How hard is it to get a well-payed chemical engineering position?

I came from a non-traditional background. And I was curious if any chemical engineers, experienced in the field, would be able to offer any advice. How can I go about getting a well-payed job in chemical engineering (>$80,000 per year) and how likely is it?

A little bit on my background. I am a graduate of MIT with a bachelor’s in neuroscience and minor in chemistry. I switched fields to chemical engineering and am currently undertaking my final year of a master’s degree at the University of Maryland: College Park. My cumulative GPA is 3.46/4.00. I have a concentration in mechanical engineering, and I should have a paper in biomaterials published by the end of the academic year. I have no industry experience. Nor do I know how to go about getting an internship.

What sectors are my best bet for hiring? Should I focus on biochemical/biomedical engineering? Am I still eligible for more traditional chemical engineering occupations such as oil and gas? Although my background does not emphasize petroleum engineering, can the versatility of my background still have me hired at a great company like Schlumberger? Will companies scoff at my non-traditional background (i.e only 2 years of hardcore chemical engineering courses)? Or can I use it to my benefit? When are the best times to apply (as I hear hiring seasons are very cyclical)?

And also, do I need an internship to vastly increase the competiveness of my application? My time in lab is sort of like a full-time job. I often have to balance that with the rigors of schoolwork. And my research should lead to industrial applications (albeit in materials).

But if I do need an internship, what can I do to go about getting one say for January or next summer? Will I look over or underqualified in my resume?

And finally, what are the most important things that I can do separate myself from the thousands of other qualified candidates applying to chemical engineering positions? I am really invested in becoming an engineer.

I would imagine the alumni network at MIT would be extremely helpful for finding a career in chemical engineering.

O&G is going to be the best paying sector by far.

The industry is experiencing some bumps, so I don’t know how hard if you don’t have the traditional degree.

I’d look into getting licensed. Unless you are going to get a PhD and do research, you need a professional engineer’s license.

" My time in lab is sort of like a full-time job."

Sorry, no. Get an internship or co-op as soon as possible.

What’s wrong with going the the UMD career center for well paying jobs with your MS degree. While it’s not MIT but it’s still very good in engineering.

Plot twist: neuroscience majors make more than any Engineering out there.

(Paid, not “payed”, in English, just FYI.) One of those odd words that changes form in past tense.

You sound quite accomplished. I’m not a science person, but I know how to market assets. Market yourself as more valuable because you have a broader rather than deeper experience, and present all the ways in which that makes you a valuable asset in way that exceeds one who merely has a chemical engineering background (without putting the latter down).

Go after that first internship, whatever it is. Once you have something, you will be in a better position to know which direction you wish to go, I would think.

(Pardon me for answering if you only wanted to hear from engineering people. It was on the “new posts” page, and I figure that a variety of answers could possibly have value to a given person.)

What about medical school?

Well my BIL is a chemical engineer and picked that occupation because it combined chem within eng. He also picked it because he read that the salaries were top notch. This was about 20 yrs ago. He got a Ph.D at Georgia Tech

What he didn’t realize was that the jobs weren’t there. I don’t know if this is still true of the industry.

He followed the jobs to some interesting places. He tried to get jobs in California but was over qualified. Went to Texas, Oklahoma, Georgia and Alabama getting laid off at each location. One company had his use fluids to try to develop material for socks. We were the testers and the socks shrunk significantly more than cotton!

He finally found a steady job in Massachusetts for a small company sponsored by a Norwegian company and has been there about 10 years but had to compromise on his salary.

He recruits one intern per year for the summer. That’s it. He can’t offer them jobs because they are just barely hanging onto him.

My dd took some required bioengineering courses for her EE degree a couple of years ago. The professors, at that time, told the students that the field didn’t have the jobs yet, but were hopeful that some startups would get federal funding.

I know in California, the jobs in bioengineering haven’t materialized in the numbers expected by students graduating with these degrees. There are only so many Salk Institutions.

So after all of this awful information, I do see an out for you: follow the money. Go to the defense sector. Highlight your mechanical engineering background. Eventually, I see them doing some bioengineering for industry materials.

Pm me if you want me to ask my BIL about an internship or leads. You appear to be multitalented, and that will get you places.

Good Luck!

Ah, what fields or sectors interest you? ChE can be very broad.

Energy?
Food Science?
Nuclear?
Renewable?
Process/Manufacturing
Biochemical/Health
Materials?