<p>I have been thinking about switching into Chemical Engineering and was wondering if some current ChemE's could help me out. How similar to Chemistry and Physics are some of these classes. I have been looking at my schools course list and the classes are like Thermo, Transport Phenomena, and Chemical Kinetics but I really have no idea what these classes will be like and if they are interesting. I like the Math and Science classes I've taken so far and am just wondering if my Chemical Engineering classes will be more of the same or at the very least similar to my Math and Science classes, or totally different. Thanks</p>
<p>Most people choose engineering after doing well and enjoying their general chemistry sequence. Unfortunately, this is not a great indicator of success in Chemical Engineering. It’s the running joke among ChemEs that most of our curriculum has nothing to do with chemistry and more to do with math. However, its not all a loss. If you find Chemistry interesting, it sets you apart from most other engineers whom loathe it. The amount of major specific classes you actually take seems to vary widely from college to college. At least at my school chemical engineers take the least amount of engineering-specific classes. On average we take 2 a semester beginning our sophomore year, with our busiest semester being fall of our senior year where we take 4. Unlike other engineers that progress to only taking major classes, we take a lot of additional chemistry and biology, which is where your love and ability in chemistry is going to shine. However, I believe my university is a bit more flexible in this regard and you can expect most programs to be more rigid. Regardless, you can still expect a sizable chunk of your curriculum to be devoted to these non-engineering classes. This means fewer but much more difficult major classes. With few exceptions, ChemE classes are typically the most difficult engineering classes. Your thermodynamics class, for instance, is on an entirely different level than the thermodynamics course taken by your MechE friends. You may not do as well in these classes as a result, but you can make up for it by acing your chemistry and biology classes.</p>
<p>As far as what skills are needed to succeed in the Chemical Engineering courses themselves: essentially a solid foundation in math and good problem solving abilities. At least half the challenge in most problems is simply understanding what you’re actually dealing with. Executing the solution and doing the math is really the easy part. I do not consider ChemE to be as physics heavy compared to most other engineering degrees. You will still take physics as required by the College of Engineering at your school but it will for the most part have no application in your chemical engineering courses. In my experience the typical Chemical Engineer loves chemistry, hates physics, and was very good in math. I can’t speak for the math component as the mathematical intensity of ChemE classes are going to vary from school to school. However, I believe it is overkill to say you have to have a passionate LOVE for math to be a Chemical Engineer. But you certainly cant HATE it. If you have a solid foundation in Calculus 1 and 2 you should be fine. You’ll certainly have Calc 3 and Diff Eq in your courses but its not necessary to LOVE these classes. If you understand the basics, you should be fine. These classes will go into lots of detail that’s going to be irrelevant to most ChemE problems. In other words, you’re not likely going to encounter a differential equation in your normal ChemE curriculum that will be ANYWHERE on the level of the most difficult Differential Equation that you will encounter in a Diff Eq class itself. Therein, do not get too caught up on the details. Pass these classes, and you will be fine. Like I said, the largest challenge that you will face in your major classes will be problem solving ability, not poor math skills. </p>
<p>Overall what do you have to lose by giving it a try. You’ll need to accept you wont have a 4.0 GPA and cant compare yourself to people in much easier majors. But trust me, the rewards for someone with a decent GPA in ChemE far out weigh the costs.</p>
<p>Most of the physics I learned really hasnt been used much, I don’t think I have used a free body diagram or anything of that nature in any of my chemical engineering classes. Some of the stochiemetric principals of general chemistry do come in to play but they arent too heavily tested, but in either case those problems should be relatively straight forward. I’d say the vast majority of my classes have relied on my ability to use general equations and reduce and use them. If you can read a problem statement and make good assumptions on what type of system you have you should be ok for the most part.</p>