Environmental Manager
Impact: Environmental protection, regulatory compliance, and corporate environmental performance improvement
Oversee an organisation's environmental compliance and sustainability programmes, managing regulatory permits, environmental audits, waste management, and pollution prevention initiatives. Lead a team of environmental specialists, liaise with regulatory agencies, and develop strategies to minimise environmental impact and ensure legal compliance.
What the day looks like
- People interaction
- Extensive
- Team vs solo
- 65% Team / 35% Solo
- Client facing
- Frequent
- Impact visibility
- Moderate
- Travel
- 10-20% for site inspections
- Schedule flexibility
- Moderate
- Remote work
- Hybrid
- Typical work hours
- 40-50 hours/week
- Stress level
- Moderate
At a glance
- Median salary
- $95,000
- Entry-level
- $65,000 - $85,000
- Senior
- $135,000+
- Growth by 2033
- 8% (about as fast as average)
- Demand
- Stable
- Freelance potential
- Low
- Salary growth potential
- High to 55-70% growth from entry to senior
- Typical student debt
- $20,000 - $50,000
Skills you'll use
Hard skills
- Environmental Regulatory Compliance (EPA / OSHA)
- Environmental Permit Management
- EHS Management Systems (ISO 14001)
- Waste Management & Remediation
- Environmental Impact Assessment
- GIS & Environmental Monitoring
Soft skills
- Leadership
- Regulatory Communication
- Project Management
- Stakeholder Engagement
- Problem Solving
Technical complexity: Moderate
How to get there
- Minimum education
- Bachelor's Degree
- Licensing
- No
- Years to mid-career
- 4-6 years
- Years to senior
- 8-12 years
- Career switching
- Moderate
Where this career leads
How people arrive here
Where you can go from here
Typical progression
- Environmental Scientist
- Environmental Specialist
- Environmental Manager
- Director of Environmental Affairs
- VP of EHS
Future outlook
- Automation probability
- 20% to compliance management and regulatory interaction require human judgment
- AI disruption risk
- Low
- Demand trend
- Stable
How people feel about it
- Overall satisfaction
- 3.6/10
- Meaning
- 3.9/10
- Work-life balance
- 3.5/10
- Prestige
- 6.8/10
- Social perception
- High