<p>I am currently in my first semester of college. I am a chem major who plans to go to med school. I was wondering, if I do not get into med school, would it be more beneficial for the future to have a degree in chemE? which has the better job outlook/salary. And can you please tell me what to expect in each job. I searched it, but I want actual descriptions and not just "technician" etc</p>
<p>Chem eng>>>>>>>>>>Chemistry for job prospects and salaries.</p>
<p>But Chem Eng is supposed to be tough but I personally think chemistry is way way tougher but that is bcos I am good at math and terrible at memorization. In Chemistry you could do a bunch of stuff like be a lab research technician which pays rubbish salaries. You could work in chemistry industries but they generally prefer PhD or at least a masters. You could also work as a research analyst in boutique firms focussed on the biotech/chemical industries.</p>
<p>Chemical engineering you usually work in the process industry- oil and gas, pharmaceuticals, fine chemicals or go into finance and consulting. You are basically designing a set of processes for mass production. You can work with a group of people on a project and stuff like that. For career prospects engineering is way way better. However I dont know if its a good idea if you want to combine chemical engineering with premed and I would not advise such.</p>
<p>Do a quick google search and find people who have done both premed and chem eng. Good luck- I would advise you to leave chemistry as fast as possible haha</p>
<p>sreed10-
are you suer you are not my son? Actually, he is a junior, but started as a chem and history double major, taking all premed reqs as well. Then started to like psychopharmacology. Double major became chem and psych. Then decided he wasn’t sure he wanted to go immediately into grad or professional school and wanted to be employable, so switched to chem e and psych. His classes are now hard to fit in and he has some juggling/catching up to do to fit in all the Chem E requirements. He’d hoped to take some at our local tech U this past summer while also doing a psychopharm internship, but the school squeezed him out b/c he was not a fulltime enrolled student there. So he worked fulltime at his psychopharm internship and LOVED it. So, back to the drawing board. He will still complete his chem E major and keep options open, but he doesnt want to work in the petroleum or paper manufacturing industry or anything like that–he likes pharmacology and drug transport, which may take him the pharmacology or medicine route. He worked in a chem lab with faculty/grad students while he had the time. You might want to look into that to get a feel for what you like. There are also some threads on similar topics at the bottom of this thread. They might help.</p>
<p>My son is pre-med and he’s a Chemical Engineering major. He’s doing this for two reasons…better chance at med school and better chance at other jobs if he decides not to be a doctor.</p>
<p>Back when there still dinosaurs foot prints on the campus I got BS in Chemistry and after working for 3 years when back to school for a BS Chemical Engineer. The opportunities, job openings and salary for BS Chemical Engineering are much better than a BS Chemistry.</p>
<p>Chemical Engineering is the most versatile of all the engineering areas and it has the highest pay scale for the traditional disciplines. Chemical Engineering has developed the cereal bars and have designed high temperature catalyst to lower boiler emission. Food is a chemical, heart valves are a chemical and fuel cells are chemical operation. You are more likely to an interview with Procter and Gamble than with Exxon.</p>
<p>Much what of what a chemical engineer does happened inside a pipeline or tank. A chemical engineer does not have to install a pipe, tank or pump but determine they correct size and material for someone else to install it.</p>
<ol>
<li>For a BS Chemistry you will need to memorize more things. </li>
<li>For a BS Chemical Engineering you will need better math skills.</li>
<li>A chemist will ask how many kilograms.</li>
<li>A chemical engineer will ask how many kilograms per hour.</li>
<li>All engineering are asked about cost. How much will it cost to build, operate and how much will we save.</li>
</ol>