Civil and mechanical engineers are often needed on green building projects, says Tad Radzinski, president of Sustainable Solutions Corp., a green consulting firm in Royersford, Pa.
Civil engineers can help determine the best site for a green building and design systems to deal with water runoff, an important factor in green design. "They're the folks that are going to start out doing land planning," Radzinski says. "They also have to do storm water management because, for a lot of green building work, there's a lot of focus on how we manage storm water and treat it."
Meanwhile, mechanical engineers can help design heating, cooling and ventilation systems that are compliant with LEED and other green building standards. To secure green jobs in engineering, LEED certification is always helpful, Radzinski says.
In addition, some schools, such as Villanova University, and Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, N.J., offer graduate certificates in sustainable engineering to those with engineering degrees.