How hard is it for a Chemical Engineering major...

<p>How hard is it for a Chemical Engineering major who graduated from a third tier university to find a job right after college? Let's say the kid goes to Virginia Commonwealth University and graduates how hard will it be for him to get his first job? Also consider the fact that he's in the same state as UVA and VA Tech engineers... will that make it harder for him to find a job in VA???? Also will the VCU engineer get a lower starting salary than the UVA or VA Tech engineer???</p>

<p>Any help is much appreciated. Thanks. :)</p>

<p>somebody help a brother out...</p>

<p>Doesn't your career office have statistics for this?</p>

<p>career office??? I'm still in high school... I don't think my high school has a career office... we have a guidance department but idk how much they'd be able to help... so I figured that maybe their would be a few engineers on here who had gone through the job search process and could help me out with this question...</p>

<p>Datkid you know you could transfer from a Virginia Community College to UVA right?</p>

<p>I know that UVA has a guaranteed transfer program in place for only their school of Arts and Sciences... they have no such agreement for their College of Engineering. I know I could still get in from community college but not guaranteed...</p>

<p>Besides I'm just wondering, this is a hypothetical question.</p>

<p>nobody knows the answer to my question? not even a few guesstimates?</p>

<p>i'm a freshman planning to major in Chem E</p>

<p>are you a senior?</p>

<p>you will have a lot of competion from students who graduate from topnotch colleges in VA. i guess.</p>

<p>how many employers come to that college to recruite students?</p>

<p>i'm a senior and I'm going to apply lots of places and see where i get in but i'm really starting to like VCU for some reason and was wondering how it would affect job opportunities down the road if I attend VCU instead of VA Tech or UVA...</p>

<p>UVA and VA tech are way better than vcu.</p>

<p>i'm a fresh in college and i guess you are in 12th.</p>

<p>i know that. i'm not asking which is better i'm asking how much attending a third tier uni will affect job opportunities for a person compared to if he had attended a top uni... some people tell me that your undergrad uni matters very little and it's almost all based on job experience... true?</p>

<p>well my uncle graduated from Temple University, a 3rd tier school, in Software Engineerng. (class of 95 0r 96.) {yea hes only about 15 years older than me, the youngest of the 10 kids my grandad had}</p>

<p>he's very successful now.
earns around 100k.</p>

<p>but he said when he got out from college and got his first job the starting salaries were lower compared to the graduates from top schools.</p>

<p>Let me put it this way...</p>

<p>If there is a shortage of Chem-E's in the USA (I don't know, I am a Math/CS guy)...dude will get a job.</p>

<p>Headhunters gotta eat too.</p>

<p>headhunters?</p>

<p>headhunters = individual recruiters trying to place you at companies for a fee paid by the hiring company</p>

<p>"Chemical Engineering</p>

<p>Chemical Engineers are employed around the globe in a world class, largely graduate, profession. As a career, Chemical Engineering provides new and exciting opportunities for individual enterprise and career flexibility with rapid progress to responsible and financially rewarding jobs.</p>

<p>Chemical Engineers are found in a wide range of industries from chemicals and bio-chemicals to energy, food and drink, pharmaceuticals and health care. They are at the forefront of tomorrow's scientific and technological development, tackling some of the world's most urgent problems. They develop and create products that modern society depends on such as food and drink, fuels, artificial fibers, pharmaceuticals, plastics and toiletries.</p>

<p>They help to sustain our modern society by managing natural resources, recycling materials and protecting the environment. But, whatever the role of the Chemical Engineer particular attention is always paid to safety.</p>

<p>Some Chemical Engineers design processes and solve problems using their computing skills and specialist knowledge of reactions, separations, heat transfer, fluid flow, control and economics. Others lead teams of experts from a range of disciplines, managing installations and directing plant operations.</p>

<p>The Chemical Engineers' general expertise is also used in management, in marketing, in information technology, in business or financial planning. Chemical engineers might manage processes on a huge scale, perhaps in a plant producing vast amounts of bulk chemicals. Equally, they could be found producing small quantities of a product, such as pure, high quality vaccines.</p>

<p>The products of Chemical Engineering are in every shop, office, factory and home in the country. Many of the companies employing Chemical Engineers are names which many people recognize instantly, such as Proctor & Gamble, General Electric, Florida Power & Light and Schweppes to name but a few.</p>

