<p>I am a ChemE major. I'm considering grad school but not sure in which field. </p>
<p>So far, I have identified three possible routes that I might take:
1. Material Science and Engineering
2. Industrial Engineering
3. Chemical Engineering</p>
<p>I am slightly interested in Material science and I am a lil sick of ChemE and would rather opt for something new like industrial Engineering. So, I was thinking: Is it advisable to switch from ChemE to some else (i.e 1. and 2.) or is it safer to stick to ChemE again?
Can some1 elaborate a lil about these 3 fields that I might take? Especially Indutrial Engineering... I've got some information from a few university websites but I still don't know too much abt it.</p>
<p>Any opinions and responces would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.</p>
<p>the good thing about chem E is it can branch into just about anything you are interested in. for example, chem engineers in grad school do research in bioengineering, environmental engineering, process engineering, petroleum engineering, even a little bit of electrical if that's what you're interested in (semiconductors and CVD reactors). it's a good overall field for undergrad (and also for grad) that can prepare you for a lot of fields in grad school and industry.</p>
<p>I would first try to think of what type of research you would like to do, and then look at specific programs which are doing that kind of research. That research might be in a chem E, materials science, or mechanical engineering department. You may be sick of Chem E as an undergrad, but a specific Chem E department at University X may be doing some research that would really turn you on. You wouldn't want to miss out just because you have a bad taste for Chem E.</p>
<p>I'm a little curious how industrial engineering worked its way onto your list. What research would you be interested in conducting in IE?</p>
<p>I don't think what gimp said is entirely accurate. I mean the chemical engineering field "could" be all of those, but it depends on your project in graduate school. </p>
<p>For example, if you're in chemE and did research in the pretroleum engineering related field, it would be difficult to get placement post-graduation in a pharmacuetical industry. It's that you "have" the option once you get into grad school to choose the particular research direction you would like your career to be in all those fields. I mean, besides chemical engineering, industrial engineering itself can also lead you into fields of processing engineering. If you're in materials science and work in the bio-fuel catalysts field, you will probably get placement in the petroleum industry. Or even as another example, if you are in materials science and research in a green design or green materials selection fields, you will probably get better placement in environmental engineering industries.</p>
<p>It is not entirely true if you simply do a PhD in ChemE, you can branch into everything. It is that if you do a PhD in ChemE, you have a range of options to pursue your career in. This is certainly true for materials engineers and industrial engineers. Sometimes the fields may overlap all three disciplines and sometimes they don't. But you should think carefully before you join a particular research group to figure out if this is what you want to shape research and work around in the future.</p>
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For example, if you're in chemE and did research in the pretroleum engineering related field, it would be difficult to get placement post-graduation in a pharmacuetical industry.
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<p>Ha! Actually, that's almost exactly what my father did. The only difference is that he's a chemistry PhD (not a ChemE PhD). But his dissert and postdoc research was targeted to the petroleum industry, but his first industry job was in Big Pharma. </p>
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It is not entirely true if you simply do a PhD in ChemE, you can branch into everything. It is that if you do a PhD in ChemE, you have a range of options to pursue your career in. This is certainly true for materials engineers and industrial engineers. Sometimes the fields may overlap all three disciplines and sometimes they don't. But you should think carefully before you join a particular research group to figure out if this is what you want to shape research and work around in the future.
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<p>I actually believe there is far more future flexibility than what you are implying, especially if you're planning to join industry. The truth is, most firms out there are not really hiring you for the specific research project you completed as a grad student. Industry firms, i.e. Big Pharma firms, have their own large-scale research projects that they want you to work on. What they're really hiring you for is your proven ability to perform top-level research projects. </p>
<p>In other words, if you plan to go to industry, a PhD dissert is basically the way for you to prove that you can do research. It's not necessarily going to be your life's work, nor should it be. It has certainly been my father's experience that few of the hundreds of PhD scientists he has worked with in Pharma were working on projects that were highly related to what they did as students.</p>
<p>I didn't say it was impossible. I said it was difficult. Obviously, it would be easier to go from biochemistry PhD ---> pharmaceutical industry instead of doing petroleum engineering --> big pharma.</p>
<p>I read somewhere on NSF's website that statistics show that ~90% PhDs have their first jobs related to their doctoral work.</p>
<p>As a PhD student myself in fields mentioned above, I'd be very happy if I could honestly say that what you do in your PhD will not effect your future work.. that would definitely open up options for me. But clearly, your grad work is highly correlated with your near-future career post-graduation. I'm very serious about this. You can be a physicist who did modelling for your graduate work and move into the field of financial engineering on your first job, but you are technically using your fundamental modelling toolsets you've learned in school. So in this light you would be doing highly related work to your doctoral research.</p>
<p>It just depends on your interpretation of how your research can help in a particular industry. I don't know what your dad was involved in during his graduate studies, but I'd bet that some of the chemistry work that he did does relate somewhat fundamentally with his first job. I can't say for the longer term though, because PhDs sometimes move into managerial positions in industry. I'm just talking about the first step and first job placement. Although I think what you say is right about how firms hire you based on your track record and research ability, but I'm also saying what you worked on in graduate school is also a huge factor. I think I would not be sincere if I commented otherwise.</p>
<p>i didn't mean that you would have an expanded field of opportunity after getting your PhD (more like the opposite); i meant that after getting your bachelor's you have a lot of options in both grad school and industry.</p>
<p>I don't think I'll go back to school after getting paid so well! I think as of last yr, ChemEs have the highest paid job from a 4 yr degree program in the US.</p>
<p>@aviator79</p>
<p>The reason why I said I was a lil sick of ChemE is because I was am weak at the topic "Heat and Mass Transfer" or more popularly known as "Transport Phenomena". And if I were to go to Grad school in ChemE, I would still need to take some advanced ChemE classes that could mean 2 or 3 more of that class! Now thats really really bad especially my interests are in biomaterials/polymers. So I instead decided to look into material science.</p>
<p>Well, I thought industrial engineering would just be a possible route. Since I heard it would be easier and I also thought ChemE majors could branch into that field. Haven really thought abt research in that area. How dumb of I! and grad school is mostly abt research! omg! Thx for pointing that out!</p>
<p>But anyway, I should include that my research interest is in Biomaterials/Polymers. I am having trouble looking at different grad school programs since Material Science and ChemE are slightly related (I mean that they overlap in some ways). </p>
<p>Can any1 list some programs/schools that has programs relating to Biomaterials/polymers? Any department is fine (as long as its not in something like english department =D ).</p>
<p>I don't think I'll go back to school after getting paid so well! I think as of last yr, ChemEs have the highest paid job from a 4 yr degree program in the US.
