Skip to content
Alamo Colleges DistrictCareer Explorer

Water/Wastewater Engineers

Part of Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources, in the Environmental Service Systems pathway.

Bright outlookJob zone 4: considerable preparationO*NET 17-2051.02

What the work is

Design or oversee projects involving provision of potable water, disposal of wastewater and sewage, or prevention of flood-related damage. Prepare environmental documentation for water resources, regulatory program compliance, data management and analysis, and field work. Perform hydraulic modeling and pipeline design.

On a typical day

  • Write technical reports or publications related to water resources development or water use efficiency.
  • Review and critique proposals, plans, or designs related to water or wastewater treatment systems.
  • Provide technical support on water resource or treatment issues to government agencies.
  • Provide technical direction or supervision to junior engineers, engineering or computer-aided design (CAD) technicians, or other technical personnel.
  • Identify design alternatives for the development of new water resources.
  • Develop plans for new water resources or water efficiency programs.

What it pays

$88,290
Median pay per year, San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX metro
New workers start near $64,490
Experienced workers reach $133,900
  1. $64k10th
  2. $74k25th
  3. $88kMedian
  4. $114k75th
  5. $134k90th
Wage percentiles: 10th $64,490, 25th $73,730, Median $88,290, 75th $113,760, 90th $133,900

About 2,230 people do this job in the San Antonio area.

Job outlook

Alamo region (Bexar and 12 surrounding counties), Texas Workforce Commission projection 2024 to 2034. U.S. figures from the BLS for comparison.

+13.3%

employment change in the Alamo region, 2,374 to 2,689 jobs · U.S. +5%

178

openings a year in the Alamo region, from growth and people leaving · U.S. 23,600

2,374

employed in the Alamo region in 2024 · U.S. 368,900

Typical entry education: Bachelor's degree

Skills this career uses

The skills O*NET rates most important for the job, with how much of each the work needs on a 1 to 7 scale.

  1. Reading Comprehension4.4
  2. Critical Thinking4.1
  3. Judgment and Decision Making4.1
  4. Writing4.0
  5. Complex Problem Solving4.8
  6. Mathematics4.5
  7. Systems Analysis4.1
  8. Systems Evaluation4.1

Education people in this job have

Share of workers by highest education, from O*NET surveys. It shows what others did, not what you must do.

  1. Bachelor's degree70%
  2. Master's degree26%
  3. Doctoral or professional4%

Job zone 4, considerable preparation: Usually a bachelor's degree, sometimes a strong associate plus experience.

Alamo programs that lead here

No Alamo program is mapped to this career yet. Many careers start from a transfer pre-major or a related program.

Browse all programs

Does this fit you?

Six questions rank every career here by how closely its interest profile follows yours.

Check my interests
  1. Environmental Engineers

    Zone 4 Bright outlook

    $124kSan Antonio median
  2. Water Resource Specialists

    Zone 431 Alamo programs Bright outlook

    $118kSan Antonio median
  3. Civil Engineers

    Zone 4 Bright outlook

    $88kSan Antonio median
  4. Brownfield Redevelopment Specialists and Site Managers

    Zone 433 Alamo programs Bright outlook

    $131kSan Antonio median
  5. Petroleum Engineers

    Zone 4

    $120kSan Antonio median
  6. Energy Engineers, Except Wind and Solar

    Zone 43 Alamo programs

    $118kSan Antonio median
  7. Environmental Science and Protection Technicians, Including Health

    Zone 42 Alamo programs Bright outlook

    $51kSan Antonio median
  8. Chemical Engineers

    Zone 4 Bright outlook

    $133kTexas median