<p>I'm a little confused as to what the difference between a degree in Chemistry and a degree in Chemical Engineering would be. I just used chemistry as an example; what kind of courses will an engineering major be taking as opposed to just the natural science?</p>
<p>Engineering - Applying sciences for a practical purpose!</p>
<p>many university websites list the courses they offer in various disciplines, or list the requirements for various majors.</p>
<p>Chemistry is figuring out how molecules work and combine, plus figuring out more ways of combining them. ChemE is taking this knowledge and figuring out how to make it more efficent and profitable.</p>
<p>It depends on your overall career goals and academic interests. Let me explain.</p>
<p>Science is about the search for truth. Engineering is about solving problems. Engineers need scientists to create new theories for which the engineers can find practical, profitable applications and scientists depend on engineers to know what sorts of things might be valuable to know more about.</p>
<p>A chemical engineer will know the same general things as a chemist, but in a more practical and less theoretical way. Remember, the engineer isn't so worried about the "why" as the "how". The chemical engineer will also know more about physics and computing than the average chemist, but generally less about chemistry.</p>
<p>Chemical engineers can find employment very easily after a bachelor's degree, while chemists generally find better opporunities after a master's or a Ph.D. In academia, chemists study the fundamentals and expand knowledge, while chemical engineers take what is already known in chemistry, integrate it with other disciplines (mathematics, computer science, physics, etc.) and find new/better ways of doing things or solving specific problems.</p>
<p>The same applies to other disciplines and their corresponding engineering/science majors... I hope this wasn't too far off-target.</p>
<p>You'd be surprised at how little chemistry you actually do in chemical engineering. It's a lot of programming, applied mathematics, and problem solving (whereas chemistry is knowing everything in detail and focuses more on the theory behind everything you do in chemE).</p>
<p>And while chemical engineers can find jobs with a bachelor's degree, they won't have anything to do with chemE but will be lucrative positions in finance and investment banking (I've been told this on multiple occasions, so I'm going to end up in grad school), whereas chemistry majors in general end up at grad school as a necessity.</p>
<p>If you like chemistry a lot a chemical engineering major might end up switching to hard Chemistry after a bit (a lot of my friends did that), but if your more of an engineer with an interest in chemistry chemical engineering is a blast (while being ridiculously hard at the same time, like all engineering majors).</p>
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And while chemical engineers can find jobs with a bachelor's degree, they won't have anything to do with chemE but will be lucrative positions in finance and investment banking
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<p>Well, I don't know about that. The vast majority of BS ChemE grads will take actual chemical engineering jobs, as opposed to finance jobs. </p>
<p>Take a gander at the jobs that Berkeley BS ChemE students took, and you will notice that the overwhelming majority of them are chemical-engineering related.</p>
<p>Engineering = Get a nonteaching job / start a corporation after college (ex. Michael Bloomberg = my role model) </p>
<p>Any academic subject (math, chem, etc.) = teach, or sit in a lab all day and research for the rest of your life</p>