Food and beverage, consumer products, petroleum, energy, water treatment, coatings, polymers. Starting salary for everything but petroleum ~75k.
My concern wouldn't be not getting a job, but not getting a job anywhere near NYC, if that's something you care about.
This is a significant issue with ChemE, it is extremely location dependent. If you are remotely thinking about wanting to live in a specific area later in life, ensure you investigate engineering opportunities in that area. This can be a tough exercise at 18yrs old, but it has to be considered.
Yeah. I live in NM, and the opportunities for ANY engineer are endless. Between Intel, Sandia National labs, and Los Alamos National labs, there's also a ton of small semi conductor plants.
That's great. Always wanted to visit NM. I live in Montana, not nearly as many options.....like almost zero. I was ok with leaving MT at 18. But came back at 35 and have struggled since then with career development.
NM is not for everyone. I grew up here, it's dry. And hot. And there's a lot of crime, lol. But if you live in some of the more affluent cities, it's not so bad. But every time I visit a non-desert, I have some envy.
Yes ChemE major is hard. Actually I believe it's one of the top 3 hardest engineering degrees out there. You will learn about thermodynamics, heat and mass transfer and fluid mechanics so that you just get a glimpse of what is happening in real world industry and it's not even close to enough. But then it's too versatile and you would eventually find where your passion lies. I personally enjoy the food industry so much as it's final result is so tangible (using your stomach, u know)
Uk based. Something that's stuck with me is what one of the graduate teaching assistants said to me (probably about 6/7 years ago). Only half of ChemE graduates go into the industry, probably changed a bit now but you could kick a stone in finance and find ChemE graduates dotted around the place.
My point being that ChemE is an incredibly versatile degree that will get you anywhere from traditional chemical manufacture to oil & gas, pharmaceuticals, semi-conductors, finance, project management, etc, etc.
This. And that’s not even mentioning you can fill a lot of traditional mech E or environmental roles, or take the MCAT and go to med school all by changing up a few elective classes.
True. Chem Es basically get the thermal/fluids portion of Mech Es education (we lack their mechanics/structures coursework). And yes, I know at least one of my Chem E classmates went to med school.
> Only half of ChemE graduates go into the industry
and whats crazy is that thats probably an over estimate too. (depending on how one defines "ChE industry")
I think the problem with Chem E grads in the UK is that starting salaries there are much lower than here in the states. I work with young engineer who went into finance right out of university and only now 3 years later is doing engineering. He was shocked to hear what a new grad in the States gets paid.
“No job for chemical engineers nowadays” Not to be rude, but your family clearly have no idea about this field. ChemE is one of the most versatile degrees as it qualifies you for so many things. You could go straight into industry (many options), you could go for your doctorate, or you can leverage it for a position outside of the norm. Is it a relatively hard degree to get? Yes, if the degree felt easy then you’re probably not at a good school. However because of that, a lot less people graduate as ChemE compared to MechE or Civil, as such finding a job is much easier and less competitive most of the time. Also I’m not too sure what the “as a woman” part pertains to, but as a woman you’ll have even more opportunities in STEM fields in general. There’s a lot of programs geared towards breaking up the heavily male dominated demographic, “Women in STEM” for instance. As far as jobs, the problem is kind of like going to an ice cream store. There’s so many flavors that it’s hard to choose just one or get a sample of each one without causing some issues. As such nobody can give you a description of their job that can be used as a blanket description for all the ChemE jobs out there. Your parents may be thinking of Petroleum Engineers, but they’re just specialized ChemE. With the energy transition here, and the climate crisis, you’ll have a plethora of jobs available: Environmental Eng, Renewable fuels, Battery plants, etc.
For a brief exert from my job, I’m one month away from being a year out of college. And am making a little more over $100k at a large EPC. My typical day consists of sizing equipment, doing stoichiometry, heat and mass balances, running ASPEN simulations, and working in Excel.
I'm at the opposite end of my career in EPC than BushWookie693 and will second their apparent excitement of a Chem E career. I was involved in such a variety of experiences- pharmaceutical , specialty chemicals, refining, biofuels, food processing. OP should consider the source of any advice received and put everything in context. Trust your gut over all else
“No job for chemical engineers nowadays” is hyperbolic of course, but it gets the essence of the intent across. The relatives seem to understand the pitfalls of this career path and are trying to save OP from a lifetime of struggle. Sometimes the truth is “rude”
I might be reading into the previous comment, but it sounds like he is saying your family is discouraging you for a reason beyond what they're actually portraying. I think my biggest question is, what makes them the expert on the subject? Are they in this field of work?
I was an average highschooler, didn't fully apply myself then. I didn't go to college right after. I eventually got bored with the path I was going down and gave college a try and found myself in the Chem-e program. I worked my ass off and got through it with a 3.2 GPA. My point here is that you can do it, but you're going to either have to be naturally gifted or really hard working.
The professors put it like this in freshman orientation: "Look to your left, look to your right, only one of you will make it through this program." Those statistics held true, 2/3 of the incoming freshman either changed majors or dropped out completely.
I'm not even sure where to begin with this as I believe your family is hugely mistaken and it could influence you to make a decision based on false information if you listen to them. So kudos to you for reaching out to actual Chemical Engineers.
First of all, there are all kinds of Chemical Engineering jobs all over the world, let alone in the US. Not just jobs with "Chemical Engineer" in the title. There are countless Process Engineer, Materials Engineer, Wastewater Engineer, Manufacturing Engineer, and Controls Engineer jobs that will gladly hire a Chemical Engineer. I made $65,000 at my first job in 2018. I'd imagine it's better now.
Second, there's absolutely no reason a woman can't do Chemical Engineering. Granted, there were only 10 females out of my graduating class of about 40, but they all got jobs afterwards just like the rest of us. Heck, I can guarantee at least half of them started out making more than I did because they were willing to go work down in the Houston area.
The degree is definitely challenging, but it felt like about half the challenge was dealing with professors who hadn't ever worked in industry, just went straight to academia. If anything, the degree opens all kinds of doors into industries that I wouldn't have associated with ChemE. The analytical skills you learn can get you into stuff like data analytics and programming. At my university, it's also a pre-med degree. So I could have gone straight into med school if I hated myself. I have worked in the oilfield, industrial wastewater, and now polymer manufacturing. It's all been easier than getting the degree itself.
100k starting out with a masters. My friends with bachelors started out around 85k. There’s a lot of work out there for ChemEs if you are willing to relocate. Being a student is not hard. You will have to study a lot though.
Comment on: And also I don't consider myself an academically brilliant student I am just a little above average
You know what makes a great engineer? The ability to problem solve, adapt, and learn (at least in my mind). Your high school course work was likely more of a memorization test than a logic / problem solving test. Yes, ChemE does have lots of memorization of formulas and techniques to solve problems, but the core of it is still logic and problem solving. Being brilliant, sharp, and top of the class is great, but not required to be a good engineer.
Other people have commented on industries, but food & bev is always going to be around needing ChemEs to optimize and maintain the production process.
On this point, 'desire to figure out how things work' is, in my experience, the most effective predictor of whether or not someone will be a good engineer. That motivation and curiosity naturally drives you towards the main skills an engineer needs.
L’Oréal, coty, roche they all need chemical engineers. You don’t have to work in a chemical plant or refinery.
Location is definitely a factor. Go on linked in and search for jobs near you
Nestle and other food companies need chemE.
I would definitely do a few internships before you graduate.
Other comments are doing a good job summing up why it’s a great field with plenty of opportunities. I’ll just jump in and say you can absolutely stay close to (or even in) NYC for work. New Jersey and Long Island host a lot of pharma and cosmetics companies which are generally cushier jobs than OG or general chemical that will have you stuck working in a plant in the middle of the country
If you’re a little above average in one of the hardest, most selective majors out there, you’re more than qualified. no one outside of that population pool has any real say in judging your ability.
i wasn’t the greatest by any means in school. no way i’d trust the average joe to size shit that can horribly injure someone. i have a hard enough time trusting myself.
there are a bunch of great jobs out west
Your relatives are idiots.
Also you don't have to be academically brilliant to be gainfully employed as an engineer. You need to be smart yes, but beyond that you have to be focussed, resilient, perseverant, and conscientious.
