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The differences between environmental engineering interns 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 engineering internship and a senior environmental engineer. Additionally, a senior environmental engineer has an average salary of $84,515, which is higher than the $36,235 average annual salary of an environmental engineering internship.
The top three skills for an environmental engineering internship include GIS, environmental compliance and powerpoint. The most important skills for a senior environmental engineer are environmental engineering, environmental compliance, and OSHA.
| Environmental Engineering Internship | Senior Environmental Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $36,235 | $84,515 |
| Hourly rate | $17.42 | $40.63 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 112,274 | 30,813 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 78% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
An environmental engineering intern is someone who provides environmental compliance. Environmental engineering interns assist environmental program administrators. They conduct surveys or studies for the completion of documents. It is their duty to help in the development and rehabilitation of monitoring wells to ensure productive water samples. They collect and compile data to establish a water-management plan on a state level. Also, they perform evaluations, establish and validate procedures, and improve record keeping.
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 engineering interns and senior environmental engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Environmental Engineering Internship | Senior Environmental Engineer | |
| Average salary | $36,235 | $84,515 |
| Salary range | Between $26,000 And $49,000 | Between $65,000 And $109,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | West Virginia |
| Best paying company | Schneider Electric Industrial Services | Microsoft |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Energy |
There are a few differences between an environmental engineering internship and a senior environmental engineer in terms of educational background:
| Environmental Engineering Internship | Senior Environmental Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 78% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Most common major | Environmental Science | Chemical Engineering |
| Most common college | University of California, Berkeley | University of California, Berkeley |
Here are the differences between environmental engineering interns' and senior environmental engineers' demographics:
| Environmental Engineering Internship | Senior Environmental Engineer | |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 49.1% Female, 50.9% | Male, 74.9% Female, 25.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.6% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 10.4% Asian, 13.0% White, 68.7% 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% |