What happens before the rain begins?

Long before storm clouds roll in, water resource engineers are already at work, using science, engineering, and technology to predict floods, protect communities, safeguard clean drinking water, and design the systems that keep our world flowing.

In this episode of Majors, Minors & Maybes, Dr. W sits down with water resource engineer Tori Morgan to uncover one of STEM's most impactful and often overlooked careers. You'll discover what water resource engineers really do, the challenges they solve every day, where they work, how to become one, and why this career is becoming increasingly important as communities face climate change, population growth, and aging infrastructure.

You'll also step into the shoes of a fictional water resource engineer during a high-stakes storm event, giving you a behind-the-scenes look at how engineering decisions made before the first raindrop falls can protect entire neighborhoods.

Whether you're a student exploring STEM careers, a parent, educator, or simply someone who's ever wondered where your drinking water comes from or how cities prepare for severe weather, this episode will change the way you think about the world around you.

In this episode, you'll discover:

• What a water resource engineer does
• How engineers help prevent floods and protect water resources
• The education and career path into water resources engineering
• Where water resource engineers work beyond engineering firms
• What a typical day looks like in the office and in the field
• The skills that make someone successful in this growing STEM career

Because sometimes the most important careers are the ones you never notice until something goes wrong.

🎧 Subscribe to Majors, Minors & Maybes and join Dr. W as she uncovers curious careers, one story at a time.

Show Notes:

Dr. W hosts Majors, Minors, and Maybes to spotlight water resources engineering, a career focused on protecting communities from floods and drought, ensuring clean drinking water, and preparing cities for climate change using hydrology, GIS, and computer modeling. A vignette follows Lori, who uses a hydraulic “digital twin” of the city to forecast storm impacts, coordinate with public works and emergency management, clear a culvert and storm drains, and prevent flooding during a major rain event. Engineer Tori Morgan explains the role’s civil/environmental roots, daily challenges like aging pipelines and emerging contaminants such as PFOS, and the hidden systems behind a faucet from supply and treatment to distribution. The episode covers pathways (consulting, utilities, academia, nonprofits, and agencies like EPA/FDEP), education, internships, PE licensing, typical work mix, salaries, and a “curious career fact” about watershed digital twins, ending with a community observation challenge and a tease of the next episode on smart city planners.

00:00 Water Crisis Hook

00:44 Meet the Career

01:27 Why Water Fails

02:48 Lori Storm Day

04:51 Stopping Floods Early

07:49 Invisible Wins

08:30 Skills and Interests Fit

09:27 Expert Defines Role

10:15 Aging Pipes and PFAS

12:26 From Faucet Backwards

14:24 Career Paths Options

19:07 Education Internships PE

21:37 Day to Day Balance

22:48 Salary and Demand

24:13 Projects That Inspire

30:19 Digital Twins Fact

31:18 Be a Water Detective

32:22 Next Episode Teaser

33:06 Final Sign Off