<p>I am a prospective prefrosh who looked at the undergraduate course catalog and noticed that a degree in ChemE requires almost twice as many credit hours than any other major. Is it even possible to graduate in 4 years or do most people take 5? Also, is the work that you put in to earn the degree have a substantial effect on your starting salary?</p>
<p>It is alot of work but many people do graduate in 4 years. If I remember correctly, ChEs need to take an average of 45 units a term instead of 41.</p>
<p>Almost everyone finishes ChemE in 4 years. I know a few people who took 5 years, but it’s generally rare. People who fall behind or are worried about falling behind would usually switch out of ChemE to another major.</p>
<p>Generally, no, I don’t believe the work you put in to earn the degree has any real effect on your starting salary. At the end of the day, your diploma still says “BS in ChemE” on it. I should also note that most ChemE’s from here go straight to graduate school, and a few go into finance/consulting. I don’t even know of anyone in recent memory that became a process engineer right out of undergrad for a company like Exxon or Dupont or something.</p>
<p>FYI, I’m a ChemE major from Tech who just graduated last June.</p>
<p>Would you say that for those that do going straight into industry, that finding a job is fairly easy?</p>
<p>I would not say that finding a job as a ChemE is “fairly easy”, especially in this economy. Caltech ChemE typically has 15-30 people in a given class, most of whom go to straight to graduate school, so we don’t really have the industry connections that most larger programs would. This means you would have to work harder to find internships/jobs, likely relying more on alumni or professor connections. </p>
<p>I should also say that Caltech ChemE in general is geared toward preparing students for graduate school, not for industry. In my opinion, if you’re deadset on going into industry immediately after undergrad, then Caltech ChemE probably isn’t what you want.</p>