Page 21 - Choices Mag- KS3 - Issue 1

Responsibilities Salary

As a water engineer, you’ll need to: • Starting salaries range from
£20,000 to £30,000.
• design overall schemes, such as sewer
improvement schemes or flood defence • Average salaries for
programmes, and associated structures, engineers with experience
Now you have explored such as pumping stations, pipework and can reach £24,000 to
£32,000, rising to between
earthworks (the scale of the design may
the subject now look at range from an initial outline to a full, £30,000 and £45,000 for
detailed design)
senior engineer positions.
some of specific job roles. • liaise with various bodies and individuals, • Posts with a high level of
including local authorities, government
management responsibility
agencies, clients, contractors, residents, attract salaries above this
suppliers, technical experts and other level and can be in excess
consultants of £60,000, depending
JOB: • keep up to date with environmental on qualifications and

experience
matters, and be aware of policy and
Water Engineer developments in this area
• present technical data or project results to Working
both technical and non-technical clients
and colleagues hours
A career as a water engineer may appeal to you if
you’re keen to solve problems within global warming, • monitor the progress of projects from
ageing infrastructure, population growth and quality beginning to end - from design through to Unsocial working hours may
of living standards construction and handover - or supervise be a feature of some jobs,
one section of a large project especially when meeting
You may work with a variety of different liquids but deadlines. Site work may
will generally deal with the provision of clean water, • control budgets at project level involve long hours as well as
disposal of waste water and sewage and prevention • supervise the operation and maintenance travel. Staff with operational
of flood damage. of water and sewerage infrastructure responsibilities or flood-
Asset management will play a major part in your • use computer simulations to analyse, for monitoring duties may be on
work, involving the repair, maintenance and building example, potential dam failure a call-out rota for out-of-hours
of structures that control water resources. Examples • devise flood defence strategies, perhaps emergencies.
include sea defence walls, pumping stations and including river and flood plain modelling, The job can be pressurised at
reservoirs. economic studies and consultation with times and may involve shift

‘Water engineer’ is a generic title given to engineers affected people work, which may impact on
who specialise in water-based projects. Many have a • monitor flood levels at times of high risk your personal life. 21 | DECEMBER 2020
civil engineering or environmental background.

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