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<p>Yes, but that's the point!</p>
<p>It's a big opportunity cost you're passing up for 2 years while you get a MS, or 4-5 years while you get a PhD. An MS is not required, unless you want to work in research. A PhD is only required if you want to go into academia. </p>
<p>Also, if you only get an MS, starting salaries are not that much higher than engineering BS degrees.</p>
<p>Since you're unsure of your interests, I'd suggest working in industry for a couple years. You're interests may change. Also, your employer may subsidize the cost of your advanced degree, whether its an MS or MBA.</p>
<p>If you are interested in polymer-based biomaterials, you might want to look into materials science. There are a lot of professors at each school that do research in this area. Most schools will have at least one faculty in this area as it is a quickly growing field. As far as what to look for, find a school that is strong in materials, biology, chemistry, and medicine. Preferably a school with a medical school on the same campus, since that usually allows for better research collaborations with the medical-side of the research.</p>
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oh btw. chemE and matsci are usually the same departments... and graduate research more often than not is interdisciplinary.
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<p>I'd just like to mention that I wouldn't say this is true at any highly ranked materials department. Also, knowing what my friends took in ChemE versus what I took in MSE there's about as much similarity as my ECE roommate's schedule to my own.</p>
<p>Uh.. ChE/MS departments are pretty common. Just on the west coast... UCLA/USC/UCD/UCI etc etc. I think at higher ranked schools, the two become so big they need to have them separated.</p>
<p>I agree MatSci and ChemE can be their own entities, but you defintely cannot deny that certain research in MatSci and ChemE overlap heavily (i.e. polymers/biomaterials/catalysts/some energy research/fuel cells/ etc etc. Thus, again the interdisciplinary of the graduate research. Obviously, one is more heavily centered in solids and the other more fluids. Matsci has emphasis on solids processing. ChemEs have emphasis on fluids processing. Both rely on fundamentals in basic chemistry and physics.</p>
<p>I'd bet that most MatSci faculty work in conjunction with ChemE. Even at smaller schools like Caltech, I'm 100% sure there is some cooperation between those two faculty.</p>
<p>There's a person or two that works with ChemE here that's in MSE, but there's just as many people in Applied Physics, Mechanical Engineering, and Chemistry that are cross-listed (if not more). Heck, my own adviser, arguably the most "traditional" materials science faculty member here, is aligned closer with Applied Physics than anyone else.</p>
<p>I think it depends on what the materials department grew out of as to what kind of department it turns into. In many schools you'll find it used to be the metallurgy department, and as such they focus mostly on metals, then semiconductors/ceramics, finally with a few people doing polymers being the ones that are cross-listed in ChemE.</p>
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I'd bet that most MatSci faculty work in conjunction with ChemE.
<p>I prefer to think of myself as a CMU alumni (where, I might add, MSE and ChemE were arch-rivals, and our beating them in the summer softball tournament was a glorious event).</p>
<p>Well, I have other pushing factors that forces me to do grad school right after undergrad.
1st of all, I'm an international student, henceforth I have visa agreements and other yaddaa yaddaa documents to go by.
2nd, my dad's an idiot. He may be rich for a while and then a moment later goes and borrows sugar from my neighbour. I hate his gambling habits. So I wanna take full opportunity of his current financial status and go to grad school. Moreover, I've read enough to know that fundings for MS programs are pretty sleek.
Lastly, I really really hate to go back to school after earning some goooooood money! haha! Moreover, I have might have a family then, and then more than these 3 factors would come in.</p>
<p>Thanks for you responces though. Really gave me another thought abt going to grad school.</p>
<p>Wow! Congrats on your grad admissions! Could you tell me more about Material Science and Engineering? Like what you might do after you graduate and what you are going to do in Grad School? What was your undergrad degree?</p>
<p>Any1 has any idea about the course load in Grad school for ChemE? I've seen the courses that most grad schools offer but I don't know how hard they are (especially the topic on "Transport Phenomena").</p>