Environmental Engineer Fall 2012 - 20

Employers
Want
AAEES Employer Survey on Degree Preferences
Michael Selna, P.E. BCEE
The Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors (AEESP) and the Academy (AAEES) successfully partnered to hold the first annual Environmental Engineering Department and Program Chairs Conference July 29-31, 2012, at the Ohio State University. AEESP is one of the Academy’s 12 Sponsoring Organizations and participates in the governance of the Academy as well as in collaborative efforts such as this conference. During the year of planning for the conference, AEESP took the lead role and provided the conference content. AAEES provided conference support and practitioner involvement. In preparing for the conference, AAEES surveyed 250 employers, both public and private, about hiring practices and degree preferences in their environmental engineering staffs. The employers were primarily those with at least one member of AAEES. Of the 55 employers that responded, 30 were private firms ranging in size from 3 to 869 environmental engineers (median size: 15), and 25 were public agencies ranging in size from 1 to 590 environmental engineers (median size: 5). The survey results were presented at the conference and generated significant discussion. With the small sample size and selection of employers based on their affiliation with AAEES, it is clear that a repeat of the survey with improvements in the survey process will be productive in measuring employer preferences. However, the results of this relatively small survey provide clear trends. The survey asked employers about the degrees held by environmental engineers at entry level, employer preferences in terms of the degree held, how environmental engineers with various degrees advanced in their organizations and about performance in the first five years of employment. Sixty-three percent of the entry level environmental engineers hired by the respondents hold a Bachelor’s degree, 33 percent a Master’s degree and 4 percent a PhD (Figure 1). Contrary to the actual hiring practices, the 58 percent of the same employers indicated they would prefer to hire candidates with a Master’s degree in environmental engineering, with 36 percent indicating preference for a Bachelor’s degree engineer (Figure 2). When asked about advancement in the organization, 84 percent of the respondents indicated higher potential for the MS degree holder than a BS in technical “tracks” and 64 percent in management/supervision. The survey compared nine performance attributes measured in the first five years of employment such as performing creative design, identifying and applying current Environmental Engineering practices (Figure 3), analyzing regulations, working independently (Figure 4) and presentation skills. In all nine attributes, the respondents indicated the MS degree holders outperform the BS degree holders. Differences between private and public employers were slight, with private employers showing higher preferences for MS degree holders. While this survey has limitations, it is clear the employer preference in entry level hiring is for the MS degree in Environmental Engineering over the BS degree. The non-profit Environmental Engineers of the Future (E2F) has been tracking MS enroll-

What

...it is clear the employer preference in entry level hiring is for the MS degree in Environmental Engineering over the BS degree.
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Environmental Engineer: News, Current Events & Careers V 48, N 4 | Fall 2012
Environmental Engineer Fall 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Environmental Engineer Fall 2012
