About the Book
Guidance for Professional Development in Drinking Water and Wastewater Industry recognises the water practitioners journey from the novice student phase all the way to an established expert position, both on technological and professional fronts. This book reviews various career phases and helps realise purpose, motivation, responsibilities and milestones for each professional stage. Since professional journeys are significantly different for individuals and designations, titles vary widely from organization to organization, general terminologies are used for describing career phases, mainly Student Phase, Entry-Level Professional, Mid-Level Professional and Established Practitioner.
This guide helps the reader to understand a step-by-step professional development process in the industry and at the same time receive key inputs to minimise or avoid common mistakes related to the drinking water or wastewater occupations. The book provides an overview of common educational options available for students including short-term courses, diploma and certificates, associate degrees, bachelor degree, masters degree, doctorate degree, post-doctoral fellowship and continued education. With respect to job profiles, the guide covers different professional avenues such as consultant, engineer, designer, researcher, academic faculty member, sales and marketing, permitting authority staff, laboratory professionals, system operators, construction management staff, manufacturing and industry staff.
In terms of technological knowledge, both drinking water and wastewater infrastructure systems are reviewed in the book. Discussions on drinking water systems mainly include intake structures, treatment systems, distributions network components whereas wastewater systems include collection and conveyance systems, treatment options and sludge management systems. Guidance for Professional Development in Drinking Water and Wastewater Industryis useful for every professional in the industry and particularly prospective students. It can be used by mentors and established practitioners as a guidance tool for training newcomers.
Author: Archis Ambulkar, Harrisburg, PA, USA
Table of Contents:
Contents: Introduction, Publication Objectives, Scope and Goals, Educational Options, Career Avenues, Professional Development Overview, Student Phase, Internship Phase, Entry-Level Professional, Mid-Level Professional, Established Practitioner, Knowing Water Systems, Knowing Wastewater Systems, Understanding Drinking Water and Wastewater Projects, Realizing Exceptional Achievements
Review :
"With my extensive work in environmental chemistry area, I was able to quickly connect with this publication and realize its relevance for students and young professionals pursuing a career in the drinking water or wastewater field. This book is unique as it focuses both on technical as well as personal development aspects. I believe that the overview of various professional phases as well as pertinent technical knowledge provided in this book will be useful for students to jumpstart their career in this field. Being a faculty member, I fully understand the importance of the practical knowledgebase that students and recent graduates need to make a confident start to their profession. I would highly recommend this book to students who want to make a career in the water or wastewater area. This is a timely contribution towards the water sector."
Sachin Mandavgane, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering, Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology
"Mr. Ambulkar has offered an extensive overview of the water and wastewater industry. In his work, he introduces readers to various water challenges faced by communities on a global scale and throws light on the significance of the water and wastewater treatment industry as well as the need for nurturing a professional workforce for the well-being of societies. His book serves as a great tool for budding engineers and students pursuing careers in the water field. His book encompasses the possible career pathways available in the government, academia and industrial sectors. This book offers the much needed promise to students who have chosen water treatment as their primary field of study and trying to establish themselves in an industry previously led by chemical, civil and mechanical engineers. As a graduate student pursuing research in water quality, I find chapter 4 on “professional development overview” to be very helpful. In this chapter, the author has explained in detail, the different career options available, the associated duties and the level of expertise expected in each of the described positions. One of my favorites is the “Special Remarks Droplets” section under each career level, where key points on how to be up-and-coming are very well documented. I find the book to be an all-encompassing checklist that I would require as an emerging engineer and also a guide to acquiring profound knowledge towards professional development in the water industry."
Keerthisaranya Palanisamy, Master’s Student /Teaching Assistant, Department of Environmental Engineering, University of Cincinnati
"For a student of the water industry, transitioning from education to the professional world, “Guidance for Professional Development in Drinking Water and Wastewater Industry” by Archis Ambulkar is a marvelous book. For an entry-level engineer like me, understanding the professional development process is quite confusing and often intimidating. The detailed listing of various professional avenues available for students in this book is a valuable resource. Right from the first step of the process for selecting a favorable university and associated coursework all the way to becoming an expert, Archis does a splendid job of explaining the educational and career pathways for anyone interested in this honorable field. What particularly hits the note for me are his ‘Special Remarks Droplets’ where he provides his readers - beneficial tips and notes for all the professional stages. Another important aspect that helped me, is the distinguishing of job profiles and responsibilities between the “Internship Phase” and the “Entry Level Phase”, which these days have become quite overlapping for students. Getting a professional view of this industry is extremely important for students. Right from the start, it comes to us as a shock how differently the industry works compared to what we are actually taught in general textbooks. Having plain technical knowledge is just not enough. This book helps bridge that gap by talking about how a project is pursued, designed, budgeted and finally executed; and provides us with a terrific glimpse of the “real world”. For all the students trying to get a foot in the door, this guide is an excellent one!"
Dhawal Chheda, Master's Student/Teaching Assistant, Department of Environmental Engineering, University of Cincinnati
"This book clearly outlines key ideas and approaches them in a very practical manner with the aim of providing guidance for the reader. The way the book frames the social dimension of drinking water – represented nowadays by community development, health and environmental impact in our world – is extremely valuable. On top of that, the professional development overview is incredibly useful in guiding environmental organizations as well as newcomers on how to manage a professional career with a very holistic approach. Overall, the book helps the readers to obtain a very thorough and broad understanding of key topics in drinking water and wastewater industry fields."
Albert Palomar, Business Development Manager, Nestle Health Science. M.S. Environmental Engineering (Bucknell University)
"This book is an incredibly useful resource for professionals who work or are thinking to enter the water and wastewater industry. The complexity and magnitude of the sustainable development challenges in the industry are enormous and this requires a deeper appreciation of the linked combinations of existing and emerging technologies. The book provides excellent support in this context. It builds on the fundamental idea that the industry has a significant potential with process development in water and wastewater treatment.
"The book builds on a unique combination of the author’s professional and technical experience, research and consultancy activities. It is my belief that Guidance for Professional Development in Drinking Water and Wastewater Industry will be a reference volume worldwide."
Dr Lucy Lunevich, College Engineering and Health Science, Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia
"This book has something for everyone including candidates who are actively looking for career development or who just started their education in college. Mr. Ambulkar handsomely included various aspects of laboratory practices, professional development, key concepts of drinking water, wastewater sector, and water distribution in this one book. That is the most appealing factor to a recent graduate such as myself; as for preparing interviews, one needs to be aware of key concepts and processes in the water/wastewater industry. I hope to see more figures, sketches, list of regulatory updates, and modeling software that are available in the water industry in upcoming editions. However, I am definitely benefited by this current edition and will further recommend it to potential water/wastewater professional."
Ishan Jain, M.S. Environmental Eng., M.Eng. Chemical Eng., Virginia Tech
"I have had the privilege of reading the book “Guidance for Professional Development in Drinking Water and Wastewater Industry”. The book is an excellent addition to the water and wastewater industry for professionals and students. The author does a phenomenal job in providing insights especially to students graduating from universities on several aspects of the water and wastewater careers including educational options, career avenues and professional development overview. This book will be extremely useful for students interested in water and wastewater careers and I recommend all environmental engineering students to use it as a guide for professional development. This book is easily readable, navigable and also provides several appendices for the readers to peruse. The water and wastewater industry is in dire need of students and young professionals to choose this industry as a career to solve the multitude of challenges with the water environment. I would like to applaud the author for having taken the time to write such a useful book which helps answer several questions students may have and help them choose their career paths."
Anil Tangirala, PE, CFM, ENV SP, Technical Services Manager, MS Consultants Inc