<p>Don't assume, however, that career opportunities only exist within these large and multi-national companies - many Chemical Engineers work in small and medium size businesses, often providing technical services to the larger concerns. For the more adventurous there is also the opportunity to operate your own business as a consultant within a particular industry sector.</p>

<p>Bright people who are good communicators, motivated, able to work on their own or as a team and interested in a challenge are prime candidates to study Chemical Engineering at University. Three A levels, usually including Math and Chemistry (and preferably another science), at grades reflecting the demands of the profession, are normally required. </p>

<p>People whose qualifications are not mainly in science need not despair as it may be possible for them to advance into Chemical Engineering by taking a one year foundation course designed to equip them with the necessary basic scientific background prior to a degree course. Courses and requirements for both foundation and degree courses vary so it is always worth looking into this. The Institution of Chemical Engineers can provide a summary for entry.</p>

<p>A degree in Chemical or Biochemical engineering provides the skills that open doors to the careers of the 21st century. There has been a steady growth in the world wide demand for graduate Chemical Engineers and they represent one of the highest paid group of engineers. Chemical Engineers have the multi-disciplinary skills that keep their options open and they are valued and well rewarded in many kinds of employment. But no matter where or how Chemical Engineers are employed there is always plenty of scope for ambition. The sky is the limit....."</p>

<p>I'm a sophomore in an undergrad chemical engineering program. Honestly, like all engineering programs, chemical engineering is a pain in the royal arse. However, if you love applied chemistry and problem solving, then this is the program for you. Most people at College Confidential will try to convince you chemical engineering is like all other engineering disciplines, but that can't be further from the truth. Chemical engineering majors must endure the following difficult courses outside of their specific discipline: single variable calculus, multivariable calculus, differential equations, linear algebra (matrix theory), electrical circuit analysis, perhaps a material science course, organic chemistry, physical chemistry (classical thermodynamics and quantum mechanics), analytical chemistry (you are graded on the accuracy of your results). Now moving on to the chemical engineering courses: chemical engineering thermodynamics (physical chemistry with engineering emphasis), transport phenomena( fluid mechanics, heat transfer, and mass transfer and their interrelations), mass and energy balances ("blackbox" analysis of processes), chemical reaction and reactor engineering and design, process control, and finally a design course. Chemical engineering is pervasive in our world, and its not for people who don't enjoy working hard to get results. Chemical engineering is perhaps the most diverse engineering science.</p>

<p>Forget worrying about the school you go to. You should worry about getting through school in general.</p>

<p>
[quote]
Chemical engineering is perhaps the most diverse engineering science.

[/quote]
This is true to an extent, although ME is very close considering the technical electives available. The required courses in ME cover a similar breadth...</p>

<p>Just to add a third example and make y'all consider the concept of engineering field breadth a little more... </p>

<p>Consider that as a structural engineer, I've got to deal with thermodynamics (residual stresses in welded joints, for example... or anything with weldments, in general), chemical reactions (corrosion, water chemistry, various waterproofing polymers and sealants and whatnot... not to mention soil chemistry), geology (gotta build on <em>something</em>...!), petroleum engineering issues (almost took a job designing oil rigs, plus pipeline design, etc... less to do with the how-to-hunt-for-oil and processing parts and more to do with the how-to-harvest-it), materials science (stresses, strains, metallurgy, wood, concrete, masonry... a large chunk of the material science folks I know from college work in metals and ceramics, and we took a lot of mechanics courses together), fluid dynamics (pipe flow, weir flow, and the controlling factor in most skyscraper designs is actually strength against wind forces... move over, aero guys, we need that wind tunnel, too!), vibrations and dynamics (a particular favorite here in seismic-happy California... I had to derive the Fourier transformation like the rest of y'all), probability and statistics (a lot of the risk management sorts of things end up falling in our laps, too... it's primarily what my grad research was in), and lots and lots of computer programming (finite element stuff, structural mechanics stuff... it's more or less a 'write your own programs' field).</p>

<p>Lots of broad fields out there in engineering. When you consider that engineers pretty much design <em>everything</em> that functions, there's a lot of "everything" out there to split up between us.</p>