Applying to natural resources/enviro sci. vs. environmental & civil engineering programs

[fizzberry2]

Hey GradCafe engineers,

I have a dilemma for you--

I just had a successful interview with a potential PI (she's a wetland biogeochemist) and she recommended that I contact a professor in the civil & environmental engineering department as a co-advisor (she's an engineer, but her research focuses on the human dimensions/geographies of watershed management). Both of them have encouraged me to apply to their respective departments, and both have let me know that there is a very good chance that I'd receive stipends and fellowships if admitted. (I'd be receiving a better funding package in the engineering department, I think.)

The thing is, I'm unsure about applying to the engineering department since I'd have to take additional remedial prerequisites (my undergrad degree was in geology) that would take an additional semester or two to complete in addition to another year of grad-level engineering classes. I'm considering applying to the engineering program because I'm interested in planning, environmental science, and watershed management, and I wonder if the job prospects would be MUCH better if I had a master's in civil/environmental engineering than if I'd earned a degree in environmental science and resources management. 

What should I do? Do you think I'd fare better career-wise with an engineering degree? I suppose I could apply to both, but I'm pretty short on $ and time, and I don't think I'm eligible for any fee waivers...

Any insight (especially from environmental/civil engineers that did not study engineering during undergrad) would be very much appreciated. Thanks! 

[phdcandidate022014]

Depends on what field you want to go into after graduation. If you want to do consulting, with a geology background (assuming it was a program quantitative in nature) you would be able to get your PG after several years of working. Generally speaking, being a Professional Geologist puts you on similar footing as PEs (professional engineers). 

 

If you get an engineering master's, you wouldn't be able to become a PE since you have to have a bachelor's degree from an ABET-accredited institution. 

 

From a job prospects perspective, if you did good work and impressed both your advisor (the environmental science one) and the co-PI (the one in engineering), you would have access to both of their networks and contacts, which would be one of the most likely routes for landing a position post-graduation. In the grand scheme of things, one or two semesters really isn't a lot of time, though, and a difference of $1-2k in stipend isn't really that different, either.

 

Finally, you don't need an engineering degree if you want to be in environmental planning or watershed management. If you have strong quantitative skills, you could reach a position in that niche with either of the degrees you mentioned.

[summoner]

Unless your geology program was super quantitative I would be very careful, and if you want to do planning a lot of the stuff you'll have to learn will be useless but very time-intensive (I'm in environmental science and made the mistake of trying an environmental engineering course for a few weeks before I came to my senses).  At least sit in a few of the classes if possible.  

 

I second going for the PG license, which if you combine with a good amount of hydrology, GIS/watershed modeling will give you a strong cv for what you want to do.