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The differences between senior environmental engineers and environmental planners can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a senior environmental engineer and an environmental planner. Additionally, a senior environmental engineer has an average salary of $84,515, which is higher than the $71,174 average annual salary of an environmental planner.
The top three skills for a senior environmental engineer include environmental engineering, environmental compliance and OSHA. The most important skills for an environmental planner are federal regulations, water quality, and wetland delineations.
| Senior Environmental Engineer | Environmental Planner | |
| Yearly salary | $84,515 | $71,174 |
| Hourly rate | $40.63 | $34.22 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 30,813 | 30,227 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 70% |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
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 planners are in charge of performing research and analysis to reduce the environmental impact of a company's business procedures and operations. Their responsibilities revolve around devising strategies to attain environmentally friendly operations, optimizing processes for sustainability, liaising with clients to gain perspective, and coordinating with different departments to ensure that all processes adhere to the company's environmental policies and regulations. Furthermore, as an environmental planner, it is essential to produce progress reports and presentations, all while addressing and resolving any issues or concerns with the subject.
Senior environmental engineers and environmental planners have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Environmental Engineer | Environmental Planner | |
| Average salary | $84,515 | $71,174 |
| Salary range | Between $65,000 And $109,000 | Between $52,000 And $95,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | West Virginia | West Virginia |
| Best paying company | Microsoft | Santa Clara Valley Water District |
| Best paying industry | Energy | Retail |
There are a few differences between a senior environmental engineer and an environmental planner in terms of educational background:
| Senior Environmental Engineer | Environmental Planner | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 70% |
| Most common major | Chemical Engineering | Environmental Science |
| Most common college | University of California, Berkeley | University of California, Berkeley |
Here are the differences between senior environmental engineers' and environmental planners' demographics:
| Senior Environmental Engineer | Environmental Planner | |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 74.9% Female, 25.1% | Male, 52.7% Female, 47.3% |
| Race ratio | 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% | Black or African American, 3.7% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 10.5% Asian, 13.1% White, 68.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 13% | 13% |