Environmental Science vs Env Engineering – Which is Better?

What Is The Key Difference Between Environmental Science and Environmental Engineering?

Environmental Science: It is a multi-disciplinary, science based field in which we study chemistry, biology, lab skills for analysis, geology , meteorology, biodiversity and conservation to name a few. It is basically a theoretical knowledge of the core concepts related to the environment and its various issues.

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Environmental Engineering: On the other hand, Environmental Engineering is also a similar degree to environmental science being focused on preventing and solving environmental issues but, the difference is that it is focused mostly on Mathematics, physics and the design aspect of technology that can be used for this purpose. It integrates the understanding of environmental issues and methods of measurement and combines it with engineering principles to solve them by designing, enhancing and maintaining these machines.

Also check out: Top 12 Environmental Science / Engineering Universities of Pakistan

While these two careers or subjects can have some overlap, there are several differences that differentiate environmental science from environmental engineering. Below, let’s discuss the pros and cons of both fields to have a clearer understanding of what you should choose:

Advantages of Environmental Science:

1. Improves Understanding of the basic concepts and core theories of the natural processes that take place in our environment locally and globally. It basically provides us the knowledge about the environment and as the name indicates, informs us of the science behind these phenomena.
   
2. Variety of fields to work in: you can pursue a career as a marine biologist, wildlife conservation expert, climate scientist, GIS and RS specialist, Ecologist, Geologist, meteorologist, Analyst, toxicologist, Urban planner, Eco-Architect etc.
   
3. It is perfect for students who want to pursue any career path related to natural sciences as after graduating you can pursue a degree in specialized fields such as marine biology, agriculture, sustainability, Landscape architecture etc.
   
4. Environmental science is a subject that teaches you useful and essential lab and analytical skills for research purposes that can serve you for life long. It focuses on the collection and analysis of data and the assessment of hypotheses they make based on information they gather from the environment
   
   

Advantages of Environmental Degree:

1. It is focused on subjects like mathematics, thermodynamics, physics, motion mechanics and other engineering subjects.
   
2. It involves engineering principles for designing machines that can prevent environmental degradation and pollution such as: waste water treatment systems, ETPs (Effluent Treatment Plants), Emission stacks, Electrostatic precipitators and other Pollution control technologies. Environmental Engineers can also work as Urban Planners, city planners as well as landscape architects.
   
3. It is perfect for students who have a creative mindset and designs for solving various environmental issues using their own ideas. This career path will provide the knowledge and opportunity for that.
   
4. Environmental engineers’ focus is on the application of the data collected and provided by the environmental scientists and technicians in order to apply technologies or develop designs that reduce pollution, increase environmental conditions and ensure construction projects comply with local, state and federal environmental policies.
   
   Also read: Scope of Environmental Science Studies in Pakistan

Conclusion:

Both are great fields and are closely related. However, as we have gone through the differences between them, it is simple to understand that environmental scientists basically research, calculate and provide all the data and information to the environmental engineers who then use that data and statistics to develop or apply new and efficient technologies that can help us mitigate the effects of environmental issues and phenomenon. Regardless, both the fields work in close proximity with each other and cannot exist without each other. Environmental Science provides monitoring, data collection and analysis of environmental parameters’ and samples for various environmental issues as well as detecting new environmental problems. Whereas, environmental engineers are focused on how to use that data in the best way to solve these issues and make sure that they comply with the local laws, environmental policies and national/international standards.

Check out: Environmental Science Degree in Pakistan – A Complete Guide

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