17-2051.02 · Learning planner
Water/Wastewater Engineers: a task-based learning plan
Design or oversee projects involving provision of potable water, disposal of wastewater and sewage, or prevention of flood-related damage. Prepare environmental documentation for water resources, regulatory program compliance, data management and analysis, and field work. Perform hydraulic modeling and pipeline design.
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Understand the profile before choosing priorities
The table shows the ten highest importance ratings among 31 skills with usable ratings. Skills tied on importance can share a rank. Importance (1–5) and level (0–7) describe different dimensions. A level of 4 is not 4/7 of a course, and neither scale is your personal score. Source dates refer to the underlying rating, not the database release date.
| Skill | Importance / 5 | Level / 7 | Rating date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reading Comprehension | 4.00 | 4.38 | 08/2020 · Analyst |
| Critical Thinking | 4.00 | 4.12 | 08/2020 · Analyst |
| Judgment and Decision Making | 4.00 | 4.12 | 08/2020 · Analyst |
| Writing | 4.00 | 4.00 | 08/2020 · Analyst |
| Complex Problem Solving | 3.88 | 4.75 | 08/2020 · Analyst |
| Mathematics | 3.88 | 4.50 | 08/2020 · Analyst |
| Systems Analysis | 3.88 | 4.12 | 08/2020 · Analyst |
| Systems Evaluation | 3.88 | 4.12 | 08/2020 · Analyst |
| Active Listening | 3.88 | 4.00 | 08/2020 · Analyst |
| Speaking | 3.75 | 4.00 | 08/2020 · Analyst |
Anchor the plan in an actual task
Choose one reported task you want to understand better. Then choose one to three skills and describe an appropriate learning activity, evidence you will review and a date. For practical work requiring authorization, choose relevant coursework, observation or supervised training.
Reading Comprehension
Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
Read the scale examples
These generic examples illustrate the level scale. They are not required activities for water/wastewater engineers.
Level 4: Understand an email from management describing new personnel policies
Level 6: Read a scientific journal article describing surgical procedures
Which instruction, constraint or exception in a document would you need to explain accurately?
Critical Thinking
Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
Read the scale examples
These generic examples illustrate the level scale. They are not required activities for water/wastewater engineers.
Level 4: Evaluate customer complaints and determine appropriate responses
Level 6: Write legal brief challenging a federal law
What assumption could change your conclusion, and what evidence would you check first?
Judgment and Decision Making
Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Read the scale examples
These generic examples illustrate the level scale. They are not required activities for water/wastewater engineers.
Level 4: Evaluate a loan application for degree of risk
Level 6: Decide whether a manufacturing company should invest in new robotics technology
Which options, constraints and consequences would you compare, and what could change the choice?
Writing
Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
Read the scale examples
These generic examples illustrate the level scale. They are not required activities for water/wastewater engineers.
Level 4: Write an email to staff outlining new directives
Level 2: Write down a guest's order at a restaurant
What document would another person need, and how would you check that they could act on it?
Complex Problem Solving
Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
Read the scale examples
These generic examples illustrate the level scale. They are not required activities for water/wastewater engineers.
Level 4: Redesign a floor layout to take advantage of new manufacturing techniques
Level 6: Develop a plan to provide emergency relief for a major metropolitan area
How would you separate the problem into parts and compare possible explanations?
Mathematics
Using mathematics to solve problems.
Read the scale examples
These generic examples illustrate the level scale. They are not required activities for water/wastewater engineers.
Level 4: Calculate the square footage of a new home under construction
Level 6: Develop a mathematical model to simulate and resolve an engineering problem
Which quantities, units, denominator and rounding rules would need an explicit check?
Systems Analysis
Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
Read the scale examples
These generic examples illustrate the level scale. They are not required activities for water/wastewater engineers.
Level 4: Determine how a new piece of equipment will affect production rates
Level 6: Identify how changes in tax laws affect locations of manufacturing operations
What inputs, outputs and dependencies would you map before proposing a change?
Systems Evaluation
Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
Read the scale examples
These generic examples illustrate the level scale. They are not required activities for water/wastewater engineers.
Level 4: Identify the reasons why a client might be unhappy with a product
Level 6: Evaluate the long-term performance of a new computer system
What would indicate the system is meeting its purpose, and what comparison would be fair?
Active Listening
Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Read the scale examples
These generic examples illustrate the level scale. They are not required activities for water/wastewater engineers.
Level 4: Answer inquiries regarding credit references
Level 2: Take a customer's order
What would you ask the other person to clarify, and how would you confirm you understood?
Speaking
Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Read the scale examples
These generic examples illustrate the level scale. They are not required activities for water/wastewater engineers.
Level 4: Interview applicants to obtain personal and work history
Level 2: Greet tourists and explain tourist attractions
How would you explain the task, audience needs and next step in a short conversation?
Review the result
Your plan should explain why the selected skills matter for your chosen task, what you will do next and what evidence you will examine. Revisit the plan after that activity. Completing a worksheet or matching an occupation’s ratings does not establish professional competence.
Keep your worksheet
Download before leaving this page. Unsaved writing remains only in the page and is cleared on refresh. Notes and learning actions are not sent to a server. This guide describes an occupation and supports study planning; it does not provide clinical, legal or equipment-operating procedures.
Source and practice material
Occupational context uses the O*NET® 31.0 Database from the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, under CC BY 4.0. View the occupation.
Skill Workbench selected and adapted the occupational information and added its own fictional cases, calculations, guidance and worksheets. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed or tested these additions. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.