Anyone gone from science B.S. to engineering M.S. (or PhD)? Can I ask about your experience?

Graduate School
1

I’ve been told that many chemists actually transition into ChemE at the masters/PhD level. I majored in biochemistry, and now work in the field, but I’m considering going to chemical engineering graduate school (making up some cousework beforehand, of course). I know that this is possible to do, but I just wanted to see if anyone on here had made similar a transition, or knows someone who did. I know ChemE is a very very different field from biochemistry. I’m also aware of what to coursework entails, and given I have a very strong math background, I’m not particularly worried. I am considering ChemE because I want to work in industrial R&D, specifically process development, ideally in biotech. My questions, for anyone with relevant knowledge, are as follows:

1.) Any insight on the pros and cons of M.Sc thesis/non-thesis, M.Eng, or PhD? Do these degrees all feed pretty well into industry? (I like research so I could certainly see myself doing a PhD). Would I be much better off earning a second bachelors?

2.) Is someone with a B.S in a non-engineering field but, say, a masters in chemical engineering competitive for jobs with those with an engineering B.S.? What does this look like to an employer? How important are things like ABET accreditation and FE/PE? I know this varies a lot among fields

I know it will be possible to get into chemE grad programs, but I’m just trying to gauge whether or not I would have good access to the job market upon finishing grad school. FE/PE certifications would be much harder to get without an engineering bachelors, but I have been told that R&D-type ChemEs aren’t always required to get these certifications. Any advice and anecdotes from/about individuals who have transitioned from science to engineering, and their outcomes, would be much appreciated.

2

I went from a neuroscience undergrad to a bioengineering masters, and will be starting a bioeng PhD in the fall. The difficulty of transitioning I think varies a lot depending on what you’re looking at going into and how closely related your undergrad is. Going from chem to chem eng is probably one of the easier transitions.

In terms of which degree to do, or even if grad school makes sense, it depends very strongly on what you want to do; there’s no reason to get a PhD if the work you want to do doesn’t require a PhD. I’m not too familiar with industry chem eng industry R&D, but in the fields I’m familiar with (pharma and robotics), a PhD is generally necessary to climb the ladder. If that’s the case for your interests, there’s no reason to get a masters degree before a PhD, unless you need it as a stepping stone to get into a PhD program. (Such as needing research experience, a GPA boost, or a significant change in disciplines.) (This is for the US. If it’s Europe or Canada, masters is generally a pre-requisite to starting a PhD.)

3

I did my BS in molecular biology (which, at my undergraduate institution, was as close to a biochemistry degree as you could get), and recently finished up my MS in Mechanical Engineering. I’m not as familiar with ChemE, nor am I qualified to make sweeping statements, but I can talk a little bit about my own experiences, particularly as they relate to ME. As I said, I have only recently graduated from my MSME program, and I’m currently seeking a job.

Unless you intend to pursue a PhD or a career involving a lot of R&D (particularly at some companies or organizations that favor a research background), the thesis will not make a huge difference. That said, a thesis can be useful in other ways. I did a thesis, and it was excellent since it required me to see a novel project through from start to finish, allowing me to acquire a large number of skills (programming and software-related as well as others, like machining, design of experiments, hardware-specific knowledge, various forms of statistical analysis, etc.) in a relatively short amount of time. These factors have all been helping me in my job search. However, in doing thesis research, I did not have time to do any internships. This has definitely hurt me–the lack of actual on-the-job industry experience is making this first job difficult to find. I don’t know what the situation in ChemE is as well, but my recommendation–if you intend to enter industry after the MS–is to do an internship, if nothing else.

The MS without a BS puts one in an interesting position. On the one hand, it might mean you are less qualified than your peers for some jobs in general, since they have been exposed to the whole gamut of engineering courses (in your case, ChemE. In my case, ME). On the other hand, the MS means you will be more qualified for a particular subset of jobs, based on whatever your specialization was. However, the MS does show that you’re capable of learning and performing at a graduate level, and by extension at and beyond an undergraduate level. Moreover, it seems (at least in ME) that, while the MS will not necessarily (though it might) qualify you for an above-entry-level job (since you may not have much, if any, actual experience), it can make advancement significantly easier as your career progresses. This is the impression I’ve gotten, anyway.

FE/PE is not necessary in many fields. It’s mostly necessary in civil engineering. A lot of consulting firms seem to like the PE, too. Otherwise, I don’t think it will matter much.

Search for jobs that sound like what you want to do to get an idea of what employers look for.