u/voidofdreams

Hey r/environmentalengineer, I'm currently a freshman in environmental engineering, but recently I've been considering switching to chemical engineering with a concentration in energy and the environment. I'm still interested in a lot of the applications of environmental engineering like water/wastewater treatment, environmental remediation, and waste management, but I've also been interested in areas like air pollution and renewable energy, which, from what I've seen, would be much harder to pursue with just a degree in environmental engineering. I still think the typical jobs of environmental engineers are super important, but I think I would get more fulfillment from a job that is more focused on preventing the problem rather than cleaning up other people's messes. For example, there's one professor in the department of chem e at my school who is focusing her research on green chemistry and the development of sustainable bioproducts, which I find really interesting. I also figured that I could more easily get a masters in enve if I really wanted to, and it would be easier to do that than trying to get a masters in chem e with a bachelors in enve. I guess I want to avoid pigeonholing myself if I have interests outside the scope of enve.

I still wonder though, how difficult would it be to become an environmental engineer with just a BS in chemical? A lot of the classes I would be taking as an enve major are directly related to waste/wastewater, remediation, and waste management, whereas there are not as many that are directly related for chem e.

Hey r/chemicalengineering, I'm currently a freshman in environmental engineering, but recently I've been considering switching to chemical engineering with a concentration in energy and the environment. I'm still interested in a lot of the applications of environmental engineering like water/wastewater treatment, environmental remediation, and waste management, but I've also been interested in areas like air pollution and renewable energy, which, from what I've seen, would be much harder to pursue with just a degree in environmental engineering. I still think the typical jobs of environmental engineers are super important, but I think I would get more fulfillment from a job that is more focused on preventing the problem rather than cleaning up other people's messes. For example, there's one professor in the department of chem e at my school who is focusing her research on green chemistry and the development of sustainable bioproducts, which I find really interesting. I also figured that I could more easily get a masters in enve if I really wanted to, and it would be easier to do that than trying to get a masters in chem e with a bachelors in enve. I guess I want to avoid pigeonholing myself if I have interests outside the scope of enve.

I still wonder though, how difficult would it be to become an environmental engineer with just a BS in chemical? A lot of the classes I would be taking as an enve major are directly related to waste/wastewater, remediation, and waste management, whereas there are not as many that are directly related for chem e. I've also heard that a lot of environmental engineering roles are done by people with a civil background.

And for those who are pursuing a career in chem e that positively impacts the environment, do you feel like a chem e degree prepared you well for that?