Environmental Engineering In Australia: Essay On Tasks, Employment, And Trends.

Professional Purpose

I have always been intrigued by professional engineering approaches that comply with designing, constructing, maintaining, and improving our physical or natural environment.

My professional purpose is to design, construct and maintain public structure and engineering projects to build a safer and secure environment improving services and facilities.

An example of jobs that align with my professional purpose is Civil Engineer Consultants help with assisting the clients by providing advice for selecting the contractors or purchasing the material that is required in the construction projects, and Environmental engineers help with optimizing the use of resources developing renewable resources to reduce environmental pollution and waste generation aligning with my purpose. Finally, I can also work as a Civil Design engineer, which allows me to draft plans as 2D and 3D designs of construction infrastructure during proposed projects based on the requirements and specifications.

I want to progress with describing the Environmental engineer occupation further in the paper, focusing on the topic. The report would be completely based on the Australian context.    

The tasks and responsibilities of the Environmental engineering are:

• Gathering data and information on environmental factors using site assessments, continuous reports and monitoring (Team, 2022).
• Evaluating the environmental impacts and hazards that come from the construction project.
• Create plans for restoring and protecting the environment by removing contaminations from the surrounding.
• Develop specific protocols for health and safety
• Supervise and manage the daily activities complying with the positive environmental policies.
• Be familiar with the current regulations and protocols about geographical locations in Australia and its environment.
• Assist and train project members in promoting the best practices for addressing environmental issues to promote sustainability.  

There is no specific specification for the environmental engineers, but they can work on specific environmental factors like water waste management, infrastructure development and reduction of air pollutants.

There is a wide range of employment options for the environmental engineers where opportunities arrive from:

• Environmental volunteering with NGOs, charities, parks and trusts.
• Environmental consultancies
• Construction firms (Environmental engineer job profile | Prospects.ac.uk, 2022)
• Waste companies
• Land remediation organizations
• Airline companies
• Environmental societies in Australian Universities
• Manufacturing
• Mining
• Energy companies

The environmental engineering professionals can get employed as full-time and part-time individuals and through short-term contracts.

• Needs to complete the undergraduate degree as Bachelor of Engineering (civil), Bachelor of Environmental Engineering and Bachelor of Science. (How to become an Environmental Engineer - Salary, Qualifications, Skills & Reviews – SEEK, 2022)
• Complete post-graduate in Master of Engineering (civil)
• Upon graduation, achieve the Membership of Engineers Australia and register with the National Engineer Register (NER).

The area of knowledge required for environmental engineering needs study on the subject of:

• Chemistry
• Biology
• Environmental Science
• Geoscience
• Geotechnical engineering
• Geology
• Geography
• Maths
• Physics
• Ecology

The capabilities that must be present in the environmental engineers are:

• Research
• Active communication
• Creative Thinking
• Problem Solving
• Ethical practices
• Safety Mindset
• Detail Oriented
• Analytical skill

The skills that must be present for the environmental engineers are:

• Project Management
• Assessing and evaluating project management environmental risks, threats and vulnerabilities (Environmental EngineerSkills and Knowledge, 2022)
• Environmental and geographical policies.
• Compliance with ethical guidelines
• Quality control analysis (Environmental EngineerSkills and Knowledge, 2022)
• Schedule management
• Operation management

I want to specifically work in the Australian projects and industries, focusing on the context

One of the emerging trends that are seen to be used by the environmental engineers nowadays for managing complex projects is the Biofiltration technology for treating the wastewater of an organization (HowStuffWorks, Science, Engineering and Engineering, 2022). Biofiltration facilitates the disinfection of wastewater, capturing unwanted contaminants from the project. Biofiltration allows for improving water stability and controlling waste management and odor.

Biofiltration systems adopted by the organization managed by the environmental engineers allow for fixing the water gas problem by lowering operational costs and minimizing maintenance costs (Biofiltration systems in Development Services Schemes guidelines | Melbourne Water, 2022). People are getting environmentally aware of the negative effect of wastewater; thus, bringing in biofiltration provides help to secure the surroundings. The health and safety of the employees are vital drivers of the change request for implementing a biofiltration system.

The main professional groups that are identified as the home of many civil engineers that supports shaping sustainable projects are: Engineers Australia: One of the major governing bodies in Australia that provides support to their member with commitment and governance, serving engineers with absolute dedication to infrastructure and project requirements (Engineers Australia overview | Engineers Australia, 2022). The body allows the creation of more healthy, sustainable and secure communities.

National Engineer Register: National Engineer Register is another governing body present inside Engineers Australia, allowing engineers to be registered after meeting the highest professionalism structures inside the industries, providing individuals with tools to connect their talent to respective opportunities.

Environmental Engineer Occupation in Australia

Association of Professional Engineers Australia: This association supports project members to share knowledge, influence infrastructure policies, and encourage excellence and innovation in civil engineering (ICE Australasia, 2022).

These governing bodies assist the people and the university students in governing and administering a wide range of activities conducted by the participant. The groups can suggest the best practices for career perspectives for controlling environmental factors, administer participation and help the project gain a strategic direction.

I am keen to work in construction firms with experienced teams of civil engineering professionals. Environmental engineers might choose to work independently and serve as consultants for construction projects. The organization must use cutting-edge technologies that can improve environmental factors. The organization must serve permanent job options and best working conditions, encouraging gender equality, good leave bonuses, fixed salaries and added incentives. My job purpose and criteria align with each other as I want to work in an organization to make significant differences in improving environmental factors, maintain work/life balance to help other people, and build sustainable communities.

