Oil Spill Creating Engineering Jobs

Thanks to the BP Oil spill, the nation is suddenly becoming exceedingly aware of something formerly absolutely taken for granted; water. Not that there hasn't been warning signs before, from scares about contaminated bottled water to cities like Las Vegas facing severe water shortage; safe, potable drinking water is creating a new form of engineer, the Water Engineer.

Water engineering has its share of concerns. They include the construction of public water aqueducts to how to safe, bottled refreshment. It is so new it should be particularly appealing to those who are looking to be on both the cutting edge of technological development and wanting to make a major contribution to the world at large.

At its core, the specialty is a spin-off of civil engineering. Because of the variety of problems that need tackling, it has a very wide of sub-specialties. One water engineer can spend his or her entire career on the design of water treatment plants. Another can concentrate on water subsystems such as overflow basins, disinfection systems, sludge lagoons and how to control them. A third can concentrate on pumps, pipelines, water distribution and storage systems for potable and non-potable water. They can wind up working in major metropolitan areas such as New York City or in rural mega-farms.

They just don't work on mega-structures, either. Water engineers also have a hand in treatment methods for water, waste and pollution disposal, stabilize river banks and repair channel streams. Some design bridges. Others had their hands the office water cooler.

As in all forms of engineering, anyone who wants to pursue this specialty should start with good grades in the STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) field in high school. They then should enroll in an online or
brick-and-mortar university with a strong curriculum in the civil engineering with minors in other disciplines such as chemical, biological and mechanical. After graduating, they should look for a work-study relationship with firm with a reputation in the field.

At this point water engineers work by day and continue their studies off hours. This is where education usually goes more online. It's not uncommon for such firms to offer some sort of tuition reimbursement for those courses taken and passed. As it stands, water engineers generally have a Masters degree or even a PhD.

Because this engineering specialty is still in its infancy, Bureau of Labor Statistics is still compiling data on it. At present, the Bureau reports median annual wages is over $72,000 with full benefits. The Bureau also expects the need for water engineers will grow over 20% by 2019, making the need in the field twice the national average for a profession.

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