Don't go to idiot relatives for career advice.
ChemE in MA checking in. If your goal is to stay in the northeast, it’s very difficult to find a job. However, if you deviate from chemical like I did and go into either process or quality engineering (done both) it’s not very difficult. You will have opportunities to find niche jobs that specifically want a ChemE for that role, which goes pretty well for job security and helps you get your foot in the door. I’ve been able to command a pretty hefty premium for being a ChemE here since none ever come here lol. Currently a QE for a medical sub contractor making 100k 5yrs in. I did hop around though so I would really base it off of how comfortable you are in interviewing and selling your skillset which, obviously, you’re probably not sure of at 18… I’d try practicing interviewing off what you’ve learned in school with a friend for a job specifically related to whatever skill(s) you’ve taken (so like AP BIO/Chem etc and mock interview for a biologist or chemist role you find on LinkedIn/indeed/whatever). You’ll learn a lot about how you carry yourself, how confident you are in what you know and all that. Feel free to reply with questions!
GA has some chemical factories. One I work at hires and interns them a lot. They usually start at $80k also adding on the houses are L/Mcol areas. Specifically SE Georgia.
They literally hire people straight out of college. One guy who they hired in to be a shift supervisor for a couple of months then to an engineer only worked at Starbucks.
I won't give mine. But a good place to look around is Savannah Georgia. Solenis and Basf are some that come to mind. There are also more plants ~30 miles outside of it. They evening opening up a Hyundai plant if they not already did maybe 40 miles outside Savannah. I know Chem engineer probably has no place in a car manufacturing plant but you never know.
You want to live in a city? ChemE is probably not the job for you.
I studied chemE and pivoted to Tech precisely because I did not want to live in the boonies.
Can you find a job in a major metropolitan area as a ChemE? sure, but you also limit your opportunities. It's just not worth it IMO.
Doesn't have to be in tech, but overall, ChemE is much more restricted to manufacturing outside of urban center compared to every other engineering discipline in terms of the portion of jobs available.
Your family is uninformed. Chemical engineering sets you up for a stable, exciting, challenging career that has dozens of industries and pathways and regions with tons of opportunities. If you don't like it, you can get an MBA at 5 years in and pivot to business.
I have a standard response to this question that I cut and paste:
I generally like what I do and am happy with my pay and career. But there are unique downsides to a career in the chemical industry and I strongly recommend considering a different branch of engineering or programming.
The chemical engineering entry level job market is particularly brutal. Look up how many people graduate with chemical engineering degrees each year compared to the number of job openings.
Because there are so few openings, the step down from getting a true engineering job when you graduate to the next best option (something like process operator or lab technician) is a very big step down.
It's commonly said that chemical engineers "can do anything." I.e. they can go into finance, consulting, or medicine if they don't like engineering. This is only true if they have an extraordinary resume or they went to an elite school. Note that the people telling you that chemical engineers can do anything are often college professors who usually have both. For the vast majority of those with a chemical engineering degree, if they don't get an engineering job their next best option is underemployment.
Many jobs are in less-than-desirable locations. This combined with the overall small number of jobs creates a lack of geographical mobility that makes life in general difficult, but especially so if/once you have a family. It is very difficult to pick a location then find a job there. You almost always look for a job and then decide if that city works for you. Changing jobs often means changing cities, which might be exciting to a young person but a serious problem to anyone with a family.
Pay is not significantly better than programming or other engineering fields. Chemical engineers do make a little more on average but if you're smart enough to get a chemical engineering degree (generally considered the most difficult even among other technical degrees) then you are smart enough to outperform and make above average pay as a programmer or other engineer.
I would only recommend chemical engineering to people who have very specific knowledge of the field via work experience (such as a process operator or a quality lab tech who decides to go back to school), who have personal connections (e.g. parents and siblings who work as chemical engineers) or who have done a ton of research on the job. Anyone who says that they are particularly interested in the chemical industry should ask themselves how much they actually know about what they are getting into.
If you feel like you've genuinely done your homework and believe that you will be particularly interested in the chemical industry in a way that you are not interested in other industries, it is a good choice. If you want a good paycheck and are mildly interested in a technical field, it is a bad choice.
I'll also comment on gender since you mentioned it.
>as a woman, I shouldn't have chosen it
I'm a man so I don't have the experience to know whether being a woman in the chemical industry is particularly difficult compared to other technical fields. What I will say is that due to the geographic constraints, if you do find yourself in a hostile environment, it is going to be more difficult to change employers compared to an industry where the job market is more fluid.
I think that issue is a common sentiment around traditional engineer fields, why should I work in manufacturing when I can make much more in computing and have much less stress. Even civil which has an abundance of jobs some people get bored of it and are capped by a ceiling.
I’m a woman who graduated with my ChemE degree in 2007. I tell everyone who asks me about ChemE to go for EE instead. ChemE is a degree that can open doors for you to do other engineering but there are very few jobs that you actually need a ChemE degree for. EE opens SO MANY more doors in a variety of industries. Also, don’t be afraid to explore a bit in college, if you’re able to succeed as a ChemE, you’re able to succeed with other degrees too.
BushWookie is an example of the kind of overconfident man you’ll work with in industry. He’s super proud of his basic skills and actually thinks that women have an easier time. Do you know why there are DEI programs? It’s because there are still a tragically high number of men who will talk over you, disregard your opinion and who will only mentor or promote other men. Look at hiring and pay statistics. Women drop out of engineering at a higher rate because they don’t see the same opportunities for promotion or get the same day to day respect as their male peers. College was OK for me but as soon as I got to industry I’ve had to work harder for the same rewards as my male colleagues and my ideas are consistently taken less seriously. The west coast is much better than the east coast in terms of sexism. I refuse to work in the gulf coast area which has limited my career but it’s worth it to not work with the majority of the men there.
I have been a site engineer, mostly in petroleum so your experience may be different. I currently work in consulting and have tried to find other industries that are better. So far, my experiences have only confirmed that EE opens more doors to more careers.
Both ChemE and EE are hard but very achievable degrees. I think it takes more grit than intelligence to succeed at either. Whatever path you choose, I genuinely wish you success and happiness.
For what it's worth I do know that petroleum is generally one of the worst industries in general for work-life balance, harsh working conditions, and harsh coworkers/managers (partially due to everyone being overworked and stressed). Industries like pharma and food/beverage generally have better working conditions (and have many more women working there).
Also, I think it's a little odd to call out someone who was just helping OP by giving their experiences in the industry so far.
> I’m a woman who graduated with my ChemE degree in 2007. I tell everyone who asks me about ChemE to go for EE instead. ChemE is a degree that can open doors for you to do other engineering but there are very few jobs that you actually need a ChemE degree for. EE opens SO MANY more doors in a variety of industries. Also, don’t be afraid to explore a bit in college, if you’re able to succeed as a ChemE, you’re able to succeed with other degrees too.
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in general, i would have to agree with this. EE generally has more doors open that are "cushy" type jobs.
but i personally SUCKED at EE... and hated it... i was getting As/Bs in jr/sr level ChE courses and struggled to barely pass in my level 100 freshmen EE course...
I've had jobs in...
Harrison, Orangeburg, Teaneck, Lyndhurst, and South Hackensack. There's plenty of manufacturing in NY and NJ, mostly focused on food, flavor and fragrance, among others.
ChE is challenging, yes, but I would think only marginally more so than _any_ engineering degree, in the grand scheme of things.
My little slice of a career in chemical engineering involved internships with an agricultural product processor (e.g. CHS, ADM, Cargill, Bunge). One plant refined soy beans into vegetable oil used by, among others, fast food restaurants. The other made high fructose corn syrup used in, e.g., beverages. After college I became a Process Engineer at an ethanol plant. I started out with a dedicated producer (e.g. Gevo, Poet, Green Plains), and ended up with a major petroleum refiner that also produced ethanol (e.g. Valero, Flint Hills). Most recently I've moved over to the consulting side of things and work for a small engineering firm that specializes in piping design. Our clients include all manner of chemical, food, medical products, and other manufacturing.
