Imagine you are driving past an enormous oil refinery with six large distillation towers and several massive storage tanks holding more than half a million barrels of oil. You are a process engineer and you know this refinery inside and out. Two years ago, your engineering consulting company won a multimillion-dollar contract to upgrade the refinery in preparation for new federal legislation. The legislation is designed to reduce sulphur emissions by reducing the amount of sulphur in diesel fuel. You and your team of process engineers have been hired to design a process unit that will lower the amount of sulphur in the diesel fuel produced by the refinery.
As a process engineer, you have extensive knowledge of the chemistry, mechanics, and thermodynamics that go into building large refineries like this one. But that's not to say building this process unit will be easy. You start by creating a schematic diagram that details what is supposed to happen at each step in the process as the unit removes excess sulphur from diesel fuel. You use the schematic to create a conceptual layout of the unit that includes details of each piece of equipment used, for example, pumps, compressors, and reactors. A computer drafting technician will use the conceptual layout to generate a three-dimensional image so you can evaluate the unit and identify any conflicts that could affect its performance.
Next, you create a computer simulation of the unit and add the process conditions that will be required, for example, the temperature, pressure, and flow rate. You will use the computer model to run simulations to check measurements and determine if the desulphurizing chemical reaction will occur under the specified conditions. When the computer has verified your calculations, you take the unit to the mechanical engineers who will design the thermal systems and the electrical engineers who will design the instrumentation and control systems. Once all support systems are in place, you can begin construction of the refinery's desulphurizing unit.
Duties vary significantly from job to job, but the following list includes typical job duties one might encounter as a process engineer:
If you are a high school student considering a career as an environmental geophysicist, you should have a keen interest in:
If you are a post-secondary student considering a career as an environmental geophysicist, the following programs are most applicable.
In most cases, the minimum education requirement to work as an environmental geophysicist is a graduate degree. Pursuing a master’s or doctoral degree in fields related to environmental geophysics can enhance your expertise, career prospects, and ability to contribute to the field. These advanced degrees offer specialized knowledge and skills highly valued in both the professional and academic worlds.
In many provinces, geophysicists must obtain registration and licensure with their provincial association as a Professional Geoscientist (P.Geo.). The certification process for geophysicists is similar to that of engineering professions and is typically overseen by the same regulatory body.
Our Environmental Professional (EP) designation can also help you progress in your chosen environmental career.
Technical Skills
Personal and Professional Skills
Environmental employers look for professionals who can combine technical knowledge with soft skills. Watch our free webinar “Essential Not Optional: Skills Needed to Succeed in Canada’s Environmental Industry” or take our Essential Skills courses.
As key executive leaders who shape their company’s sustainability policy, CSOs work in many different types of organizations. Common employers of CSOs include:
Search for jobs on the ECO Canada Job Board.
If you are a post-secondary student seeking a CSO role in the future, consider pursuing a university degree related to:
In addition to the educational fields mentioned above, you will also need extensive management experience to become a CSO, with well-developed human resources management and leadership skills. Consider educational seminars or post-graduate studies that will hone your analytical thinking, such as:
Our Environmental Professional (EP) designation can also help you progress in your chosen environmental career.
Technical Skills
Personal and Professional Skills
Environmental employers seek professionals who combine technical knowledge with personal and professional skills. Watch our free webinar “Essential Not Optional: Skills Needed to Succeed in Canada’s Environmental Industry” or take our Essential Skills courses.
François Tremblay was 12 years old when he first learned about the job of an engineer. It was then that he began listening to his neighbour, a chemical engineer, tell stories about his days at the local chemical plant. "I remember thinking to myself that it was the coolest job ever.” At the time, François had just discovered chemistry thanks to the chemistry set his parents had given him. "I loved making smoke and making liquids change colours.” Ten years later, François completed a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Sherbrooke. Today, François is a process engineer with Fluor Canada, an engineering company, working on a project-to-project basis.
His time is divided between the field and the office depending on what stage the project is at. Currently, François is in a management position, completing the construction phase of the Ultra-Low Sulfur Diesel Project at the Shell refinery in Montreal. The purpose of the project is to remove sulfur (a pollutant) from diesel fuel as part of new federal government environmental regulations. More than 600 workers are involved in building the process unit. During the project’s design phase, François worked in Fluor’s Calgary office. His days were filled with meetings with the client and working with the project’s team of ten chemical engineers.
His job duties included sketching designs of the processing equipment and interacting with drafters to realize those designs. He also calculated pump sizes, distillation column lengths, and other equipment measurements. Plus he helped develop the safety mechanisms for the chemical process to protect against a potentially disastrous accident. "Our job was to look at how we are going to make this chemical process as efficient and safe as possible for both the workers at the refinery and the environment.” In February 2005, with the project’s design phase complete, François moved into the construction phase, and from Calgary to Shell’s Montreal refinery.
Now that he is in the field, he’s focusing more on the implementation of his designs. "I’m here to oversee and ensure things get built according to my team’s designs.” Sometimes there are problems with the construction of the designs, so François must be on hand to offer solutions. Until February 2006, he will work with the construction engineers to build the new equipment. According to François, the primary drawback of his work is the long hours. While at the site, he’s working 10 hours a day six days a week. "We are all working hard trying to meet the deadline for the new federal government ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel regulation.” However, there is light at the end of the tunnel. "When this project’s done, I will be proud to say I built that to help lower emissions and protect the environment.”
Marine geologists are classified into the following occupational grouping:
NOC Code: 21102 – Geoscientists and oceanographers
The National Occupational Classification (NOC) provides a standardized language for describing the work performed by Canadians in the labour market. It gives statisticians, labour market analysts, career counsellors, employers, and individual job seekers a consistent way to collect data and describe and understand the nature of work within different occupations.
See ECO’s Blue National Occupational Standard for a career competency profile for a marine geologist that outlines the specific skills, knowledge, and behaviours required for individuals to perform effectively in this particular role. This profile is a benchmark for training and development, ensuring consistency and quality across professions within the blue economy.
Dans un esprit de respect, de réciprocité et de vérité, nous honorons et reconnaissons Moh’kinsstis, le territoire traditionnel du Traité 7 et les pratiques orales de la confédération des Pieds-Noirs : Siksika, Kainai, Piikani, ainsi que les nations Îyâxe Nakoda et Tsuut’ina. Nous reconnaissons que ce territoire abrite la Nation métisse de l’Alberta, la région 3 au sein de la patrie historique des Métis du Nord-Ouest. Enfin, nous reconnaissons toutes les nations qui vivent, travaillent et se divertissent sur ce territoire, et qui l’honorent et le célèbrent.
In the spirit of respect, reciprocity, and truth, we acknowledge that we live, work, and gather on the traditional territories of the peoples of Treaty 7, including the Blackfoot Confederacy—comprising the Siksika, Kainai, and Piikani Nations—as well as the Îyâxe Nakoda and Tsuut’ina Nations.
This land, known as Moh’kinsstis in the Blackfoot language and encompassing what is now Districts 5 and 6, is also home to the Métis Nation of Alberta, Region 3, within the historical Northwest Métis homeland.
We recognize and honour the deep connection these Nations have to the land, and we are grateful for the opportunity to share in its stewardship.
As we continue our work, we commit to learning from Indigenous knowledge systems, uplifting Indigenous voices, and fostering relationships rooted in equity, understanding, and reconciliation.
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