Also called: Hydraulic Engineer, Stormwater Engineer, Hydrologist-Engineer
Designs systems that manage rivers, floods, stormwater and drinking water supply.
You build a computer model of a river to map which neighborhoods flood in a big storm. Then you design a detention pond and bigger culverts, and wade into a creek in waders to measure how fast the water moves.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Bachelor's degree (4-year), about 4 years after high school. Bachelor's in civil or environmental engineering; master's common.
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Civil Engineering, Environmental Engineering.
Growing faster than average (about 5% over 10 years). Climate-driven flooding is increasing demand.
Medium risk for 10 years. AI flood models and automated hydrology cut desk modeling time; field surveys, design and community decisions stay human.
Classes: Earth science, Environmental science, Statistics, AP Calculus.
Official data: O*NET occupation 17-2051.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.