“EI Australia” is a large-scale, Australian-owned civil engineering and professional services company that facilitates combining environmental and scientific solutions across Australia and New Zealand. EI Australia is continuously growing with several permanent project members, consultants and individuals in the department of civil, infrastructural, environmental and geo-technological engineering support from experts in hydrogeological and geological fields (Eiaustralia | About, 2022).  

The firm matches my job criteria allowing me to understand their values and match them with my preferences. The company utilizes the latest technologies and works with a highly professional group of engineers. Being an environmental engineer for the organization allows me to evaluate and assess complex sight issues to help the organization mitigate costs. I can provide value to the company by maintaining compliance while adhering to specific regulatory frameworks.

The employment options available at “EI Australia” helps with protecting and maintaining the environmental factors for the future generation and societies being forefront in developing measures to be in the forefront of the construction innovations. The EI Australia staff and management are committed to identifying and applying environmentally secure, responsible and efficiency-based strategies when providing services to the clientele.

My criteria and the professional purpose align with the company's accredited processes for ensuring compliance with the Australian environmental legislation with a sense of shared responsibility, requiring the cooperation of all the employees within the workplace. The company aims to be environmentally secure in conducting construction projects with the best measures and current trends.   

EI Australia has a professional website that provides information on the company describing the company, services present, project team, project, contact, and blogs. The company has been listed on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook, listing its current vacancies and social posts about events and news (EI Australia, 2022). The company uses its other social platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube to carry on with marketing. Individuals can gain information about vacancies from websites. The company also has a careers page where I can gather information about a career in EI Australia.

The vacancies in the organization can be found via their website, LinkedIn, Twitter, and at job-seeking sites like SEEK, Indeed, Jora, Gumtree and Adzuna. Recruitments can be done using applications, presentations, group discussions, questionnaires, psychometric and proficiency assessments, and interviews. The application can give cover letters, documents, and resumes to address their selection criteria for positioning. Interviews are done using panel interviews.

The priority of the employer is to employ local and international students with diverse experience and backgrounds being graduates to highly professional individuals who can carry out:

Site Validation

Contaminated Land Management

Detailed Site Investigation (DSI)

Remediation Action Plans (RAP)

Environmental Management Plans (EMP)

Construction Environmental Management Plan (CEMP) (EI Australia  | Environmental Engineering, 2022)

Soil Investigations

Environmental monitoring

Human Health & Environmental Risk Assessments

Project sign-off and plan approval

Research and Development (R&D)

The sources for my research about the employer would be gained from the Ei Australia website, journals, articles and news websites. The information was reliably taken from credible websites with the latest information. The newspaper website helped gain the perspective of a wider audience looking for data like ABC Australia, The Age News Headlines and 9NEWS.

References: 

CEnvP Scheme. 2022. Certified Environmental Practitioner Scheme - Home. [online] Available at: <https://www.cenvp.org/> [Accessed 26 April 2022].

Eiaustralia.com.au. 2022. About. [online] Available at: <https://www.eiaustralia.com.au/about> [Accessed 26 April 2022].

Eiaustralia.com.au. 2022. EI Australia. [online] Available at: <https://www.eiaustralia.com.au/> [Accessed 26 April 2022].

Eiaustralia.com.au. 2022. Environmental Engineering. [online] Available at:

<https://www.eiaustralia.com.au/services/environmental-engineering> [Accessed 26 April 2022].

Engineersaustralia.org.au. 2022. ?National Engineering Register | Engineers Australia. [online] Available at:

<https://www.engineersaustralia.org.au/Engineering-Registers/National-Engineering-Register> [Accessed 26 April 2022].  (?National Engineering Register | Engineers Australia, 2022)

Engineersaustralia.org.au. 2022. Engineers Australia overview | Engineers Australia. [online] Available at:

<https://www.engineersaustralia.org.au/About-Us/Overview> [Accessed 26 April 2022].

HowStuffWorks, Science, Engineering and Engineering, 2022. 10 Advancements in Environmental Engineering. [online] HowStuffWorks. Available at:

<https://science.howstuffworks.com/engineering/civil/10-advancements-environmental-engineering.htm#pt3> [Accessed 26 April 2022].

Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE). 2022. ICE Australasia. [online] Available at:

<https://www.ice.org.uk/about-us/what-we-do/ice-near-you/international/ice-australasia/> [Accessed 26 April 2022].  

Melbournewater.com.au. 2022. Biofiltration systems in Development Services Schemes guidelines | Melbourne Water. [online] Available at:

<https://www.melbournewater.com.au/building-and-works/developer-guides-and-resources/standards-and-specifications/biofiltration> [Accessed 26 April 2022].

Mymajors.com. 2022. Environmental EngineerSkills and Knowledge. [online] Available at:

<https://www.mymajors.com/career/environmental-engineers/skills/> [Accessed 26 April 2022].

Prospects.ac.uk. 2022. Environmental engineer job profile | Prospects.ac.uk. [online] Available at:

<https://www.prospects.ac.uk/job-profiles/environmental-engineer#qualifications> [Accessed 26 April 2022].

RED OHMS. 2022. RED OHMS Group can provide Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH®) services. [online] Available at:

<https://redohmsgroup.com.au/2022/01/06/certified-industrial-hygienist-cih-services/> [Accessed 26 April 2022].

SEEK. 2022. How to become an Environmental Engineer - Salary, Qualifications, Skills & Reviews – SEEK. [online] Available at:

<https://www.seek.com.au/career-advice/role/environmental-engineer> [Accessed 26 April 2022].

Team, G., 2022. Environmental Engineer Job Description (Salary, Skills). [online] Go Construct. Available at:

<https://www.goconstruct.org/construction-careers/what-jobs-are-right-for-me/environmental-engineer/> [Accessed 26 April 2022].