<p>I've looked at chemical engineering, and it seems pretty good. I'm very good at chemistry, pretty good at math, and I haven't taken Physics yet but I think I will be pretty good at that too. Anyways, I'm just looking at different majors and was wondering if there are any similar majors to Chemical Engineering because I don't want to seem like the guy who goes for the major with the highest salary/job opportunities.</p>
<p>Who ever said anything about Chemes having the best job opportunities? That is debatable but engineering in general is pretty solid. Typically, cheme starting salary might be a few thousand more than electrical or mechanical but so what. Also, who cares what other people think? If you enjoy chemical engineering, then go for it. If you want to choose a different engineering major, then do that. Any engineering degree will give you very solid career opportunities. The key is to enjoy what you do.</p>
<p>If you are interested in chemical engineering then I recommend pursuing petrochemical engineering.</p>
<p>Petrochemical engineers have excellent job prospects and one of the highest starting salaries of any engineering discipline.</p>
<p>Pharmachemical engineering is also another field with great job prospects due to the aging population.</p>
<p>Also, with petrochemical engineering there are all most always more open positions than graduates.</p>
<p>Petrochemical engineering will be a hot career for atleast another 40 years.
Don’t listen to the guys that say that petroleum is going away soon. That is not true. The most profitable companies in the world are petroleum companies.</p>
<p>Pharmaceutical engineering is becoming very important because bacteria are starting to become resistant to many antibiotics and PhE have to develop new and efficient ways of mass producing more and more complex chemical compounds.</p>
<p>Along with both having excellent futures they also are incredibly interesting fields to study. I have friends who are studying in both and they find it very fascinating. It is nice to know that you are helping to fulfil the energy needs of our nation or help the sick.</p>
<p>Materials Science Engineering is kind of like chemical engineering mixed with some mechanical. Sort of.</p>
<p>What do these majors (Chemical Engineering, Materials Science Engineering, Petrochemical Engineering and others) include in coursework, lab work, and jobs? What I want to know is what skills and subjects you need to excel in to be good at these majors, and what you actually do in these jobs (cause I want to love what i do =).</p>
<p>[Amazon.com:</a> Materials Science and Engineering: An Introduction (9780470419977): William D. Callister, David G. Rethwisch: Books](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Materials-Science-Engineering-William-Callister/dp/0470419970/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1276624365&sr=8-2-spell#reader_0470419970]Amazon.com:”>http://www.amazon.com/Materials-Science-Engineering-William-Callister/dp/0470419970/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1276624365&sr=8-2-spell#reader_0470419970)</p>
<p>Take a look at the chapter titles for this book (Using the “search inside this book” feature). It’s a pretty good outline of what all the classes I took as an undergrad in Materials Science & Engineering were.</p>
<p>I’m an ME by educational background but maybe can provide some insight. Similar courses between Mechanical and Chemical Engineering include the following:
- Thermodynamics
- Fluid Dynamics
- Heat and Mass Transfer
- General Chemistry (usually a freshman requirement)</p>
<p>I have friends that are ChemE’s. They took a lot more chemistry related courses. Broadly speaking, other majors that have some relationship to ChemE are Materials Science Engineering and Mechanical Engineering. </p>
<p>My suggestion is that you find a university close to you and call the engineering department to arrange a tour. This university does not have to be one that you are 100% set on attending. However, what could be beneficial to you is to attend a tour where you can see some of the labs, ask questions about the programs, and maybe even arrange a meeting with the individual department (ChemE, Materials, ME etc.) to obtain more information.</p>
<p>I would go into your freshman year with an open mind. A lot of people do not stick with their original plans and end up in a major they never thought they would be in. The most important thing is that you choose a school that has an engineering department with a wide variety of disciplines that are acreditted allowing you to find what you truly enjoy.</p>
<p>Just to bring to your attention in case no one has mentioned this to you already. Chemistry and Chemical Engineering are two completely different fields. Sure chemical engineers take more chemistry courses compared to other engineering majors. But the core chemical engineering courses are mainly physics and math (just like other engineering majors). </p>
<p>I just thought I’d bring that to your attention, because I had the exact same thinking when I first chose ChE (I liked chemistry) well, it turned out to be the best mistake I ever made. Good luck.</p>
<p>Oh yes ProcessEngr, I understand that. But I do enjoy math and physics, but isn’t Chemistry important in ChemE as well?</p>
<p>Of all the engineering specialties, chemical engineering is the only one projected to actually experience a decline in the number of jobs available. Petroleum engineering would be a much wiser choice.</p>
<p>is petroleum engineering even offered at the undergraduate level?</p>
<p>petroleum engineering is offered at the undergrad level, but only at a select few universities. </p>
<p>OP, use the internet to find out more about what the different types of engineers you’d like to be actually do. That’ll give you a general knowledge. Also talk to different students in that major, particularly those who have had internships. Ask them what they did and if they liked it. You have time to figure it out, so don’t worry.</p>
<p>Also, what is the difference between Materials Science and Materials Engineering? I ask this because on my collegeboard account where they ask me about my intended major, these two are separate options.</p>
<p>^ At most schools, your major would be Materials Science & Engineering (MSE), but materials science is the study of materials and materials engineering is the application of that knowledge. The degree falls somewhere in between, which leaves room for research/academia and industry.</p>
<p>If you do not want to pursue chemical engineering or any related subfields than I highly recommend a B.S. in Petroleum engineering. Its a very interesting discipline.</p>
<p>From what I understand alot of what a PE learns is on the job so a masters in PE isn’t really that much more helpful if you already have a B.S.</p>
<p>Thanks for all your input guys. I think I’ve decided on Materials Science and Engineering, although I will keep on open mind on the others.</p>
<p>To answer your question, yes it is important.
To give you an idea of the difference between a chemist and a chemical engineer, imagine this silly/simple comparison. You have an orange, and you would like to make orange juice out of it, well extracting a liquid from a solid saturated with juice would be a chemist’s job. Now give me 1 million oranges and ask me to make juice from them all, now that’s the engineer’s job :)</p>
<p>So while chemistry is important to a ChE, it’s not the same was what I was trying to say.</p>
<p>I’m sorry but I strongly disagree with your post. I’m not sure what “projections” you are referring to. The scope of a chemical engineer is very very broad. I have MANY friends who are petroleum engineers who tried to work at a petrochemical company (petrochemicals are downstream of refineries) and they were not accepted (as stupid as that may sound, because I believe ANY engineer can do almost anything with the right training). </p>
<p>Chemical engineering has larger job opportunities world wide from my personal experience.</p>
<p>Best way to answer your question is to look at the respective department for each of those majors. If you can visit each department and direct that same question to any of the professors from those departments that would be even better.</p>
<p>A look at the website, they should have the curriculum posted. That way you can get to see what different subjects to they study with a short description on the course. Another method would be to sit with a student from each of those majors (Senior or Junior) and just simply ask him/her what subjects did you study so far, what was this/that about.</p>
<p>I just read you chose MSE. I think you made a wise choice in my opinion. Engineering is the way to go if you like science. Good luck</p>