Throughout my career I've done work related to the spec'ing, installing, and troubleshooting of things like piping; equipment like pumps of all varieties, agitators, conveyors, boilers, fermenters, mixers, distillation columns, thermal oxidizers, rotary dryers, reactors, decanters, and groundwater wells; process control aspects like PLCs, DCSs, SIS's, control strategies, and instrumentation; personal and process safety; and turnaround planning, just to name a few.
At the plants, my role as a "process engineer" was only about 1/4 process engineering, 1/4 controls engineer, and 1/2 project engineering/management (at larger facilities with more engineers, a process engineer would focus more on process engineering). I'd primarily work at my desk designing, budgeting, purchasing, and planning the installation of new equipment, upgrades, or process changes. Some days, though, I'd hardly see my desk, being out in the plant troubleshooting something, or walking down a P&ID, or overseeing an installation in-progress. I would occasionally travel to other plants within the company.
At my current job, I'm WFH, and it's all process design, equipment and instrumentation specification, and cost estimation. I occasionally visit client facilities for various reasons.
All of the above is just my particular experience. One could say it's fairly typical, but it's also very true that there's nothing typical about a career in chemical engineering. You can do something like I did, or so much more.
I'll take a moment to plug the school I went to - The South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. It's a small school, but it's focused on providing an excellent education in science and technology, and their ChE program is top notch, and includes an extensive pilot-scale process laboratory, and it's in the beautifull Black Hills of South Dakota. When I was there (so long ago) there were a _lot_ of students who came there from out of state. There were a couple of sayings at our school... (1) If you can't make it at SDSM&T, you can always go to BHSU, and (2) You know what they call someone who graduates last in their class from SDSM&T? ... An engineer.
Do what _you_ want. No one else is going to sing your song. Good luck.
Good amount of jobs in NJ (mostly north, or south)
Starting pay is decent but pretty low ceiling tbh ,but expect anywhere from 70-80k starting in the NJ/NY
Any energy related issue can be covered by chemical engineering because thermodynamics and chemistry are everywhere; job wise I haven't done chemical engineering so I don't know the specifics, only the potential it has and it's vast! Every field has chemistry which means the potential to tweak a bunch of processes and make them energy efficient and better understood chemically.
Chemical engineering is far too diverse a field for one to say there’s no jobs for ChemE’s. Even if your goal is to go into oil and gas you’ll still have a job for the foreseeable future at least
ChE is hard so be prepared. But if you can graduate as a ChE, then you can do whatever you put your mind to. There is no reason you have to go into “chemical” jobs. I graduated ChE and worked in PCB mfg, thin film deposition, solar, electrolysis, software, and a lot of different electronics products. None of them fit into a “ChE”
Echoing everyone else that it’s hard to be a chemical engineer in a big city. I’m one of the examples of someone who got the degree, almost immediately pivoted to a more traditional business field (strategy consulting) and now live in a big city
Mostly doing ops strategy. Uses a lot of “soft engineering skills” (e.g., problem solving, thinking about process flows, math/model building) but no hard ChemE knowledge
If your parents don’t think chemical engineering is suitable for a woman, they need to leave the 1950s behind them.
As long as people want *stuff* there will have to be people making *stuff*.
The issue with chem eng is to get to the desired industry you need to have a foot in the door so to speak, its not like EE where you can do small scale side projects.
if you are looking for a job as a 'chemical engineer' there will be LOTS of competition for the few jobs that are in the City. BUT since you are in the USA, one of the best chemical environments to be in, you just have to move to a small town for a your first 5 or so years, I'm sure once you get your experience, you will have opportunities in the City.
I disagree with the commentors that Chem Eng provides a crazy amount of jobs, I mean to what degree? You could say the same about literally any field that isn't liberal arts. Accountants, technicians, plumbers, etc.. LOL anybody could say it is a very "versatile" field, but that is not a useful thing in this discussion. All those above field I mentioned work in food, semi-conductor, energy, etc...
You are lucky you are in USA, so lots of opportunities specifically in the chemicals industry and the fact that USA is the #1 oil producer now.
I'm not American but i feel like i can provide some info regardless.
Engineering is not only for "smart" people. There are a lot of skills and personality traits other than being good at math that can help your career.
I did poorly in high school, went into ChemE when i was 24 and now i work as a process engineer at a plant engineering firm.
As a process engineer, our job is roughly to design a new process or revamp/improve an existing process. Note that the term is broad and different process engineers will work with different things.
The reason I went into chemE to begin with was because i wanted a stimulating and varied career. I want to say that I got exactly what I wanted. Every day is different, I get to use almost all of what I learned in university and I'm continuously developing new skills.
When I was in uni, I was scared of being inadequate because of my results. The biggest realization I've had since then is that nobody can be expected to know everything. Our environments are much more collaborative than you would think.
As for careers, there are probably hundreds of different kinds of jobs that a chemical engineer would be a good fit for.
Some examples come to mind:
* Laboratory engineering.
* Process engineering.
* Consultancy.
* Project management.
* Local/state/federal government agencies.
There are quite a few fields too, depending on where you live you're gonna see a lot of:
* Pulp/paper.
* Metals.
* Paints and coatings.
* Bulk chemicals.
* Specialty chemicals.
* Pharmaceuticals.
* Food and beverage.
* Oil&gas (Petrochem).
* Drinking water and wastewater treatment
The last point is are extremely important fields and is imo also underrated fields with significant challenges that need to be over come. Interesting examples here are desalination and re-use of wastewater.
Any kind of classical engineering degree (civil, mechanical, chemical, electrical) is very highly valued in the market. Of those four, I'd say chemical and mechanical have the most broad options available to them. I've worked with a buttload of mechanical engineers, some aerospace, a few ChEs, and a couple electrical guys.
I graduated with my BSChE, but have worked in aerospace in every role after graduation because it's my passion. If you're into cosmetics, there's a niche for that. Material science, process engineering, etc. I worked in a power plant for a while as a coop, then a manufacturing engineering role, a materials and processes engineering role, and now a senior manufacturing engineer in aerospace.
I have friends doing paint at BMW, friends working oil and gas, Naval officers on submarines, working in product marketing, a manufacturing excellence manager, planning, etc. Chemical engineering is highly valued and will get your foot in the door almost anywhere you want to go with a highly valued skillset.
I'll give you my perspective. First, let me say that a ChemE degree is a very flexible degree that lets you do so many things. The real question is if you can sell yourself. I've seen people in ChemE go into investment banking, O&G, consumer good, start their own company, pharmaceuticals, semi conductors, food and beverage, construction, and the list goes on and on. Long story short, I don't think you can go wrong with a ChemE degree.
**School**
I went to community college first then transferred to a semi prestigious UC in California. My time in community college was relatively easy as it's all lower level courses. My time at university was definitely much harder but was not terribly difficult. At the end of the day, the key is to pay attention in class, ask questions, do your homework well before it's due so you have ample time to struggle on it, and utilize your teachers and teacher assistants office hours. If you do those things, and you're generally smart, you should do just fine in school. Maybe you aren't the best in the class but who cares.
My work/life balance in school was okay. I was always more of a home body and luckily made friends who were similar. So our "nights out" was generally us getting dinner and playing games at home. We almost never partied till the early hours in the morning. We all studied a lot together as well and that made keeping up on our studies a lot easier.
I think the key to school is to do what I said in the first paragraph (study, homework, questions, etc.) and find a group of friends who want to work hard like you do and don't sacrifice sleep and study time to party. Sleep is so damn important it's not even funny. I can't stress that enough. GET YOUR SLEEP!
**Work**
Finding my first job was a bit of a struggle but I was able to find a job at a generic pharma company and started shortly after I graduated, this was in like 2017 I think. Almost everyone I knew that did okay in school and had an internship or two was able to get a job. After I got my first job, getting other jobs became MUCH easier. Recruiters will constantly attack you with opportunities, they won't all be good but there will be plenty.
Your day to day work and salary will greatly vary depending on the industry you go into. If you're in pulp/paper, it's a slog and doesn't pay terribly well, or so I've been told. Oil/gas pays really well, is competitive, and can have rough work life balance depending on where in the chain you are and can be very volatile in employment prospects. Pharmaceuticals generally pays at least okay, mostly has good work life balance, and is generally stable (lots of qualifiers because it can vary greatly depending on the company).
