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How to become an environmental engineer and scientist: 73 beginner jobs open today

Five steps for people changing careers, with the figures from today’s 312 open environmental engineer and scientist postings: what employers ask for first, how much experience, and what beginners are paid.

See the 312 open environmental engineer and scientist jobsResume example

Open jobs today
312
Open to beginners
73
Experience asked, median
5 years
Beginner pay, median
$78K

Five steps to your first environmental engineer and scientist job

  1. Know what the work is. An environmental engineer and scientist protects air, water and land around a project: permits, studies, treatment systems and clean-up. Beginner postings today use titles like Landscape Foreman (Stormwater); Landscape Technician (Stormwater); Environmental Technician; Environmental Engineer; Stormwater Construction Superintendent.
  2. Learn the duties, not only the tools. Postings for this work describe what you will do more than which software you will use: read ten of them and list the duties that repeat.
  3. Build proof you can show. Two or three results with a number, from a job, a course project or volunteer work. The kind of line a recruiter looks for: “Designed a housing that cut assembly time from 14 minutes to 9”. Certifications the postings name: PMP.
  4. Write the resume and the letter. Start from the environmental engineer and scientist resume example and the cover letter example, and replace every line with your own.
  5. Apply where beginners are hired. 73 of today’s 312 open environmental engineer and scientist jobs are junior or intern roles or ask for two years of experience or less. See the open jobs and check each one with the resume match checker before you apply.

Tools and software environmental engineers and scientists use

Salesforce administration (18%), Driver's license (17%), Regulatory compliance (14%), Project management (12%), Construction management (9%), Microsoft Office (9%), AutoCAD (7%), Hazmat (7%), PE license (7%), Hydraulics (5%) of today’s 312 open environmental engineer and scientist postings name them. Learn the first three well before the rest.

Environmental engineer and scientist career path: levels and pay

StepMedian advertised payPostings with pay
Junior$78K8
No level in the title$118K61
Senior$144K24
Lead and above$133K14

The step is the level word in the job title; “No level in the title” is usually the mid-level role. After senior, people move into lead, staff or principal roles, or into managing a team. What each level means.

Professional development goals for an environmental engineer and scientist

  • Build one piece of work you can show and talk about in an interview.
  • Earn a certification employers name in this work: PMP.
  • Keep a list of your results with numbers, updated every month: it becomes your resume lines and your interview stories.
  • Find one person a few years ahead of you in this work and ask for a 20-minute talk each quarter.

LinkedIn profile tips for an environmental engineer and scientist

  • Headline: the title employers search for, then your strongest skills and one result: “Environmental Engineer and Scientist | [one result with a number]”.
  • About: three short paragraphs: what you do, two results with numbers, what you want next.
  • Skills section: list the skills postings name, in their words: Salesforce administration, Driver's license, Regulatory compliance, Project management, Construction management.
  • Open to work: set the job titles and places you want; recruiters filter by them.

Write the headline with the LinkedIn headline generator.

Questions about becoming an environmental engineer and scientist

How much experience do environmental engineer and scientist jobs ask for?
The median in today’s postings is 5 years; 23% of the postings that name a number ask for two years or less.
Do I need a degree to become an environmental engineer and scientist?
1% of today’s 312 postings say no degree is required. Many others accept equivalent experience: read the requirements of each posting.
How much does a beginner environmental engineer and scientist earn?
Junior and intern postings for this work that state pay advertise a median of $78K a year (18 postings).
What qualifications do you need to become an environmental engineer and scientist?
Employers name skills first: the duties in the posting. The median posting asks for 5 years of experience. 1% say no degree is required. Certifications named in the full text of 56 postings: PMP (2).
Is AI replacing environmental engineer and scientists?
Not in today’s postings: 312 environmental engineer and scientist jobs are open on Jobs Every Hour as of Nov 15, 2026, and 2% of them ask for AI or machine-learning skills.

Everything about environmental engineer and scientist work

Counted from the open postings on Nov 15, 2026, read from employers’ own careers pages and recounted on every update. Beginner jobs: junior and intern titles, and postings that ask for two years of experience or less.