Also called: Solid Waste Engineer, Landfill Gas Engineer
Designs landfills with liners and systems that capture methane gas and keep garbage juice ('leachate') out of groundwater.
You design the next 'cell' of a landfill, layered with plastic liners and drainage pipes, and plan wells that pull methane gas out to make electricity. Site visits mean standing on a mountain of trash with a set of plans.
Environmental engineers.
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, environmental, or geotechnical engineering plus PE license.
Ways in: 4-year college, Certification. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Civil Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Geotechnical Engineering.
Growing faster than average (about 5% over 10 years). Environmental engineers.
Low risk for 10 years. AI helps model gas and leachate; design, site checks and PE sign-off stay human.
Classes: AP Physics, AP Calculus, Chemistry.
Official data: O*NET occupation 17-2081.
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.