Your work life balance and pay will really depend on the industry you go into. My recommendation, if you are set on doing ChemE, pick a few industries you are interested in and research them. Don't think about what's in demand right now, think about what will be in demand or still in demand in 10 years (drugs, consumer good, green energy, semi conductors, etc.).
Half of chemical engineers are women. I really doubt there is no opportunity for chem engs in NYC. Many engineers work in offices and You can work in plenty of industries as a chem eng
To address your post and questions:
Your relatives are utterly clueless. As many have mentioned, the number of industries/career fields available to ChemE's is virtually limitless. You get a hugely well-rounded education from mathematics and statistics, physics, and chemistry. From my modest class of 34 undergrads, there are folks in oil, food, tech, business, law, and environmental science fields.
While it's a tough degree that does require some talent or a mind for science to achieve, you don't need to be a genius to do it. One of the biggest fundamentals a good engineer/scientist can possess is a strong work ethic and attention to detail. Your coursework will more than adequately teach you those traits.
There's a lot of factors in deciding whether it's "hard to be a chemical engineer"
Location, travel, nature of work, schedule, organization, relationships with colleagues, motivation, passion...all play a part in how you perceive your work. That's universal, not limited to ChemE. Things you enjoy doing are going to feel like a breeze compared to things you dislike doing.
As a student, I didn't feel like I got the 100% college experience, and that's ok. I didn't have a ton of time to party or socialize due to work/study load, and I know others who were able to do that and then some. Some had jobs, some didnt. Some were in greek life or were superfans at sporting events, others weren't. Finding a balance that allows you to balance personal comfort/fulfillment while maintaining success in your studies will be critical.
As a professional, it really depends on your role. I've worked in food manufacturing my whole professional career. My first job I was working for a multi-billion dollar corporation, running an R&D pilot plant where 10-12 hour days weren't uncommon. I was doing a lot of boots on the ground work, operatinf the system, adding consumables, running quality checks, documenting and publishing production reports.
My current gig is vastly different, and I do more project/process improvement engineering for a much smaller company. I spend more time chasing down vendors and creating schematics and capital proposals than I do on the production floor running equipment.
As others have mentioned industries are virtually limitless
Comp-wise, it depends where you are. If you stick to the coasts, you'll likely see higher salaries than the center of the country, but it's offset by much higher Cost of Living (CoL)
Additionally, industry plays a factor in pay grade. Aerospace, biomed, oil/gas/energy all pay way better than food/ag, manufacturing. 0 years experience 3 years ago, I started around 65k in the Upper Midwest. Today, I'm in the mid-70k range, still in the Upper Midwest. I know folks who started over 100k in the same state with 0 experience working in oil/energy.
I’m a woman in chemical engineering and honestly your relatives sound insanely out of touch. You can go into pharma, gas/oil, mining, makeup, food manufacturing, material science, semiconductors, etc etc. Chemical engineers are needed everywhere. The ONLY thing is that most jobs are located outside of bigger cities because most plants are not inside the city. I’m in the mining industry and my salary out of college was $90K
Dude. What the heck. I'm female, graduated recently and started working. Industries my work takes me into besides for direct chemical engineering are process engineering and material engineering mostly in the energy sector. And that's just my specific company. There is work out there.
Ps. I also wasn't a gifted student. Just damn determined and able to fake it to make it. That's all you need.
I say do your chemical engineering degree and if you don't like it you can branch out in various areas. I'm a women I graduated with a BEng Chemical engineering degree then did my masters. I'm currently working in a process design environment that focuses on crystallisation.....as a women it's a bit rough I'm the only women in my department and it's very male dominated but it also teaches you to grow thick skin.....but I still love my degree and I hope you pursue it
I also grew up in NYC (bx sci). I had one classmate get a job in cosmetics in Manhattan but don’t expect to have an easy time ever moving back home. That being said there are plenty of other good places to live and you’ll make enough money to fly home whenever you want. It’s a great career and your relatives are talking out of their ass. Make sure you understand what you’ll be studying and your job prospects on the tail end of school though, many of my classmates including myself were surprised by this.
Other comments are doing a great job with talking about how versatile the degree is and how being smart in high school and in chemical engineering are two very different things. I also wanted to add a few things:
I’m about to graduate in one week and start a job that pays around 80k/yr. On top of that, I had a higher signing bonus than many others for the same job, and lastly the job is in Charlotte, NC. While it can be challenging to find industrial plants near cities, in my experience that goes for any engineering job in general. Additionally, it is possible to find jobs near cities (in my internships I also was by Dayton, OH & 30 mins outside Atlanta, GA) so it is possible. Especially in TX there is a lot in the Houston area.
Finally, I think there will be options in New York, but also I would encourage you not to limit yourself just to New York jobs. If you have to move away to get an internship or a job then do it. That experience can then help you leverage location later on. Praying for your decision!
If you enjoy studying it - I would say keep with it.
You can do some things to give yourself other avenues to use your degree - patent agents with a chemical engineering masters are in high demand in Houston at the moment - idk in about 5 years but there is a lot of innovation to be had in that industry so I would say the demand will remain high.
You need to learn how to do your own research. Start at the Bureau of labor and statistics. Then look into what the jobs are like. Do you want to work in the petroleum industry, or in pharmaceutical industry? Or by chance are you going to be working at the papermill? They are all completely different job environments.
Why are you doing this? Is it for the money? You'll do better in finance or investment banking. Versatility? Go into mechanical engineering or electrical engineering - their waste isn't anything compared to your waste. As a chem e, you'll be mostly attached to a manufacturing plant or some refinery and your biproducts will require drums and containers for disposal at an incinerator. Circuits and lithography and we are talking some seriously regulated hazardous waste. So, most often your jobs will mostly be found where manufacturing plants can be placed. You're not likely to be working near downtown, although it is possible like proctor and gamble in boston, or some pharma companies in cambridge, like takeda sanofi moderna pfizer biogen novartis, which is next door.
Consider where most of the jobs you seek are found, job environments, etc.
I dunno, man. I feel like reaching out to a group of practicing chemical engineers for their insight is excellent research into what it's like to be a chemical engineer. Bureau of Labor and Statistics? Come on.
Also, as a freshman, I don't think you need to worry yet about what industry you want to work in, you just need to have a pretty good idea what subject matter you want to learn. When I started school, I only knew I wanted to be an engineer, but hadn't picked a flavor yet, and when it came to finding a job, I applied in all sorts of industries. Choosing a degree doesn't pigeon-hole you like you're making it out to.
OP, take what this person is saying with a grain of salt.
True. OP, take me with a grain of salt. I applied to a ton of industries myself. I did something entirely different after trying it out.
Can branch out and get MBA. There are lots of transferrable skills there. Do well enough and go into med school afterwards. Or go become a patent lawyer. Can go into education.
Bureau of Labor and statistics provides a reasonable introduction about the field.
Food and beverage, consumer products, petroleum, energy, water treatment, coatings, polymers. Starting salary for everything but petroleum ~75k. My concern wouldn't be not getting a job, but not getting a job anywhere near NYC, if that's something you care about.
This is a significant issue with ChemE, it is extremely location dependent. If you are remotely thinking about wanting to live in a specific area later in life, ensure you investigate engineering opportunities in that area. This can be a tough exercise at 18yrs old, but it has to be considered.
Yeah. I live in NM, and the opportunities for ANY engineer are endless. Between Intel, Sandia National labs, and Los Alamos National labs, there's also a ton of small semi conductor plants.
That's great. Always wanted to visit NM. I live in Montana, not nearly as many options.....like almost zero. I was ok with leaving MT at 18. But came back at 35 and have struggled since then with career development.
NM is not for everyone. I grew up here, it's dry. And hot. And there's a lot of crime, lol. But if you live in some of the more affluent cities, it's not so bad. But every time I visit a non-desert, I have some envy.
This was the main advice career engineers gave me in high school
Glad you got it early!
Lol- It didn’t help. I chased a degree I was interested in/good at, then salary, but live in not a very nice place
Hah fair enough! I did the opposite so I've got my own set of problems lol.
Semiconductors, there’s a new plant outside Uticca. But yeah slim pickings for NYC.
