Biochemical Engineer or chemical engineer?

College Majors Engineering Majors
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<p>Hi. I've been admitted as a biochemical engineer at UC Davis. I initially chose this major because there is so a lot of overlapping with the prerequisite classes of pharmacy schools(I initially wanted to go into pharmacy, with engineering as my back up plan. But now pharmacy is my back up plan). But I realized both chemical and biochemical engineers' course work have a lot of overlapping with those pharmacy classes anyways. I've tried to do some research about biochemical engineering, but there is little information available, mostly likely because this is a new major (in fact, UCD is one of the very few schools that offer Biochem engineering currently). </p>

<p>So I'm worried if there will be a high demand for biochemical engineers. Also, do chemical engineers have a higher demand than that for biochemical engineers? How do you think the to engineering degrees will compare in the near future in terms of demand? </p>

<p>I really hated my high school biotech class because I hate learning about genetics, microorganisms, etc. Do you think that means I should go into Chemical engineering instead? Does getting a biochemical engineering degree open up jobs that are opened to chemical engineers, but chemical engineers may not be able to get jobs that are opened to biochemical engineers? </p>

<p>Sorry I have so many questions.Thanks so much for your time and help.</p>

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<p>Hi LonelyOne,</p>

<pre><code>I am a UC Davis biochemical engineer graduate, and I found that biochemical engineering is even harder than chemical engineering, which is already hard enough as an engineering major. Furthermore, the job prospect is extremely low for a biochemical engineer and your GPA is going to suffer much more. I would advise avoid biochemical engineering as the future for is going to stay pretty much relatively the same. Demands are low, and most of the biochemical engineer are restricted to pharmaceutical and biotech companies which are pretty hard to get in themselves. Chemical engineers on the other hand have less restriction and can worked in pharmaceutical and biotech companies as well as other industries.
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<p>However, you did mention you wanted to go pharmacy school. Take chemical engineering and a few biology classes to meet the perquisite to pharmacy school. However, by taking biochemical engineering you need to take very specific course under the chemical engineering department like bioseparation, biotech facility design, biochemical engineering fundamental, etc. Those courses usually have few students and are highly competitive. It’s going to definitely hurt your GPA as only 1 or 2 students out of about 20 students get an A in those courses.</p>