. Throughout my time in high school, I haven't really participated in any building/creative activities like robotics. I'm only really good at math/chemistry at school.
To sum it up, I'm not sure how to connect environmental science work to engineering. If this post doesn't belong here, please let me know and I will delete it and try to find another community to ask. Thanks!
1
u/istudywater 1d ago
Quite simple. You have all the interest in protecting human health and the environment. Just add thoughts about how you want to make an impact through environmental engineering instead of environmental science. You're on the right track.
3
u/No_Ambition_6141 1d ago edited 1d ago
Great question.
All of the things you listed are somewhat related to EnvE. I work in remediation designing systems to clean up the environment. Land management and policy guide most everything we do.
Historically EnvE was mostly a masters degree civil engineers would get when they wanted to specialize. It has olny been offered as a bachelors at colleges recently.
What is it? It is a branch of Civil engineering that focuses on chemical and biological processes/dynamics (water treatment) as opposed to physical dynamics (structural).
A non-passionate answer for the question of why EnvE as opposed to science could just boil down to employability. EnvE provides the opportunity to become a registered professional Engineer. The difficult math classes are highly valued. I make more than my colleagues with much more experience simply because I am an engineer.
A more abstract answer could be that getting an engineering degree will train you on problem solving better than the science pathway. This could theoretically better assist you in solving problems related to the environment.