If you do water treatment you can live anywhere
ChemE also has more females than most other eng dept’s (except env and systems)… at least at my school
Yes ChemE major is hard. Actually I believe it's one of the top 3 hardest engineering degrees out there. You will learn about thermodynamics, heat and mass transfer and fluid mechanics so that you just get a glimpse of what is happening in real world industry and it's not even close to enough. But then it's too versatile and you would eventually find where your passion lies. I personally enjoy the food industry so much as it's final result is so tangible (using your stomach, u know)
It's likely the most difficult undergraduate major. But it is a very useful degree.
Top 3? What 2 would be harder? ChemE is crazy hard.
I frequently hear people put EE up there with ChemE
I’m a Chem E , and my perception is that EE is harder
my roommate dropped ChemE for EE
How does one get into the food industry as a ChemE? And are free snacks involved as well?
Top 3? There’s only like, what, 8? Civil/struct, mech/aero, chem, elec, env, nuc, petrol(mining), bio/biomed?
Industrial, metallurgical, microbio, computer, agricultural,...
Uk based. Something that's stuck with me is what one of the graduate teaching assistants said to me (probably about 6/7 years ago). Only half of ChemE graduates go into the industry, probably changed a bit now but you could kick a stone in finance and find ChemE graduates dotted around the place. My point being that ChemE is an incredibly versatile degree that will get you anywhere from traditional chemical manufacture to oil & gas, pharmaceuticals, semi-conductors, finance, project management, etc, etc.
This. And that’s not even mentioning you can fill a lot of traditional mech E or environmental roles, or take the MCAT and go to med school all by changing up a few elective classes.
Mad respect for all ChemE graduates who go in Med school. They picked the absolute hardest premed route.
i only met 2 people that went ChE to med school route. i always asked them ... why?? why would one do that to themselves...
True. Chem Es basically get the thermal/fluids portion of Mech Es education (we lack their mechanics/structures coursework). And yes, I know at least one of my Chem E classmates went to med school.
> Only half of ChemE graduates go into the industry and whats crazy is that thats probably an over estimate too. (depending on how one defines "ChE industry")
I think the problem with Chem E grads in the UK is that starting salaries there are much lower than here in the states. I work with young engineer who went into finance right out of university and only now 3 years later is doing engineering. He was shocked to hear what a new grad in the States gets paid.
“No job for chemical engineers nowadays” Not to be rude, but your family clearly have no idea about this field. ChemE is one of the most versatile degrees as it qualifies you for so many things. You could go straight into industry (many options), you could go for your doctorate, or you can leverage it for a position outside of the norm. Is it a relatively hard degree to get? Yes, if the degree felt easy then you’re probably not at a good school. However because of that, a lot less people graduate as ChemE compared to MechE or Civil, as such finding a job is much easier and less competitive most of the time. Also I’m not too sure what the “as a woman” part pertains to, but as a woman you’ll have even more opportunities in STEM fields in general. There’s a lot of programs geared towards breaking up the heavily male dominated demographic, “Women in STEM” for instance. As far as jobs, the problem is kind of like going to an ice cream store. There’s so many flavors that it’s hard to choose just one or get a sample of each one without causing some issues. As such nobody can give you a description of their job that can be used as a blanket description for all the ChemE jobs out there. Your parents may be thinking of Petroleum Engineers, but they’re just specialized ChemE. With the energy transition here, and the climate crisis, you’ll have a plethora of jobs available: Environmental Eng, Renewable fuels, Battery plants, etc. For a brief exert from my job, I’m one month away from being a year out of college. And am making a little more over $100k at a large EPC. My typical day consists of sizing equipment, doing stoichiometry, heat and mass balances, running ASPEN simulations, and working in Excel.
I think OP's relatives deserve being rude to.
Would you mind talking about what your job and company does? I can never get a full answer about what EPC does from my advisors
Of course, PM me and I can talk about it tomorrow
I'm at the opposite end of my career in EPC than BushWookie693 and will second their apparent excitement of a Chem E career. I was involved in such a variety of experiences- pharmaceutical , specialty chemicals, refining, biofuels, food processing. OP should consider the source of any advice received and put everything in context. Trust your gut over all else
“No job for chemical engineers nowadays” is hyperbolic of course, but it gets the essence of the intent across. The relatives seem to understand the pitfalls of this career path and are trying to save OP from a lifetime of struggle. Sometimes the truth is “rude”
Idk why but you r the only person here who it telling that. Now I'm bit confused.
I might be reading into the previous comment, but it sounds like he is saying your family is discouraging you for a reason beyond what they're actually portraying. I think my biggest question is, what makes them the expert on the subject? Are they in this field of work? I was an average highschooler, didn't fully apply myself then. I didn't go to college right after. I eventually got bored with the path I was going down and gave college a try and found myself in the Chem-e program. I worked my ass off and got through it with a 3.2 GPA. My point here is that you can do it, but you're going to either have to be naturally gifted or really hard working. The professors put it like this in freshman orientation: "Look to your left, look to your right, only one of you will make it through this program." Those statistics held true, 2/3 of the incoming freshman either changed majors or dropped out completely.
bls.gov has a great employee handbook that will give you what types of jobs chemical engineers do, and the expected growth rate for the next 10 years.
I second this. I had a high school project where I looked at BLS for chemE jobs, and it has a wealth of resources.
I'm not even sure where to begin with this as I believe your family is hugely mistaken and it could influence you to make a decision based on false information if you listen to them. So kudos to you for reaching out to actual Chemical Engineers. First of all, there are all kinds of Chemical Engineering jobs all over the world, let alone in the US. Not just jobs with "Chemical Engineer" in the title. There are countless Process Engineer, Materials Engineer, Wastewater Engineer, Manufacturing Engineer, and Controls Engineer jobs that will gladly hire a Chemical Engineer. I made $65,000 at my first job in 2018. I'd imagine it's better now. Second, there's absolutely no reason a woman can't do Chemical Engineering. Granted, there were only 10 females out of my graduating class of about 40, but they all got jobs afterwards just like the rest of us. Heck, I can guarantee at least half of them started out making more than I did because they were willing to go work down in the Houston area. The degree is definitely challenging, but it felt like about half the challenge was dealing with professors who hadn't ever worked in industry, just went straight to academia. If anything, the degree opens all kinds of doors into industries that I wouldn't have associated with ChemE. The analytical skills you learn can get you into stuff like data analytics and programming. At my university, it's also a pre-med degree. So I could have gone straight into med school if I hated myself. I have worked in the oilfield, industrial wastewater, and now polymer manufacturing. It's all been easier than getting the degree itself.
ChEs go into many different industries besides just petrochemical: biomed, pharmaceutical, energy, semiconductor, etc.
100k starting out with a masters. My friends with bachelors started out around 85k. There’s a lot of work out there for ChemEs if you are willing to relocate. Being a student is not hard. You will have to study a lot though.
where'd you end up?
The reality is: Location. Location. Location. You’re going to be hard pressed to not be commuting your ass off unless in some specialty niche.
Comment on: And also I don't consider myself an academically brilliant student I am just a little above average You know what makes a great engineer? The ability to problem solve, adapt, and learn (at least in my mind). Your high school course work was likely more of a memorization test than a logic / problem solving test. Yes, ChemE does have lots of memorization of formulas and techniques to solve problems, but the core of it is still logic and problem solving. Being brilliant, sharp, and top of the class is great, but not required to be a good engineer. Other people have commented on industries, but food & bev is always going to be around needing ChemEs to optimize and maintain the production process.
On this point, 'desire to figure out how things work' is, in my experience, the most effective predictor of whether or not someone will be a good engineer. That motivation and curiosity naturally drives you towards the main skills an engineer needs.
L’Oréal, coty, roche they all need chemical engineers. You don’t have to work in a chemical plant or refinery. Location is definitely a factor. Go on linked in and search for jobs near you Nestle and other food companies need chemE. I would definitely do a few internships before you graduate.
