Questions on Chemical Engineering. All answers are greatly appreciated.

<p>I have a couple of questions on the ChemE major. I am very interested in this career option as a backup in case I don't get into medical school.</p>

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<li>Do chemical engineers get paid well? I know its a bit greedy for me to ask this question but I do need to know the kind of lifestyle and luxury comes with being a chemical engineer. Generally what is the salary trend; I know you start off around 60 - 70k but does that number continually increase or something? please elaborate!</li>
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<p>2.Is it hard to find an internship while in college? I'm really considering on attending Stony Brook university since the college is likely to give me a very nice scholarship, the college is cheap, and its engineering program is good. How much would these internships pay and what exactly do I do?</p>

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<li><p>One of the reasons I'm choosing chemical engineering as a major is that I excel at math and chemistry. It's been a while since I've taken physics but I'm really good at calculus and math in general, will this be a good fit for me?</p></li>
<li><p>Is it worth getting a masters in chemE? I heard that a bachelors is sufficient</p></li>
<li><p>Lastly, is there anything else I should know as a prospective chemical engineering student!</p></li>
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<p>Thanks :)</p>

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<li><p>As with most engineering majors, it does top off pretty quickly. Certainly enough money to live on, but you’re not going to become rich from your job. </p></li>
<li><p>You can certainly get an internship with decent grades, involvement in clubs/research/etc, but it’s definitely a bit of work. They pay pretty well - $20 an hour usually, and you basically do engineering work with the help of a mentor.</p></li>
<li><p>Hard to say. It’s a physics-heavy major, and one necessary skill that is not very commonly emphasized is the ability to tolerate large-scale tediousness; science majors etc are definitely much less tedious than engineering, and it’s certainly something you have to learn to deal with (though you could make a salary argument if you like).</p></li>
<li><p>Probably do want an MS, but not right away. Wait until a company is willing to pay for it, or you know what’s worth specializing in (after you graduate).</p></li>
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<p>Yes, grades are a very important consideration to many employers and to the Engineering and Chemistry departments of major universities that conduct summer research projects for undergraduates. You’ll find that many employers have a cut-off GPA of 3.0 for summer applicants; quite often higher. Get to know your Ch-E professors well and seek their advice. Join a student chapter of ACS or AiCHE and start networking.</p>

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<li><p>Pay heavily depends on the industry you work in, if you go into process engineering you can expect anywhere from 60-80k a year. If you go into Oil and Gas you can make a lot more than that. </p></li>
<li><p>Again, depends on the industry, but most internships will pay around the 20/hr mark. Upstream oil and gas ones will pay as much as 35/hr. They are generally pretty competitive to get but if you put the time and effor into getting good grades and getting involved in campus then you should by fine.</p></li>
<li><p>Despite what the names says, chemical engineering is ridiculously physics based, though we take more chemistry than other engineering majors we definitely do a ton of fluid dynamics/thermodynamics.</p></li>
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<li><p>I posit that the physics you do in your general physics sequence is not representative of what you emphasize in cheme physics, thermodynamics and transport processes. Thermo is understandable as simple math, if you prefer math to physical intuition, and transport processes has very intuitive physics (e.g., pressure differences can drive fluid flows), the math is the difficult part.</p></li>
<li><p>Contrary to what was previously said, an MS in chemical engineering is not particularly beneficial if your goal is money. Looking at Table 5b of the 2013 AIChE Salary survey shows that median salary for chemical engineers with bachelor’s or master’s degrees is more or less the same, with a significant difference for bachelor’s vs phd degrees. A cheme professor described it by saying that “chemical engineering as a field has not developed a need for master’s-level studies.” </p></li>
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<p>If you truly want to be a doctor, you will likely never be happy being a chemical engineer. You have to follow your passion. Statistically, you will not earn the respect and income that you will as a physician. If you truly want to get into medical school, then you need to find a subject where you can earn the best grades while meeting the medical school curriculum. This may or may not be chemical engineering. Many chem eng grads have gone on to medical school, cutting edge/cool research and on to prominent careers. </p>

<p>Yet many chem eng grads earn very average grades which will make entry into medical school all the more difficult then it already is. Earning a 3.25 in chemical engineering may be considered quite good but for medical school, you likely need to be in th 3.5+ range. I know very few much chem eng grads in that range, but it is not impossible.</p>

<p>I think you need to look hard where your aptitudes lay and really work your strengths to the max. </p>