<p>Our son (rising senior) was pretty set majoring in Biomedical Engineering--and planning to pursue a graduate degree. This year he took AP Chemistry and LOVED it. So much that he informed us that he thinks he would rather major in Chemical Engineering. Then after he did some research on programs, he told us that he thinks he would rather major in Chemisty.</p>
<p>Our concern is that he loved AP Chemistry because of a great teacher, and the fact that she let them do some fun experiments. But his thought that BME or ChemE will have too many non-Chemistry classes doesn't fly with me. Even as a Chemistry major, he would have plenty of non-Chemistry classes. And not all of the Chemistry classes would be fun.</p>
<p>So my questions to the group--are we right to be concerned about him majoring in just Chemistry? </p>
<p>Would he be better majoring in BME with a Chemistry related concentration (Cell/Tissue, Biomaterials) or in ChemE?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>What does he want to do after college? Who would he want to work for?</p>
<p>I wish I knew the answer to that question. </p>
<p>His upper div classes will primarily be chemistry. His lower div will consist of inorganic chem, organic chem, calc based physics, and 2 years of math, Calc I-III. Differential eqs, linear alg. The good news is his lower div classes parallel that of a typical engineering major. so he could transition pretty well. That said, the lower divisional years aren’t representative of your major imo. You learn a great variety of skills, and then in the upper division you apply certain concepts that you learned in those classes. </p>
<p>In terms of course work, depends on the school. ChemE will have more (pure) chem classes compared to BME, some schools require a year of advanced chem, while BME will focus on Biochem. </p>
<p>In terms of employment, Chem is not the way to go as a undergrad terminal degree. It has low job prospects and the pay isn’t too good. BME is too new of a market so most BME (with a good job) have a masters in it. As a terminal degree ChE is the way to go.</p>
<p>If your son doesn’t mind extra schooling, it doesn’t matter as much. if he wants to do R&D in molecular synthesis, he could get his phd in chemistry. However, he could do that in any major. So if he wants to the chem route, he could do that doing undergrad in ChemE. But he’s still an engineer, so hes more valued than just a chemist with the same phd. </p>
<p>Ultimately, it depends where he wants to go, but Chem E and Chem does overlap a lot. </p>
<p>waitingincpa,
I think you need to find out first.
Not only what he wants to do but where would he want to live and type of company. ie. pharmaceutical, petrochemical, design/build, etc
I’m ChE undergrad and I wouldn’t recommend a graduate degree in ChE unless you want to be a professor. You can get the PE (Professional Engineer) designation with a BS and a PE cert is more valuable than a masters degree in ChE.
Most engineers hired by Fortune 500 companies are considering a management position of such. An MBA would be more valuable and not a Masters in ChE.</p>