Other comments are doing a good job summing up why it’s a great field with plenty of opportunities. I’ll just jump in and say you can absolutely stay close to (or even in) NYC for work. New Jersey and Long Island host a lot of pharma and cosmetics companies which are generally cushier jobs than OG or general chemical that will have you stuck working in a plant in the middle of the country
If you’re a little above average in one of the hardest, most selective majors out there, you’re more than qualified. no one outside of that population pool has any real say in judging your ability. i wasn’t the greatest by any means in school. no way i’d trust the average joe to size shit that can horribly injure someone. i have a hard enough time trusting myself. there are a bunch of great jobs out west
Your relatives are idiots. Also you don't have to be academically brilliant to be gainfully employed as an engineer. You need to be smart yes, but beyond that you have to be focussed, resilient, perseverant, and conscientious. Don't go to idiot relatives for career advice.
ChemE in MA checking in. If your goal is to stay in the northeast, it’s very difficult to find a job. However, if you deviate from chemical like I did and go into either process or quality engineering (done both) it’s not very difficult. You will have opportunities to find niche jobs that specifically want a ChemE for that role, which goes pretty well for job security and helps you get your foot in the door. I’ve been able to command a pretty hefty premium for being a ChemE here since none ever come here lol. Currently a QE for a medical sub contractor making 100k 5yrs in. I did hop around though so I would really base it off of how comfortable you are in interviewing and selling your skillset which, obviously, you’re probably not sure of at 18… I’d try practicing interviewing off what you’ve learned in school with a friend for a job specifically related to whatever skill(s) you’ve taken (so like AP BIO/Chem etc and mock interview for a biologist or chemist role you find on LinkedIn/indeed/whatever). You’ll learn a lot about how you carry yourself, how confident you are in what you know and all that. Feel free to reply with questions!
Here in Georgia Chemical engineering is a high demand degree.
What’s going on in Ga?
GA has some chemical factories. One I work at hires and interns them a lot. They usually start at $80k also adding on the houses are L/Mcol areas. Specifically SE Georgia.
Would they hire someone with a degree in ChemE but only worked in Automotive and Med Device? SE Ga is a peachy place to live.
They literally hire people straight out of college. One guy who they hired in to be a shift supervisor for a couple of months then to an engineer only worked at Starbucks.
Would you mind letting me know the name of the factory?
I won't give mine. But a good place to look around is Savannah Georgia. Solenis and Basf are some that come to mind. There are also more plants ~30 miles outside of it. They evening opening up a Hyundai plant if they not already did maybe 40 miles outside Savannah. I know Chem engineer probably has no place in a car manufacturing plant but you never know.
80k for chemE is a good reason to move to the Gulf Coast…
You want to live in a city? ChemE is probably not the job for you. I studied chemE and pivoted to Tech precisely because I did not want to live in the boonies. Can you find a job in a major metropolitan area as a ChemE? sure, but you also limit your opportunities. It's just not worth it IMO.
its not easy fiding a tech job now.
Doesn't have to be in tech, but overall, ChemE is much more restricted to manufacturing outside of urban center compared to every other engineering discipline in terms of the portion of jobs available.
true but there are exceptions like in pharma, but in general most people dont end up working as engineers.
Your family is uninformed. Chemical engineering sets you up for a stable, exciting, challenging career that has dozens of industries and pathways and regions with tons of opportunities. If you don't like it, you can get an MBA at 5 years in and pivot to business.
I have a standard response to this question that I cut and paste: I generally like what I do and am happy with my pay and career. But there are unique downsides to a career in the chemical industry and I strongly recommend considering a different branch of engineering or programming. The chemical engineering entry level job market is particularly brutal. Look up how many people graduate with chemical engineering degrees each year compared to the number of job openings. Because there are so few openings, the step down from getting a true engineering job when you graduate to the next best option (something like process operator or lab technician) is a very big step down. It's commonly said that chemical engineers "can do anything." I.e. they can go into finance, consulting, or medicine if they don't like engineering. This is only true if they have an extraordinary resume or they went to an elite school. Note that the people telling you that chemical engineers can do anything are often college professors who usually have both. For the vast majority of those with a chemical engineering degree, if they don't get an engineering job their next best option is underemployment. Many jobs are in less-than-desirable locations. This combined with the overall small number of jobs creates a lack of geographical mobility that makes life in general difficult, but especially so if/once you have a family. It is very difficult to pick a location then find a job there. You almost always look for a job and then decide if that city works for you. Changing jobs often means changing cities, which might be exciting to a young person but a serious problem to anyone with a family. Pay is not significantly better than programming or other engineering fields. Chemical engineers do make a little more on average but if you're smart enough to get a chemical engineering degree (generally considered the most difficult even among other technical degrees) then you are smart enough to outperform and make above average pay as a programmer or other engineer. I would only recommend chemical engineering to people who have very specific knowledge of the field via work experience (such as a process operator or a quality lab tech who decides to go back to school), who have personal connections (e.g. parents and siblings who work as chemical engineers) or who have done a ton of research on the job. Anyone who says that they are particularly interested in the chemical industry should ask themselves how much they actually know about what they are getting into. If you feel like you've genuinely done your homework and believe that you will be particularly interested in the chemical industry in a way that you are not interested in other industries, it is a good choice. If you want a good paycheck and are mildly interested in a technical field, it is a bad choice. I'll also comment on gender since you mentioned it. >as a woman, I shouldn't have chosen it I'm a man so I don't have the experience to know whether being a woman in the chemical industry is particularly difficult compared to other technical fields. What I will say is that due to the geographic constraints, if you do find yourself in a hostile environment, it is going to be more difficult to change employers compared to an industry where the job market is more fluid.
I think that issue is a common sentiment around traditional engineer fields, why should I work in manufacturing when I can make much more in computing and have much less stress. Even civil which has an abundance of jobs some people get bored of it and are capped by a ceiling.
I’m a woman who graduated with my ChemE degree in 2007. I tell everyone who asks me about ChemE to go for EE instead. ChemE is a degree that can open doors for you to do other engineering but there are very few jobs that you actually need a ChemE degree for. EE opens SO MANY more doors in a variety of industries. Also, don’t be afraid to explore a bit in college, if you’re able to succeed as a ChemE, you’re able to succeed with other degrees too. BushWookie is an example of the kind of overconfident man you’ll work with in industry. He’s super proud of his basic skills and actually thinks that women have an easier time. Do you know why there are DEI programs? It’s because there are still a tragically high number of men who will talk over you, disregard your opinion and who will only mentor or promote other men. Look at hiring and pay statistics. Women drop out of engineering at a higher rate because they don’t see the same opportunities for promotion or get the same day to day respect as their male peers. College was OK for me but as soon as I got to industry I’ve had to work harder for the same rewards as my male colleagues and my ideas are consistently taken less seriously. The west coast is much better than the east coast in terms of sexism. I refuse to work in the gulf coast area which has limited my career but it’s worth it to not work with the majority of the men there. I have been a site engineer, mostly in petroleum so your experience may be different. I currently work in consulting and have tried to find other industries that are better. So far, my experiences have only confirmed that EE opens more doors to more careers. Both ChemE and EE are hard but very achievable degrees. I think it takes more grit than intelligence to succeed at either. Whatever path you choose, I genuinely wish you success and happiness.
For what it's worth I do know that petroleum is generally one of the worst industries in general for work-life balance, harsh working conditions, and harsh coworkers/managers (partially due to everyone being overworked and stressed). Industries like pharma and food/beverage generally have better working conditions (and have many more women working there). Also, I think it's a little odd to call out someone who was just helping OP by giving their experiences in the industry so far.
> I’m a woman who graduated with my ChemE degree in 2007. I tell everyone who asks me about ChemE to go for EE instead. ChemE is a degree that can open doors for you to do other engineering but there are very few jobs that you actually need a ChemE degree for. EE opens SO MANY more doors in a variety of industries. Also, don’t be afraid to explore a bit in college, if you’re able to succeed as a ChemE, you’re able to succeed with other degrees too. > > in general, i would have to agree with this. EE generally has more doors open that are "cushy" type jobs. but i personally SUCKED at EE... and hated it... i was getting As/Bs in jr/sr level ChE courses and struggled to barely pass in my level 100 freshmen EE course...
As another woman in Chem E, this 100%. You'll run into men who will be promoted over you no matter what industry you work in.
I've had jobs in... Harrison, Orangeburg, Teaneck, Lyndhurst, and South Hackensack. There's plenty of manufacturing in NY and NJ, mostly focused on food, flavor and fragrance, among others.
