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.

Most important skills

Reading Comprehension
Writing
Critical Thinking
Judgment and Decision Making
Active Listening
Mathematics
Complex Problem Solving
Systems Analysis

Key knowledge

Engineering and Technology
Design
English Language
Mathematics
Building and Construction
Administration and Management
Mechanical
Physics

What the work involves

Write technical reports or publications related to water resources development or water use efficiency.
Review and critique proposals, plans, or designs related to water or wastewater treatment systems.
Provide technical support on water resource or treatment issues to government agencies.
Provide technical direction or supervision to junior engineers, engineering or computer-aided design (CAD) technicians, or other technical personnel.
Identify design alternatives for the development of new water resources.
Develop plans for new water resources or water efficiency programs.
Design or select equipment for use in wastewater processing to ensure compliance with government standards.
Conduct water quality studies to identify and characterize water pollutant sources.

Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Realistic, Investigative, Conventional.

Qualifications and licensing

Most common education: Bachelor's Degree (69.6% of respondents)
Related experience: Over 6 months, up to and including 1 year (22.7%)
On-the-job training: Over 6 months, up to and including 1 year (21.7%)
Preparation level: O*NET job zone 4: Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed
Licensing: Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.

Check before planning

Licensing for Water/Wastewater Engineers is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Projection education uses SOC 17-2051 (detailed_parent); it may describe a broader group.

Limits

Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.

Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0

Work environment

How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).

Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.

Rankings compare typical U.S. occupation-level work conditions; individual jobs and employers vary. Data: O*NET 31.0 Work Context and BLS wages (May 2025).
Condition	Level	Compared with other occupations	Most common answer (O*NET survey)
Contact with others	Low	Lower on contact with others than 66% of occupations compared	43% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others”
Dealing with the public	Moderate	Higher on dealing with the public than 50% of occupations compared	52% of surveyed respondents chose “Important”
Teamwork	Moderate	Higher on teamwork than 56% of occupations compared	48% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important”
Freedom to make decisions	Low	Lower on freedom to make decisions than 73% of occupations compared	48% of surveyed respondents chose “Some freedom”
Time pressure	Low	Lower on time pressure than 63% of occupations compared	43% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week”
Conflict situations	Moderate	Higher on conflict situations than 52% of occupations compared	43% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month”
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people	Very low	Lower on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 88% of occupations compared	65% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month”
Consequence of error	Very low	Lower on consequence of error than 84% of occupations compared	48% of surveyed respondents chose “Fairly serious”

Work-pressure profile

Time pressure: low
Conflict situations: moderate
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: very low
Consequence of error: very low

Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.

Full answer distributions