Air Quality Engineers

Employment for air quality engineers is expected to grow about as fast as the average for all occupations through 2028, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, with the strongest job growth occurring in private-sector consulting firms. When the current efforts to modify and monitor equipment slackens as government regulations are met, the focus in air quality engineering will shift from traditional "end-of-pipe" controls (e.g., modifying catalytic converters or gasoline to make cars burn gas more cleanly) to source control (expanding the development of alternative fuels and eliminating oil-based industrial emissions). As mentioned, impact assessment will play a large part on the corporate side of air quality management, as businesses strive to stay profitable in the wake of public health and safety regulations. Air pollution problems like greenhouse gas buildup and ozone pollution will not be disappearing in the near future and will be increasingly vital areas of research. International development will allow American pollution control engineers to offer their services in any part of the world that has growing industries or population. Pollution control in general has a big future: Air pollution control is quickly taking up a major chunk of the expected expenditures and revenues in this category.