Chemical or Civil

I am an older student and have a spouse and children. Going back to school for an engineering degree. I love both civil and chemical. Which is better for someone settled into one location? I live in SF Bay Area and can not move. Also, which has better employment options in the next five years?

Let me just whip out my crystal ball…

Seriously, though, no one can definitively tell you which will be better long term. You are far better off picking the one that most interests you. They’re likely about equal for someone who is settled with a spouse and kids.

I’ll second the recommendation to pick what interests you the most.

My first love was aerospace but when I graduated high school they were laying off aerospace engineers in droves. Looked like aerospace was a ticket to the end of the unemployment line. So I went into civil engineering, specifically structural engineering. Well, when I graduated they were laying off civils too. Aerospace was just starting to make a comeback and I was fortunate enough to use my structural engineering background to get a job in aerospace.

Job posting sites may suggest what jobs there may be and where now, though that could change in a few years.

Civil engineering seems to have jobs available in more areas than Chemical. That said the bay area does have jobs for chemical engineers. I believe there is a much higher concentration of chemE jobs on the east side of the bay with the refineries and Clorox based out that way.