Architecture and Engineering · Holland code RIC

Water/Wastewater Engineers

Design or oversee projects involving provision of potable water, disposal of wastewater and sewage, or prevention of flood-related damage. Prepare environmental documentation for water resources, regulatory program compliance, data management and analysis, and field work. Perform hydraulic modeling and pipeline design.

Also called: Consulting Engineer, County Engineer, Engineer, Project Development Engineer.

O*NET 17-2051.02

At a glance

US median annual pay: $100,840; Middle half earn $79,930 to $129,680. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Most common education: Bachelor's Degree; 70% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
Preparation needed: Job Zone 4 of 5; Considerable preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.
US employment outlook, 2024 to 2034: +5% · Faster than average; 368,900 jobs in 2024, projected 387,500. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, which groups this with similar roles as "Civil engineers".

What the work involves

The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.

Provide technical direction or supervision to junior engineers, engineering or computer-aided design (CAD) technicians, or other technical personnel.
Review and critique proposals, plans, or designs related to water or wastewater treatment systems.
Design domestic or industrial water or wastewater treatment plants, including advanced facilities with sequencing batch reactors (SBR), membranes, lift stations, headworks, surge overflow basins, ultraviolet disinfection systems, aerobic digesters, sludge lagoons, or control buildings.
Evaluate the operation and maintenance of water or wastewater systems to identify ways to improve their efficiency.
Design or select equipment for use in wastewater processing to ensure compliance with government standards.
Design pumping systems, pumping stations, pipelines, force mains, or sewers for the collection of wastewater.
Design water distribution systems for potable or non-potable water.
Conduct water quality studies to identify and characterize water pollutant sources.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Reading Comprehension4.0 / 5
Writing4.0 / 5
Critical Thinking4.0 / 5
Active Listening3.9 / 5
Mathematics3.9 / 5
Speaking3.8 / 5

Knowledge areas

Engineering and Technology4.7 / 5
Design4.5 / 5
English Language4.2 / 5
Mathematics4.2 / 5
Building and Construction3.8 / 5
Administration and Management3.6 / 5

Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.

Who tends to enjoy it

How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.

Realistic77
Investigative73
Artistic14
Social13
Enterprising32
Conventional59

The same work abroad

Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.

European occupation titles (ESCO)

water treatment plant manager · DE Leiter einer Wasseraufbereitungsanlage/Leiterin einer Wasseraufbereitungsanlage · FR responsable d'usine d'épuration des eaux
sewerage systems manager · DE Führungskraft für das Kanalisationssystem · FR responsable de réseaux d'assainissement
hydrogeologist · DE Hydrogeologe/Hydrogeologin · FR hydrogéologue
hydrologist · DE Hydrologe/Hydrologin · FR hydrologue
water quality analyst · DE Wasserqualitätsanalytiker/Wasserqualitätsanalytikerin · FR analyste de la qualité de l’eau
wastewater engineer · DE Ingenieur Abwasserwirtschaft/Ingenieurin Abwasserwirtschaft · FR ingénieur en traitement de l’eau/ingénieure en traitement de l’eau

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Conservation professionals (2151)21,900 employed
Production managers and directors in manufacturing (1121)227,800 employed
Building and civil engineering technicians (3114)20,100 employed

Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.

Pay across Europe, for the whole group

Median annual earnings of all employees in “Professionals”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.

Median annual earnings, Professionals, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€61,714
Germany	€59,529
Ireland	€56,877
Austria	€55,374
Netherlands	€53,595
Sweden	€43,567
France	€41,515
Spain	€35,735
Italy	€33,649
Portugal	€26,072
Poland	€14,380

Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.

Exposure to AI

This occupation sits in the higher third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of +1.28. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.

Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.

Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (17-2051).

Is it a fit for you?

Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.

Take the career interests test