Air Quality Engineers
Overview
Introduction
Air quality engineers, or air pollution control engineers, develop techniques to analyze and control air pollution by using sophisticated monitoring, chemical analysis, computer modeling, and statistical analysis. Some air quality engineers design or modify pollution-control equipment. Government-employed air quality experts keep track of a region's polluters, enforce federal regulations, and impose fines or take other action against those who do not comply with regulations. Privately employed engineers may monitor companie...
Quick Facts
Median Salary
Employment Prospects
Minimum Education Level
Experience
Skills
Personality Traits
Earnings
Environmental engineers (a category that includes air quality engineers) had median annual earnings of $87,620 in May 2018, according to the U.S Department of Labor. The lowest paid 10 percent earned less than $53,180 a year, while the highest paid 10 percent earned more than $137,090 per year. Salary.com reported median annual earnings of $80,532 for mid-level e...
Work Environment
Working conditions differ depending on the employer, the specialization of the position, and the location of the job. An air quality engineer may be required to perform fieldwork, such as observing emission sources, but more often works in an office, determining the factors responsible for airborne pollutants and devising ways to prevent them. Coworkers may include other environmental engineers...
Outlook
Employment for air quality engineers is expected to grow about as fast as the average for all occupations through 2028, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, with the strongest job growth occurring in private-sector consulting firms. When the current efforts to modify and monitor equipment slackens as government regulations are met, the focus in air quality engineering will shift from trad...
