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The differences between environmental protection specialists and environmental engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become an environmental protection specialist, becoming an environmental engineer takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, an environmental engineer has an average salary of $75,718, which is higher than the $59,771 average annual salary of an environmental protection specialist.
The top three skills for an environmental protection specialist include hazardous waste, CFR and DOD. The most important skills for an environmental engineer are environmental compliance, project management, and OSHA.
| Environmental Protection Specialist | Environmental Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $59,771 | $75,718 |
| Hourly rate | $28.74 | $36.40 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 26,135 | 24,787 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 75% |
| Average age | 39 | 43 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 12 |
The duties of an environmental protection specialist depend on their line of work or place of employment. Typically, their responsibilities revolve around assessing and determining the level of pollution or damage in an area, gathering samples for scientific purposes, reviewing data and results, and providing recommendations to clients or government agencies. Furthermore, there are also instances where they have to summarize results and produce reports or presentations, coordinate with other specialists and scientists, and develop programs or projects to raise environmental awareness.
Environmental engineers use the principles of science, biology, engineering, and chemistry to create solutions to certain environmental problems. They primarily work to improve waste disposal, public health, recycling, and to control water and air pollution. It is also their responsibility to address global issues, such as climate change, unsafe drinking water, and environmental sustainability. They typically prepare and review environmental investigation reports so that documents and permits are updated and in compliance with environmental regulations.
Environmental protection specialists and environmental engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Environmental Protection Specialist | Environmental Engineer | |
| Average salary | $59,771 | $75,718 |
| Salary range | Between $39,000 And $91,000 | Between $58,000 And $98,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | Louisiana |
| Best paying company | Booz Allen Hamilton | |
| Best paying industry | Government | Energy |
There are a few differences between an environmental protection specialist and an environmental engineer in terms of educational background:
| Environmental Protection Specialist | Environmental Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 75% |
| Most common major | Environmental Science | Civil Engineering |
| Most common college | Duke University | University of California, Berkeley |
Here are the differences between environmental protection specialists' and environmental engineers' demographics:
| Environmental Protection Specialist | Environmental Engineer | |
| Average age | 39 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 61.6% Female, 38.4% | Male, 70.5% Female, 29.5% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.1% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 6.2% Asian, 5.0% White, 81.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% | Black or African American, 3.5% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 10.2% Asian, 12.9% White, 69.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 16% | 13% |