<p>I understand that this is a very broad question, but I'm wondering what the average chemical engineer usually does in his day to day job.</p>
<p>Perhaps someone with experience as a chemical engineer could describe some of the common jobs that a chemical engineer might be employed in?</p>
<p>I'm wondering whether jobs would mostly involve process control / more repetitive stuff or a lot of design and innovation.</p>
<p>Well the standard ChemE job would be a plant operations/technical services. You typically work in some sort of chemical plant (think refinery, pharmaceutical plant, ect.) and monitor the process as well as analyze your units to make sure they are running cost-effectively and safely. Typically you also change process conditions to meet the current economic climate.</p>
<p>I had experience working in a refinery and I had several projects where I analyzed a common separation process and determined to increase their output by creating a process model. Then I calculated the economic impact of doing so and made proposals and all that stuff. However, the job also had me do some not so glamorous work. There is repetitive things within Chemical Engineering jobs but sometimes there are opportunities to analyze the process and improve it. However, you will find that with almost any job in Engineering.</p>
<p>viciouspoultry, are you happy as a ChemE? Do you feel that the work is generally exciting and progressive? I was planning on doing BioE until I found out that you couldn’t get much out of a BS degree in that and would likely need a PhD. I was then planning on pursuing ChemE until a family friend who owns a pharmaceutical company told me that ChemE’s also need PhDs. How true do you feel that statement is? Also, can you tell me a bit about the biotech and biofuel industries?</p>
<p>Loumin - Google Is your friend…</p>
<p>[What</a> is Entry Level Chemical Engineering?](<a href=“What is Entry Level Chemical Engineering? (with picture)”>What is Entry Level Chemical Engineering? (with picture))</p>
<p>I enjoy ChemE it has sort of like a puzzle feel to it. And I can’t honestly say anything about the pharmaceutical industry, but my guess as long as you arent planning on drug discovery you wont need a PhD. I do not really know much about biotech/biofuels other than its not very prominent as of yet as most of the ideas are still in research, but if are interested in it Chemical/Biochemical Engineering is a good major to work in that industry as it relies heavily on process engineering.</p>
<p>what industry are you involved in?</p>
<p>Well Im a student but like I said above I have worked in oil refining as a co-op and hopefully work there in the future.</p>
<p>oh ok. what school do you go to if you don’t mind sharing?</p>
<p>Ohio State</p>
<p>Do you feel like OSU has done a good job preparing you? I just confirmed my attendance and want to know if i should get out of ChemE while I still can.</p>
<p>If the #1 highest paying Bachelor’s degree “still needs a PhD” (unless you count petroleum engineering, which isn’t offered most places), then doesn’t that mean virtually everything does? Just major in what you want to major in. Do what you want to do.</p>
<p>I worked 10 yrs at Dow Chem as a Chem Engg. I hired into a manufacturing plant and my first assignment was a programming project. I spent a year and a half writing the computer program to run a new plant. Once that project was completed, I spent a few more years there designing and implementing smaller projects around the plant - and still did some programming. </p>
<p>I had several small projects going at once and it usually involved choosing equipment (based on eng. calculations), choosing suppliers, and coordinating the installation, programming and training on the equipment or process.</p>
<p>After a few years I moved into research. I spent several years in developing new products (plastics). I much preferred this to the manufacturing position because I am not very mechanically inclined - which was important when dealing with plant operations. </p>
<p>There were also opportunities at Dow to move more into a marketing/customer/tech service position - which would be more consumer oriented.</p>
<p>My husband is still a chem engineer at dow and he spent most of his career in process design and/or process control (programming).</p>
<p>Hope this helps and good luck!</p>
<p>Just want to add…I went to a school that was very research oriented and I don’t feel like I was well prepared for the work in the plant. I could do all the calculations - but I didn’t really understand how it related to real life.</p>
<p>If you feel like you will be more interested in the research and development side of chem engineering, find a school with a strong research focus. If you are looking to be more hands on, work in a plant or with consumer products, find a school that is strong in applied/hands-on engineering (high quality labs, for example).</p>
<p>Thanks for the informative responses. You guys have helped me to realize that chemical engineering is not for me.</p>
<p>I usually think of process engineering when chemical engineering is mentioned. Met a chemE recently that worked for P&G making toilet paper.</p>
<p>Chem Eng is one of the most versatile engineering degrees outhere. You can basic specialize in any industry of your interest; pharma/petrochemical/bioeng/law/pre-med/goverment (EPA,OSHA, etc)/research/medical research/NASA/sales… you name it!
There are a lot of CEO’s out there that are Chem Engs. Chem Engs with MBA’s are one of the major forces to be reckon with in corporate America.</p>
<p>I’m a Chem Eng for 20 years, holding a bachelors degree and I have never been short of opportunities to growth and do different things, never though that I have to settle or be limited. I have friends that graduated with me working in every market that you can imagine. I’ve worked overseas starting new plants, business development, and sales.</p>
<p>This was the best decision I’ve made in my life. Would do it over again, and again.</p>
<p>If you look deeper, many of these new engineering fields are basically specializided chemical engineering fields. That’s why you can do so much with this degree. The industry that you work for will specailize you thru hands on experience. A lot similar can be say for the 3 core engineering areas; civil/mechanical/electrical.</p>
<p>Good luck in you college career!</p>
<p>Sorry for this, I have a relevant question:</p>
<p>I find the study of transport phenomena, physical chemistry, and solid state physics very challenging and interesting. Though my B.S. is not in ChemE, I’ve taken or will take most of their core classes (my school has a strict credit limit) and found most of them very useful. I thought I’d go to grad school in ChemE, but it seems like there’s alot more management and economics in ChemE jobs than what I’m used to. It seems from the replies here that most chemical engineers are hired for jobs different from the sort of engineering design I had in mind, that is, not actually designing the reactors, or a new sort of material.</p>
<p>Would Materials Engineering or Metallurgy be a better choice for someone who is more into the technical side of things?</p>
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<p>Lunimouzz, is there anything in particular that turned you off from ChE?</p>
<p>maybe we could expand a bit if you have further questions.</p>
<p>LastThreeYears, in many of the industries that I mentioned below they have their Engineering Division. In there you can do fundamental process design all the way to equipment design/spec. For example in the chemical company that I work for, in most cases you work with Chemists that are trying to scale up their bench processes. Normal process is for the people in Engineering to design a pilot plant process to determine the best way to scale up this work and produce developmental quantities to be further tested. Then again you go to your Eng. Div and if the project is approved to move forward they prepare a basic engineering package for the new plant. In this you get all engineering majors working together, most likely a Chem Eng leads the project. Then you move to a final engineering package that is modeled using computer programs like Aspen. Lastly, capital expense is approved and construction starts, here the Mechanical and Chemical Engineers usually get a lead role.</p>
<p>In this that it is matter of finding the right company and right job that matches your interest. Of course taken from your interest if you are attracted to fundamental engineering design then a PHD in Chemical Engineering will by design take you that area.</p>
<p>Like I mentioned before the beauty of Chemical Eng is that you don’t get put in a box. You can apply your knowledge in any field you are interest in.</p>
<p>I suggest that during you undergraduate you get involved in research and do a summer REU program. There are thousand of those available across the country.</p>