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What is an environmental manager and how to become one
An environmental manager is an individual that ensures that the organization he/she is working in complies with the relevant federal and state regulations, as well as internal environmental requirements. These environmental regulations and conditions are created with respect to pollution, clean water, waste, and clean air. They are charged with the responsibility of promoting sustainability by designing and implementing environmental policies.
An environmental manager can be employed by non-governmental organizations, environmental consulting firms, construction companies, utility companies, government agencies, local government departments, or even private industries such as oil and gas, energy, mining, and aerospace. A successful environmental manager has in-depth knowledge of the federal and state environmental laws, as well as work experience in the field.
Environmental managers typically work 40 hours a week, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday. The role also involves occasional travel to the field to make assessments and work beyond the 40 hours.
What general advice would you give to an environmental manager?
Andrea Welker Ph.D.
Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, College of Engineering Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Villanova University
Avg. Salary $67,747
Avg. Salary $59,228
Growth rate 6%
Growth rate 0.3%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.52%
Asian 8.20%
Black or African American 2.61%
Hispanic or Latino 15.62%
Unknown 7.64%
White 65.42%
Genderfemale 25.13%
male 74.87%
Age - 43.5American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%
Asian 7.00%
Black or African American 14.00%
Hispanic or Latino 19.00%
White 57.00%
Genderfemale 47.00%
male 53.00%
Age - 43.5Stress level is high
7.1 - high
Complexity level is advanced
7 - challenging
Work life balance is fair
6.4 - fair
Environmental manager career paths
Key steps to become an environmental manager
Explore environmental manager education requirements
Start to develop specific environmental manager skills
Skills Percentages Regulatory Agencies 7.27% Environmental Regulations 6.74% Project Management 5.79% Oversight 4.52% Environmental Issues 4.06% Complete relevant environmental manager training and internships
Accountants spend an average of 1-2 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New environmental managers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an environmental manager based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real environmental manager resumes.Research environmental manager duties and responsibilities
- Manage training and execution of asbestos and lead abatement efforts while working with all state environmental agencies to ensure proper compliance.
- Manage sewage treatment plant direct discharge monitoring, operation, reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
- Assist in compliance inspections for air and water programs dealing with CAA, RCRA, and SARA.
- Act as contact point to environmental regulators (EPA, DEQ, DEC) and conduct quarterly audits for each facility.
Prepare your environmental manager resume
When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your environmental manager resume.
You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an environmental manager resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.
Choose from 10+ customizable environmental manager resume templates
Build a professional environmental manager resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your environmental manager resume.
Apply for environmental manager jobs
Now it's time to start searching for an environmental manager job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:
- Browse job boards for relevant postings
- Consult your professional network
- Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
- Watch out for job scams
How did you land your first environmental manager job
Are you an environmental manager?
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Average environmental manager salary
The average environmental manager salary in the United States is $67,747 per year or $33 per hour. Environmental manager salaries range between $43,000 and $105,000 per year.
What am I worth?
How do environmental managers rate their job?
Environmental manager reviews
Firstly, the most important is to protect our planet for us and the future generations. Secondly our planet is not going to support the pressure and negative impacts because of the big Increased human population . Finally our planet needs more and more environmental specialists to regulate and control all human activities, especially the ilegal ones.
I don’t like when big companies they know what’s wrong and what’s right, but still the destroy, like cutting trees in Brazil and the other side big companies even knowing those trees are ilegal, but still they continuing to porches. There for I can’t understand and I don’t like.
Both indoor and outdoor work environment. Great job satisfaction meeting regulatory requirements.
Can be stressful at times
environmental Impacts accuracy and quality of classification processes handled by their team. Impacts team, partner teams and Process Experts.
pay, responsibly,
Updated January 8, 2025
