Environmental engineers often work with business people, lawyers, and other professionals outside of their field, and are required to read and understand documents that are sometimes not within their scope of training. Often, their designs are only a part of a larger project. Therefore, they need to foresee how the proposed designs will interact with other components in the process, including the workers, machinery, equipment, or the environment.
The typical workday of an environmental engineer varies. One day might be spent collaborating with other professionals on planning an upcoming city project or solving a resource problem. Another day might be spent on-site, monitoring the progress and adherence of city and federal codes of an ongoing project.
As an environmental engineer, your tasks will vary based on your setting. When working on urban or regional planning, you might use an office, do field research on location, or work at construction sites when implementing solutions.