Water is life, and controlling water is controlling life. And it's not about being Poseidon or Aquaman. In this case, it's about controlling water through science. This is the Water Resources Engineer's job, dealing with the provision of clean water for the community and the disposal of wastewater.
And if you want a role as god or superhero, you can also separate the waters in two and avoid floods. Of course, obtaining these superpowers is not an easy task.
To become a Water Resources Engineer, you first need a university degree in civil engineering and then a master's degree in water management. This role requires excellent analytical skills. They are usually hired by public or private entities to direct all tasks related to water management, including technical and administrative responsibilities.
It's a lot of work, but $90,000 a year does not sound so bad, and with this being a career with great expectations of growth in the coming years, perhaps the effort will be worth it.
How to Become a Water Resources Engineer
What is a Water Resources Engineer
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a Water Resources Engineer. For example, did you know that they make an average of $41.9 an hour? That's $87,142 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 5% and produce 2,900 job opportunities across the U.S.
What Does a Water Resources Engineer Do
There are certain skills that many Water Resources Engineers have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed Imagination, Writing skills and Problem-solving skills.
How To Become a Water Resources Engineer
If you're interested in becoming a Water Resources Engineer, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 64.8% of Water Resources Engineers have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 21.6% of Water Resources Engineers have master's degrees. Even though most Water Resources Engineers have a college degree, it's impossible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become a Water Resources Engineer. When we researched the most common majors for a Water Resources Engineer, we found that they most commonly earn Bachelor's Degree degrees or Master's Degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on Water Resources Engineer resumes include Associate Degree degrees or Doctoral Degree degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become a Water Resources Engineer. In fact, many Water Resources Engineer jobs require experience in a role such as Civil Engineer. Meanwhile, many Water Resources Engineers also have previous career experience in roles such as Project Engineer or Engineering Internship.
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Water Resources Engineer Career Paths
As you move along in your career, you may start taking on more responsibilities or notice that you've taken on a leadership role. Using our career map, a Water Resources Engineer can determine their career goals through the career progression. For example, they could start out with a role such as Project Manager, progress to a title such as General Manager and then eventually end up with the title Construction Manager.
Water Resources Engineer Jobs You Might Like
What is the right job for my career path?
Tell us your goals and we'll match you with the rights job to get there.
Average Salary for a Water Resources Engineer
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Choose From 10+ Customizable Water Resources Engineer Resume templates
Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Water Resources Engineer templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Water Resources Engineer resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.
Find the best Water Resources Engineer job for you
Water Resources Engineer Jobs You Might Like
- High Paying Water Resources Engineer Jobs - $140K and Up
- Work From Home Water Resources Engineer Jobs
- Entry Level Water Resources Engineer Jobs
- Part Time Water Resources Engineer Jobs
- Actively Hiring
- No Degree Water Resources Engineer Jobs
Top Colleges for Water Resources Engineers
1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, MA • Private
2. Georgia Institute of Technology
Atlanta, GA • Private
3. Cornell University
Ithaca, NY • Private
4. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, MI • Private
5. Columbia University in the City of New York
New York, NY • Private
6. University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA • Private
7. Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD • Private
8. Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA • Private
9. California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo
San Luis Obispo, CA • Private
10. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
Find the best Water Resources Engineer job for you
Water Resources Engineer Jobs You Might Like
- High Paying Water Resources Engineer Jobs - $140K and Up
- Work From Home Water Resources Engineer Jobs
- Entry Level Water Resources Engineer Jobs
- Part Time Water Resources Engineer Jobs
- Actively Hiring
- No Degree Water Resources Engineer Jobs
Online Courses For Water Resources Engineer That You May Like
Water management today is faced with new challenges such as climate change or the effects of human activity. Public and private stakeholders who are active in this field must develop new ways to better manage the water cycle "as a whole". The objective of this MOOC is to develop an understanding of the problems related to water management. Firstly, this course will define a resource and, more specifically, the resource of water. It will look at how water is used and the activities associated wit...
Increasingly scarce natural resources Worldwide, a variety of processes puts more pressure on water resources every day. Global climate change causes temperatures to rise and precipitation patterns to change. A growing degree of urbanization causes people to move from the countryside to the cities. This results in increased competition over water resources, like rivers and groundwater, between cities and their surrounding areas. Furthermore, population growth and rising global welfare create an...
Water is essential for life on Earth and of crucial importance for society. Water also plays a major role in affecting climate. Its natural cycle, from ocean to atmosphere by evaporation, then by precipitation back to land returning via rivers and aquifers to the oceans, has a decisive impact on regional and global climate patterns. For those interested in engineering, climate science and environmental studies, this course offers a first introduction to the physics of water systems and their...
Top Skills For a Water Resources Engineer
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 9.4% of Water Resources Engineers listed Hydrologic on their resume, but soft skills such as Imagination and Writing skills are important as well.
Best States For a Water Resources Engineer
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a Water Resources Engineer. The best states for people in this position are California, Oregon, North Dakota, and Maine. Water Resources Engineers make the most in California with an average salary of $111,346. Whereas in Oregon and North Dakota, they would average $108,533 and $102,881, respectively. While Water Resources Engineers would only make an average of $101,408 in Maine, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.
1. Oregon
$108,533
Avg. Salary
2. California
$111,346
Avg. Salary
3. Idaho
$99,932
Avg. Salary
How Do Water Resources Engineer Rate Their Jobs?
Top Water Resources Engineer Employers
We've made finding a great employer to work for easy by doing the hard work for you. We looked into employers that employ Water Resources Engineers and discovered their number of Water Resources Engineer opportunities and average salary. Through our research, we concluded that HDR Engineering was the best, especially with an average salary of $79,843. Arcadis follows up with an average salary of $84,177, and then comes CDM Smith with an average of $78,994. In addition, we know most people would rather work from home. So instead of having to change careers, we identified the best employers for remote work as a Water Resources Engineer. The employers include Michael Baker, McFarland Johnson, and Jacobs Enterprises