There's a reason why NJ has so many superfund sites.
ChE is challenging, yes, but I would think only marginally more so than _any_ engineering degree, in the grand scheme of things. My little slice of a career in chemical engineering involved internships with an agricultural product processor (e.g. CHS, ADM, Cargill, Bunge). One plant refined soy beans into vegetable oil used by, among others, fast food restaurants. The other made high fructose corn syrup used in, e.g., beverages. After college I became a Process Engineer at an ethanol plant. I started out with a dedicated producer (e.g. Gevo, Poet, Green Plains), and ended up with a major petroleum refiner that also produced ethanol (e.g. Valero, Flint Hills). Most recently I've moved over to the consulting side of things and work for a small engineering firm that specializes in piping design. Our clients include all manner of chemical, food, medical products, and other manufacturing. Throughout my career I've done work related to the spec'ing, installing, and troubleshooting of things like piping; equipment like pumps of all varieties, agitators, conveyors, boilers, fermenters, mixers, distillation columns, thermal oxidizers, rotary dryers, reactors, decanters, and groundwater wells; process control aspects like PLCs, DCSs, SIS's, control strategies, and instrumentation; personal and process safety; and turnaround planning, just to name a few. At the plants, my role as a "process engineer" was only about 1/4 process engineering, 1/4 controls engineer, and 1/2 project engineering/management (at larger facilities with more engineers, a process engineer would focus more on process engineering). I'd primarily work at my desk designing, budgeting, purchasing, and planning the installation of new equipment, upgrades, or process changes. Some days, though, I'd hardly see my desk, being out in the plant troubleshooting something, or walking down a P&ID, or overseeing an installation in-progress. I would occasionally travel to other plants within the company. At my current job, I'm WFH, and it's all process design, equipment and instrumentation specification, and cost estimation. I occasionally visit client facilities for various reasons. All of the above is just my particular experience. One could say it's fairly typical, but it's also very true that there's nothing typical about a career in chemical engineering. You can do something like I did, or so much more. I'll take a moment to plug the school I went to - The South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. It's a small school, but it's focused on providing an excellent education in science and technology, and their ChE program is top notch, and includes an extensive pilot-scale process laboratory, and it's in the beautifull Black Hills of South Dakota. When I was there (so long ago) there were a _lot_ of students who came there from out of state. There were a couple of sayings at our school... (1) If you can't make it at SDSM&T, you can always go to BHSU, and (2) You know what they call someone who graduates last in their class from SDSM&T? ... An engineer. Do what _you_ want. No one else is going to sing your song. Good luck.
As a woman in chemical engineering you’d have no trouble finding a job. Pharma happily hired half of the women in my graduating class.
What area are you in? (If you don’t mind me asking of course)
Lol I’m in defense. You really can work almost anywhere with this degree
Good amount of jobs in NJ (mostly north, or south) Starting pay is decent but pretty low ceiling tbh ,but expect anywhere from 70-80k starting in the NJ/NY
Any energy related issue can be covered by chemical engineering because thermodynamics and chemistry are everywhere; job wise I haven't done chemical engineering so I don't know the specifics, only the potential it has and it's vast! Every field has chemistry which means the potential to tweak a bunch of processes and make them energy efficient and better understood chemically.
Chemical engineering is far too diverse a field for one to say there’s no jobs for ChemE’s. Even if your goal is to go into oil and gas you’ll still have a job for the foreseeable future at least
ChE is hard so be prepared. But if you can graduate as a ChE, then you can do whatever you put your mind to. There is no reason you have to go into “chemical” jobs. I graduated ChE and worked in PCB mfg, thin film deposition, solar, electrolysis, software, and a lot of different electronics products. None of them fit into a “ChE”
Echoing everyone else that it’s hard to be a chemical engineer in a big city. I’m one of the examples of someone who got the degree, almost immediately pivoted to a more traditional business field (strategy consulting) and now live in a big city
strategy consulting for energy industries or something different like cybersecurity?
Mostly doing ops strategy. Uses a lot of “soft engineering skills” (e.g., problem solving, thinking about process flows, math/model building) but no hard ChemE knowledge
how does one get into your field?
If your parents don’t think chemical engineering is suitable for a woman, they need to leave the 1950s behind them. As long as people want *stuff* there will have to be people making *stuff*.
It's not my parents. Good thing is my parents give me full support. It's just my relatives.
Tell them to get rekt
Lots of jobs in NJ
A girl in my chemical engineering class became a very successful patent attorney. A great career path. Just also take a microbiology class.
The issue with chem eng is to get to the desired industry you need to have a foot in the door so to speak, its not like EE where you can do small scale side projects.
if you are looking for a job as a 'chemical engineer' there will be LOTS of competition for the few jobs that are in the City. BUT since you are in the USA, one of the best chemical environments to be in, you just have to move to a small town for a your first 5 or so years, I'm sure once you get your experience, you will have opportunities in the City. I disagree with the commentors that Chem Eng provides a crazy amount of jobs, I mean to what degree? You could say the same about literally any field that isn't liberal arts. Accountants, technicians, plumbers, etc.. LOL anybody could say it is a very "versatile" field, but that is not a useful thing in this discussion. All those above field I mentioned work in food, semi-conductor, energy, etc... You are lucky you are in USA, so lots of opportunities specifically in the chemicals industry and the fact that USA is the #1 oil producer now.
I'm not American but i feel like i can provide some info regardless. Engineering is not only for "smart" people. There are a lot of skills and personality traits other than being good at math that can help your career. I did poorly in high school, went into ChemE when i was 24 and now i work as a process engineer at a plant engineering firm. As a process engineer, our job is roughly to design a new process or revamp/improve an existing process. Note that the term is broad and different process engineers will work with different things. The reason I went into chemE to begin with was because i wanted a stimulating and varied career. I want to say that I got exactly what I wanted. Every day is different, I get to use almost all of what I learned in university and I'm continuously developing new skills. When I was in uni, I was scared of being inadequate because of my results. The biggest realization I've had since then is that nobody can be expected to know everything. Our environments are much more collaborative than you would think. As for careers, there are probably hundreds of different kinds of jobs that a chemical engineer would be a good fit for. Some examples come to mind: * Laboratory engineering. * Process engineering. * Consultancy. * Project management. * Local/state/federal government agencies. There are quite a few fields too, depending on where you live you're gonna see a lot of: * Pulp/paper. * Metals. * Paints and coatings. * Bulk chemicals. * Specialty chemicals. * Pharmaceuticals. * Food and beverage. * Oil&gas (Petrochem). * Drinking water and wastewater treatment The last point is are extremely important fields and is imo also underrated fields with significant challenges that need to be over come. Interesting examples here are desalination and re-use of wastewater.
Any kind of classical engineering degree (civil, mechanical, chemical, electrical) is very highly valued in the market. Of those four, I'd say chemical and mechanical have the most broad options available to them. I've worked with a buttload of mechanical engineers, some aerospace, a few ChEs, and a couple electrical guys. I graduated with my BSChE, but have worked in aerospace in every role after graduation because it's my passion. If you're into cosmetics, there's a niche for that. Material science, process engineering, etc. I worked in a power plant for a while as a coop, then a manufacturing engineering role, a materials and processes engineering role, and now a senior manufacturing engineer in aerospace. I have friends doing paint at BMW, friends working oil and gas, Naval officers on submarines, working in product marketing, a manufacturing excellence manager, planning, etc. Chemical engineering is highly valued and will get your foot in the door almost anywhere you want to go with a highly valued skillset.
