Environmental Engineers
Architecture and Engineering · SOC 17-2081
AI exposure from the Anthropic Economic Index (2025); salary from BLS; skills from O*NET. See /sources.
Decision card
Career Evidence Passport
SOC 17-2081 evidence across exposure, wages, projections, postings, certified LCAs, skills, and transitions.
- SOC exposure
- 3.6%
- Medium · Anthropic AEI
- Automation friction
- 53/100
- Moderate friction; broad SOC seed ORS job-requirements coverage.
- Wages
- $107,110
- H-1B offered wage $96,138; LCAs are filings.
- Projected openings
- 4,600
- BLS EP 2024–2034; employment change +3.9%.
- Observed/proxy demand
- 427
- FY2025 certified LCAs; 6,639 postings in 2025.
Skill evidence
- H-1B values are certified Labor Condition Applications, not visa approvals.
- Job postings are seed-static / seed-derived; treat as provider-ready proxy coverage until observed provider data is wired in.
- Transition matches are directional skill-overlap context, not placement guarantees.
- This release is a FutureGrid broad-SOC seed derived from public BLS ORS requirement concepts and categories, not direct occupation-level ORS survey estimates. It describes job requirements, not worker ability, AI capability, or displacement probability. Automation friction is a FutureGrid derived score and should be read alongside exposure, demand, wage, and projection signals.
Best transitions from here
Explore all pathways→Lower AI-exposure roles that reuse your skills, ranked by a transition score (skills that transfer, safety gain, pay and retraining effort).
AI Exposure Analysis
Across AI measures
Multiple exposure lenses for this occupation.
AI could do ~55.6% of this role but only ~3.6% is currently done with AI — a large capability-vs-adoption gap.
Top Skills
H-1B Visa Sponsorship Demand
View full H-1B trends →Certified H-1B Labor Condition Applications naming this occupation, FY2016–FY2025. A descriptive high-skill labor-demand signal — employer filings, not visa approvals or individual outcomes. Note: one LCA can cover multiple worker positions.
O*NET occupation profile
What this work involves
Research, design, plan, or perform engineering duties in the prevention, control, and remediation of environmental hazards using various engineering disciplines. Work may include waste treatment, site remediation, or pollution control technology.
Common titles: Air Pollution Control Engineer, Engineer, Engineering Consultant, Environmental Analyst, Environmental Consultant, Environmental Engineer
Representative Tasks
- •Design, or supervise the design of, systems, processes, or equipment for control, management, or remediation of water, air, or soil quality.
- •Assess the existing or potential environmental impact of land use projects on air, water, or land.
- •Collaborate with environmental scientists, planners, hazardous waste technicians, engineers, experts in law or business, or other specialists to address environmental problems.
- •Advise corporations or government agencies of procedures to follow in cleaning up contaminated sites to protect people and the environment.
- •Develop proposed project objectives and targets and report to management on progress in attaining them.
Detailed Work Activities
- •Design environmental control systems.
- •Confer with other personnel to resolve design or operational problems.
- •Investigate the environmental impact of projects.
- •Advise others regarding green practices or environmental concerns.
- •Determine operational criteria or specifications.
Tools & Technologies
Employment Projections & AI Exposure
Employment & Wage Trend
BLS OEWS, 2019–2025
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS). See /sources.
Sector Comparison
| Metric | This Career | Sector Average |
|---|---|---|
| AI Exposure | 3.6% | 4.5% |
| Outlook | Average | 15% Bright |
| Median Salary | $107,110 | N/A |
| AI Resiliency | 96/100 | N/A |