<p>Please enlighten a parent with a non engineering background. What are some of the differences between the two programs i.e Courses, prereqs, as well intern and professional options. Thanks</p>
<p>The Difference between Chemistry and Chemical Engineering is HUGE. Chemistry is the science behind molecular interactions. It can involve chemical synthesis, structure determination, analytical analysis, and just about everything else you probably think of when thinking of chemistry. ChemEng on the other hand has more to do with the optimization of conditions for making all of those chemical reactions. It involves heat transfer, fluid dynamics, material and energy balances, etc... Often ChemEng students don't even like chemistry. There is much more math and quantitative analysis involved in ChemEng than Chemistry. In terms of jobs, a Bachelors in ChemEng has far more job opportunities than a science degree like chemistry. Science in general has few jobs for those without a PhD. Businesses tend to look favorable upon engineers for positions involving mathematics, even if it is not at all related to engineering, I know a few engineers who are going into investment banking positions after college. However, if you don't think you can handle advanced math (mostly partial differential equations) you shouldn't go into chemEng. I hope this clears things up a bit.</p>
<p>Thanks for the info. S is very strong in math so that should not be a barrier to the Chem Engineering, maybe even an incentive to follow that path. </p>
<p>Any other comments?</p>
<p>ChemE students don't like chemistry! Give me a break.</p>
<p>its somewhat true,but not exactly.Actually,other than gen chem and a lil bit of p-chem,none of the other classes for chemistry do u need in the chemE education.
These classes....Thermodynamics,Fluid Mechanics,Reactor Design,math Modelling,Process Design and Unit Control...are the heart and soul and backbone of chemE.</p>