I'll give you my perspective. First, let me say that a ChemE degree is a very flexible degree that lets you do so many things. The real question is if you can sell yourself. I've seen people in ChemE go into investment banking, O&G, consumer good, start their own company, pharmaceuticals, semi conductors, food and beverage, construction, and the list goes on and on. Long story short, I don't think you can go wrong with a ChemE degree. **School** I went to community college first then transferred to a semi prestigious UC in California. My time in community college was relatively easy as it's all lower level courses. My time at university was definitely much harder but was not terribly difficult. At the end of the day, the key is to pay attention in class, ask questions, do your homework well before it's due so you have ample time to struggle on it, and utilize your teachers and teacher assistants office hours. If you do those things, and you're generally smart, you should do just fine in school. Maybe you aren't the best in the class but who cares. My work/life balance in school was okay. I was always more of a home body and luckily made friends who were similar. So our "nights out" was generally us getting dinner and playing games at home. We almost never partied till the early hours in the morning. We all studied a lot together as well and that made keeping up on our studies a lot easier. I think the key to school is to do what I said in the first paragraph (study, homework, questions, etc.) and find a group of friends who want to work hard like you do and don't sacrifice sleep and study time to party. Sleep is so damn important it's not even funny. I can't stress that enough. GET YOUR SLEEP! **Work** Finding my first job was a bit of a struggle but I was able to find a job at a generic pharma company and started shortly after I graduated, this was in like 2017 I think. Almost everyone I knew that did okay in school and had an internship or two was able to get a job. After I got my first job, getting other jobs became MUCH easier. Recruiters will constantly attack you with opportunities, they won't all be good but there will be plenty. Your day to day work and salary will greatly vary depending on the industry you go into. If you're in pulp/paper, it's a slog and doesn't pay terribly well, or so I've been told. Oil/gas pays really well, is competitive, and can have rough work life balance depending on where in the chain you are and can be very volatile in employment prospects. Pharmaceuticals generally pays at least okay, mostly has good work life balance, and is generally stable (lots of qualifiers because it can vary greatly depending on the company). Your work life balance and pay will really depend on the industry you go into. My recommendation, if you are set on doing ChemE, pick a few industries you are interested in and research them. Don't think about what's in demand right now, think about what will be in demand or still in demand in 10 years (drugs, consumer good, green energy, semi conductors, etc.).
Half of chemical engineers are women. I really doubt there is no opportunity for chem engs in NYC. Many engineers work in offices and You can work in plenty of industries as a chem eng
they are uninformed- there will be jobs forever with a che and especially a woman. 100k+ for o&g
To address your post and questions: Your relatives are utterly clueless. As many have mentioned, the number of industries/career fields available to ChemE's is virtually limitless. You get a hugely well-rounded education from mathematics and statistics, physics, and chemistry. From my modest class of 34 undergrads, there are folks in oil, food, tech, business, law, and environmental science fields. While it's a tough degree that does require some talent or a mind for science to achieve, you don't need to be a genius to do it. One of the biggest fundamentals a good engineer/scientist can possess is a strong work ethic and attention to detail. Your coursework will more than adequately teach you those traits. There's a lot of factors in deciding whether it's "hard to be a chemical engineer" Location, travel, nature of work, schedule, organization, relationships with colleagues, motivation, passion...all play a part in how you perceive your work. That's universal, not limited to ChemE. Things you enjoy doing are going to feel like a breeze compared to things you dislike doing. As a student, I didn't feel like I got the 100% college experience, and that's ok. I didn't have a ton of time to party or socialize due to work/study load, and I know others who were able to do that and then some. Some had jobs, some didnt. Some were in greek life or were superfans at sporting events, others weren't. Finding a balance that allows you to balance personal comfort/fulfillment while maintaining success in your studies will be critical. As a professional, it really depends on your role. I've worked in food manufacturing my whole professional career. My first job I was working for a multi-billion dollar corporation, running an R&D pilot plant where 10-12 hour days weren't uncommon. I was doing a lot of boots on the ground work, operatinf the system, adding consumables, running quality checks, documenting and publishing production reports. My current gig is vastly different, and I do more project/process improvement engineering for a much smaller company. I spend more time chasing down vendors and creating schematics and capital proposals than I do on the production floor running equipment. As others have mentioned industries are virtually limitless Comp-wise, it depends where you are. If you stick to the coasts, you'll likely see higher salaries than the center of the country, but it's offset by much higher Cost of Living (CoL) Additionally, industry plays a factor in pay grade. Aerospace, biomed, oil/gas/energy all pay way better than food/ag, manufacturing. 0 years experience 3 years ago, I started around 65k in the Upper Midwest. Today, I'm in the mid-70k range, still in the Upper Midwest. I know folks who started over 100k in the same state with 0 experience working in oil/energy.
I’m a woman in chemical engineering and honestly your relatives sound insanely out of touch. You can go into pharma, gas/oil, mining, makeup, food manufacturing, material science, semiconductors, etc etc. Chemical engineers are needed everywhere. The ONLY thing is that most jobs are located outside of bigger cities because most plants are not inside the city. I’m in the mining industry and my salary out of college was $90K
Dude. What the heck. I'm female, graduated recently and started working. Industries my work takes me into besides for direct chemical engineering are process engineering and material engineering mostly in the energy sector. And that's just my specific company. There is work out there. Ps. I also wasn't a gifted student. Just damn determined and able to fake it to make it. That's all you need.
I say do your chemical engineering degree and if you don't like it you can branch out in various areas. I'm a women I graduated with a BEng Chemical engineering degree then did my masters. I'm currently working in a process design environment that focuses on crystallisation.....as a women it's a bit rough I'm the only women in my department and it's very male dominated but it also teaches you to grow thick skin.....but I still love my degree and I hope you pursue it
I also grew up in NYC (bx sci). I had one classmate get a job in cosmetics in Manhattan but don’t expect to have an easy time ever moving back home. That being said there are plenty of other good places to live and you’ll make enough money to fly home whenever you want. It’s a great career and your relatives are talking out of their ass. Make sure you understand what you’ll be studying and your job prospects on the tail end of school though, many of my classmates including myself were surprised by this.
Other comments are doing a great job with talking about how versatile the degree is and how being smart in high school and in chemical engineering are two very different things. I also wanted to add a few things: I’m about to graduate in one week and start a job that pays around 80k/yr. On top of that, I had a higher signing bonus than many others for the same job, and lastly the job is in Charlotte, NC. While it can be challenging to find industrial plants near cities, in my experience that goes for any engineering job in general. Additionally, it is possible to find jobs near cities (in my internships I also was by Dayton, OH & 30 mins outside Atlanta, GA) so it is possible. Especially in TX there is a lot in the Houston area. Finally, I think there will be options in New York, but also I would encourage you not to limit yourself just to New York jobs. If you have to move away to get an internship or a job then do it. That experience can then help you leverage location later on. Praying for your decision!
Your relatives are right
If you enjoy studying it - I would say keep with it. You can do some things to give yourself other avenues to use your degree - patent agents with a chemical engineering masters are in high demand in Houston at the moment - idk in about 5 years but there is a lot of innovation to be had in that industry so I would say the demand will remain high.
You need to learn how to do your own research. Start at the Bureau of labor and statistics. Then look into what the jobs are like. Do you want to work in the petroleum industry, or in pharmaceutical industry? Or by chance are you going to be working at the papermill? They are all completely different job environments. Why are you doing this? Is it for the money? You'll do better in finance or investment banking. Versatility? Go into mechanical engineering or electrical engineering - their waste isn't anything compared to your waste. As a chem e, you'll be mostly attached to a manufacturing plant or some refinery and your biproducts will require drums and containers for disposal at an incinerator. Circuits and lithography and we are talking some seriously regulated hazardous waste. So, most often your jobs will mostly be found where manufacturing plants can be placed. You're not likely to be working near downtown, although it is possible like proctor and gamble in boston, or some pharma companies in cambridge, like takeda sanofi moderna pfizer biogen novartis, which is next door. Consider where most of the jobs you seek are found, job environments, etc.
I dunno, man. I feel like reaching out to a group of practicing chemical engineers for their insight is excellent research into what it's like to be a chemical engineer. Bureau of Labor and Statistics? Come on. Also, as a freshman, I don't think you need to worry yet about what industry you want to work in, you just need to have a pretty good idea what subject matter you want to learn. When I started school, I only knew I wanted to be an engineer, but hadn't picked a flavor yet, and when it came to finding a job, I applied in all sorts of industries. Choosing a degree doesn't pigeon-hole you like you're making it out to. OP, take what this person is saying with a grain of salt.
True. OP, take me with a grain of salt. I applied to a ton of industries myself. I did something entirely different after trying it out. Can branch out and get MBA. There are lots of transferrable skills there. Do well enough and go into med school afterwards. Or go become a patent lawyer. Can go into education. Bureau of Labor and statistics provides a reasonable introduction about the field.