Air Quality Engineers
Overview
Introduction
Air quality engineers, or air pollution control engineers, develop techniques to analyze and control air pollution using sophisticated monitoring, chemical analysis, computer modeling, and statistical analysis. Some air quality engineers design or modify pollution-control equipment. Government-employed air quality experts keep track of a regions polluters, enforce federal regulations, and impose fines or take other action against those who do not comply. Privately employed engineers may monitor companies emissions for certa...
Quick Facts
Median Salary
Employment Prospects
Minimum Education Level
Experience
Skills
Personality Traits
Earnings
Environmental engineers (a category that includes air quality engineers) had a median annual earnings of $100,090 in May 2023, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. The lowest-paid 10 percent earned less than $63,370 a year, while the highest-paid 10 percent earned more than $156,530 annually. Fringe benefits may include tuition reimbursement programs, use of a company vehicle for fieldwor...
Work Environment
Working conditions differ depending on the employer, the positions specialization, and the jobs location. An air quality engineer may be required to perform fieldwork, such as observing emission sources, but more often works in an office, determining the factors responsible for airborne pollutants and devising ways to prevent them. Coworkers may include other environmental engineers, lab techni...
Outlook
Employment for air quality engineers is expected to grow 6% from 2022 to 2032, which is faster than the average for all occupations, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. When the current efforts to modify and monitor equipment slacken as government regulations are met, the focus in air quality engineering will shift from traditional "end-of-pipe" controls (e.g., modifying catalytic conver...