ChemE job description

College Majors Engineering Majors
1

<p>I read the thread titled "Chemical engineering future" and now I'm questioning whether ChemE is for me. I'm really interested in designing materials, chemicals, or processes, rather than the machines that manufacture these items. Will a bachelor degree be enough for me to work on things like that?</p>

<p>Also, I read that ChemE is close to MechE (the part about designing machines). I'm wondering if there are any opportunities for a ChemE to work as a MechE? If so, what kinds of jobs are there? (this is just out of curiosity)</p>

2

<p>I second benderunit and I hope my thread didn't cause you to worry too much :). But yes I was wondering as well if ChemE really can work in all the new fields or if most of them end up in traditional jobs by lack of options?</p>

3

<p>yeah- wanna know which is the most versatile-mech e/chem E/ elec E?</p>

4

<p>yeah im interestd in this too, because im interested in the so called bottom-up appraoch which I always thought to be Chem E (which it is) but i now hear you need to go to grad school for it (which im not against btw)...</p>

5

<p>Mech E and Elec E are the best choices. Chem E is a very poor career choice. I know literature says that they start at the highest salary range - but that is with a large oil or petrochem firm. Trouble is, very few people can hired in these firms. They have far more applications than spots. The problem with Chem E is that your whole degree is based on processes. If you consider that the last refinery built in North America is at least 25 years old, you start to see the problem. Now, there is rebuild and retrograde work but not many greenfield chemical projects which is theoretically what you are being trained for. </p>

<p>Now, if you graduate from Ivy League school with Chem E there will be alot of options such as management consulting (Accenture...). If you look on Monster.com for chemical enginering relative to mechanical engineering you start to see the issue. </p>

<p>As a former Chem E, I can tell you it is not a good choice. I think any engineering really is not a good choice. The most versatile science degree is Maths with Computing/Maths with Physics or Maths with Economics. This is good for entry level management or working in brokerage where you can earn far more than as an engineer. A math and physics degree is in demand for financial modelling because of the rigourous mathematics. Just look on Monster when Wall Street is hiring Ph.D's and M.Sc in Physics.</p>

6

<p>really?! however, oil and petrochem firms do not compose of the entire scope of chemical engineers. You have semiconductor processing, etc. I suppose that that is hot?</p>

7

<p>And biochemistry no?</p>

8

<p>toronto- did you go to an ivy league school?
And what kind of firm is accenture? Is it a management consulting firm? And do they hire engineers because of their engineering background or simply because they know engineers have good analytical thinking skills? I'm asking because i'm not really interested in business/economics at all. Does accenture hire engineers as engineering consultants/ business consultants?</p>

9

<p>I went to a top Canadian school. Accenture hires from top schools and basically everyone is hired as a management consultant. </p>

<p>I encourage anyone thinking of Chem E as a career to do a lot of research and to talk to those who have graduated and are out working in the field. My opinion is that ME or EE is better than ChE and Maths/Computing is better still.</p>

10

<p>toronto_guy, just out of curiosity, are you a UW or UofT grad?</p>

11

<p>Depends what school you are coming from but most schools have 90%+ placement for ChemE's who want to get a job in ChemE. There are TONS of different fields available to work in.</p>

12

<p>MechE is probably the broadest engineering major possible.</p>

<p>I think the ChemE and MechE curriculums are different enough that it would be difficult (but not impossible) for ChemE's to get MechE jobs.</p>

13

<p>
[quote]
Chem E is a very poor career choice. I know literature says that they start at the highest salary range - but that is with a large oil or petrochem firm. Trouble is, very few people can hired in these firms. They have far more applications than spots. The problem with Chem E is that your whole degree is based on processes. If you consider that the last refinery built in North America is at least 25 years old, you start to see the problem. Now, there is rebuild and retrograde work but not many greenfield chemical projects which is theoretically what you are being trained for.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>This is not true. First off, ChemE's do not just work in refineries. The oil industry is not just about refining. It is also about natural gas processing, petrochemical processing, plastics manufacturing, and so forth - and PLENTY of those plants have been built lately. And besides, in the wake of Katrina, the US government is now spurring construction of new diversified refinery capacity. </p>

<p>Secondly, high tech is now one of the biggest employers of ChemE, especially semiconductor chip processing. And chip companies actually tend to pay BETTER than oil companies do. I can tell you that of the chemical engineering class coming out of Berkeley recently and who took jobs (i.e. didn't go to graduate school), probably about 1/2 of them took jobs in the semiconductor industry. This industry isn't going anywhere - in fact, it's actually expanding. Intel, for example, has announced an initiative to greatly expand its US production capacity. </p>

<p>
[quote]
If you look on Monster.com for chemical enginering relative to mechanical engineering you start to see the issue.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Uh, no, this is NOT the way to see the issue. Sure, there are more ME jobs than ChemE jobs. But there are also far more ME's than ChemE's. You can't just look at the demand for labor, you also have to look at the supply of labor. For example, there are far more cashier jobs than there are lawyer jobs, but who makes more money - a lawyer or a cashier? </p>

<p>Look, when it comes to engineering, and to bachelor's degrees in general, ChemE's have it pretty good, relatively speaking. Does that mean that they are problem-free? No. But they are doing quite well, all things considered. I do, however, agree that ChemE is geographically specialized. For example, if you happen to be a ChemE in the US Gulf Coast or in Alberta, then you will have little difficulty in finding good jobs. However, if you insist on living in a place like New York City or Boston or Toronto where the chemical industry is not prevalent, and you never want to move, then I agree that ChemE may be less useful. You have to be willing to move to where the jobs are.</p>

14

<p>Ok you said that getting a bachelor of ChemE is pretty good but what about Masters or Doctors?</p>

15

<p>Well, the truth is, getting a doctorate in engineering generally doesn't provide a worthy financial case, because you won't get much of a boost in salary beyond the bachelor's degree level (chiefly because the bachelor's degree engineers get paid quite well). Hence, I think you should only pursue an engineering doctorate if you truly love the field and/or you want to be a prof. Remember, engineering bachelor's degrees are not like bachelor's degrees in the liberal arts for which you really can't do a whole lot with, and, unless you're one of the rare people who can nab a job in consulting or banking, you're almost forced to pursue higher degrees if you want a decent job. You can actually get a quite decent job with just a bachelor's degree in engineering.</p>

<p>Master's engineering degrees, depending on how long it takes for you to get them, are generally good investments.</p>

16

<p>so if one is wanting to work (not teach) after college, a masters or a phD isn't recommended? That is, the pay is not highly related with knowledge?</p>

17

<p>You are assuming the degree is highly related with knowledge...</p>

18

<p>
[quote]
so if one is wanting to work (not teach) after college, a masters or a phD isn't recommended? That is, the pay is not highly related with knowledge?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>I think it's more that the free market forces dictate that the world just doesn't have much of a need for the kind of advanced knowledge of an engineering PhD, such that you won't make much of a premium if you have one. A bachelor's or a master's degree in engineering is deemed to be good enough. That's because most engineering jobs out there simply don't require the research skills that a PhD will give you. You just don't need to be a good researcher to have a solid engineering career. </p>

<p>If it makes you feel better, I would point out that plenty of 'knowledge' is poorly rewarded in the market. For example, a lot of PhD's in many of the humanities (i.e. Art History) do not get paid as well as those with just bachelor's degrees in engineering. That's because, simply put, the market simply doesn't have much need for people with PhD's in humanities.</p>