How To Become A Water Engineer: What It Is and Career Path

What is a water engineer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Do you have an interest in working around water? If yes, you should consider a career as a water engineer. Water engineers work on various projects, including flood defense schemes and sewer improvement programs. Therefore, it'll be your job to supervise the operation and maintenance of water and sewage infrastructures. You'll also monitor flood levels during periods when the risks of a flood are high. That's not all. You'll as well be monitoring the project budget and site workers and writing reports on each project. Plus, you'll be working on a construction site most of the time.

To be considered a good water engineer, you need to possess some vital skills. These skills include communications skills, team-working skills, problem-solving skills, IT skills, and good management skills. Also, you will need a degree in mechanical, chemical, or civil engineering, physical science, and geology. You'll make an average salary of $79,340 per year from this job.

ScoreWater EngineerUS Average

Salary

7.6

Avg. Salary $98,752

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.6

Growth rate 4%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

10.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.44%

Asian 13.12%

Black or African American 3.69%

Hispanic or Latino 10.47%

Unknown 3.84%

White 68.45%

Gender

female 14.92%

male 85.08%

Age - 42

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 42

Stress level

6.6

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.3

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.7

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a water engineer

Explore water engineer education requirements

Most common water engineer degrees

Bachelor's

65.4 %

Master's

14.7 %

Associate

5.9 %

Start to develop specific water engineer skills

Skills	Percentages
Infrastructure	14.65%
Cost Estimates	8.99%
GIS	8.87%
Conveyance	8.61%
Treatment Facilities	6.05%

Complete relevant water engineer training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-2 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New water engineers 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 a water engineer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real water engineer resumes.

Research water engineer duties and responsibilities

Support DOD agency needs in accomplishing engineer technical and non-technical goals associate with wireless LAN technology products.
Standardize procedures and methods for performing RF coverage analysis and verification.
Raise IP awareness by developing outreach programs to key business and technical stakeholders.
Perform RF radiation hazard analysis for all facility emitters to establish personnel safety zones.

Apply for water engineer jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a water engineer 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 do water engineers rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Water engineer reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Dec 2019

Pros

It’s been interesting learning how to manage and repair the various parts and pieces of these systems, and I like that I’m not always at a desk .

Cons

Frozen stuff and broken things