I was just wondering if there were any chemical engineers out there with any advice or things to say or just anything to say at all…? If you like your job or you have any regrets or just anything because I’m interested in majoring in ChemE… Also if anyone is out there, what was your path in terms of schooling and how long after did it take to get a job!? I’m very interested in chem but chemE looks as though it pays better and has more jobs…
Thanks, anything is appreciated
Bump
As a working professional w/ ChE degree, I’d say definitely consider getting a degree in ChE. Chemical engineers have always been in high demand ever since I graduated from school in early 2000. My advice is to work hard to keep your GPA above 3.0 and get as much working experience (internship/math tutor/lap assistant, etc) as possible even if it delays your graduation date. I did work as a co-op for 1.5 years at a large corporation, which helped me get my current job (process engineer in 300mm semiconductor fab).
When we receive resumes from HR, GPA & working experience are typically 2 most important things we look at before choosing candidates for a 2nd interview. Good luck!
@txl146 Thanks for replying! As a chemical engineer do you enjoy going to work everyday? And are you sitting behind a desk all day or do you get to move around/travel?
It all depends on the company and your job. When I was a co-op at Air Products and Chemicals, I worked around chemical plant all day (calculating pressure head of pumps in the plant, etc). With my current job, I spend a lot of time going to meetings to report on experimental results, interacting with vendors and running experiments in the fab (fully automated fab) to improve yield and reduce defectivity level on the 300mm wafer.
My advice to you is to apply for an internship/co-op position before junior year. In my case, working experience helped me get into a PhD program of my choice even though my GPA wasn’t high. I decided to work for a large corporation instead of getting my PhD, which I don’t regret at all. I’m starting MS program in MSE part time this year. Good luck!
My D is still a freshmen (although with sophomore status due to AP credits). She just declared ChemE major a couple weeks ago. She is hoping to find a summer intern this year which is very difficult for freshmen. However, I work for a local chemical company. I hope that may increase her chance to find an intern position at my company. She is also planning to dual major in MSE which only requires 14 more credits that she may still finish within 4 years.