Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between environmental consultants and senior environmental engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both an environmental consultant and a senior environmental engineer. Additionally, a senior environmental engineer has an average salary of $84,515, which is higher than the $74,913 average annual salary of an environmental consultant.
The top three skills for an environmental consultant include environmental compliance, OSHA and technical reports. The most important skills for a senior environmental engineer are environmental engineering, environmental compliance, and OSHA.
| Environmental Consultant | Senior Environmental Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $74,913 | $84,515 |
| Hourly rate | $36.02 | $40.63 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 21,723 | 30,813 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
An Environmental Consultant provides assessment and advisory services for their clients on matters regarding the management of environmental issues. They are generally hired by consultancy firms, which are hired by the public sector or commercial organizations.
Senior Environmental Engineers are responsible for the supervision and implementation of processes that protect the environment intending to reduce contamination, control pollution, and optimize resource usage. They are responsible for identifying contaminant sources, managing sites assessments, carrying out technical audits, making waste-management recommendations, creating environmental impacts forecast using computer modeling and mathematical techniques as well as design technical solution to reduce an organization's negative environmental impact. They also ensure the site achieves environmental regulation compliance, keeps updated with environmental law changes, and assist in managing permits.
Environmental consultants and senior environmental engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Environmental Consultant | Senior Environmental Engineer | |
| Average salary | $74,913 | $84,515 |
| Salary range | Between $56,000 And $98,000 | Between $65,000 And $109,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | West Virginia |
| Best paying company | ConocoPhillips | Microsoft |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Energy |
There are a few differences between an environmental consultant and a senior environmental engineer in terms of educational background:
| Environmental Consultant | Senior Environmental Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Most common major | Environmental Science | Chemical Engineering |
| Most common college | Stanford University | University of California, Berkeley |
Here are the differences between environmental consultants' and senior environmental engineers' demographics:
| Environmental Consultant | Senior Environmental Engineer | |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 69.0% Female, 31.0% | Male, 74.9% Female, 25.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.5% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 10.1% Asian, 12.8% White, 69.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 3.6% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 10.4% Asian, 13.0% White, 68.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 13% | 13% |