<p>I am looking at both majors as a possiblity. Also, which major would be a better choice for a pre-med student? Can i get an undergraduate degree in Chemistry and then get a grad degree in Chemical Engineering, or vice versa? How difficult would that be? Also, if I am interested in biotechnology, which major would be better? If I pick Chemistry over Chemical Engineering, how much harder/easier would it be to get a job? </p>
<p>Thanks everyone, </p>
<p>mustang06333</p>
<p>Also, which major would be a better choice for a pre-med student? Either one could work fine.</p>
<p>Can i get an undergraduate degree in Chemistry and then get a grad degree in Chemical Engineering, or vice versa? No, I doubt this would work. Either way you would need to take a lot of extra courses to prepare for graduate work - especially if you started out in Chemistry.</p>
<p>If you are interested in Biotech then why not Biological or Biomedical Engineering?</p>
<p>If I pick Chemistry over Chemical Engineering, how much harder/easier would it be to get a job? Your job prospects would be very slim with just a Chemistry degree. You should have a lot of job prospects in Chemical Engineering.</p>
<p>Chemists are generally interested in making initial discoveries and developing main principles while chemical engineers are generally interested in taking those ideas (while no doubt developing new ones) and modifying them so that they can be used to actually do something on a large scale while taking things such as price, efficiency, and environmental safety into account. </p>
<p>The difference can be seen in this analogy from wikipedia (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemical_engineering%5B/url%5D):">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemical_engineering):</a></p>
<p>*The difference between chemical engineering and chemistry can be illustrated by considering the example of producing orange juice. A chemist working in the laboratory investigates and discovers a multitude of pathways to extract the juice of an orange. The simplest mechanism found is to cut the orange in half and squeeze the orange using a manual juicer. A more complicated approach found is to peel and then crush the orange and collect the juice. A company then commissions a chemical engineer to design a plant to manufacture several thousand tons of orange juice per year. The chemical engineer investigates all the available methods for making orange juice and evaluates them according to their economical viability. Even though the manual juicing method is simple, it is not economical to employ thousands of people to manually juice oranges. Thus another, cheaper method is used (possibly the 'peel and crush' technique). The easiest method of manufacture on a laboratory bench will not necessarily be the most economical method for a manufacturing plant. *</p>
<p>Which major would be best for a potential entrepreneur?</p>
<p>Chemistry is the study of matter and their various interactions.</p>
<p>Chemical Engineering is the application of Chemistry and technology to solve real world problems.</p>
<p>Though they do share Chemistry in common--they are very different degrees. Chemists and Chemical Engineers might take the same basic level classes such as Organic or P-chem but Chemists will take advanced classes while ChemEs will focus on engineering classes such as Transport Phenomena, Thermo and Mass Transfer.</p>
<p>Job Wise?
With Chemistry chances are you'll need to pursue graduate school in order to find a good research position. ChemE and most engineering degrees can find jobs right out of college.</p>
<p>For Med School?
I'd have to say a Chemistry Degree. Though a ChemE degree is just as good the courses a lot harder and therefore its difficult to maintain and excellent GPA for Med School.</p>
<p>If you are interested in biotech then either major would be an excellence choice. Like others have said, the chemists will be doing the research to make that discover and the chemical engineers will mass produce it.</p>
<p>I want to go to medical school, so I thought that I would either major in chemistry or chemical engineering because I could go to med school or have a job to fall back on to if I don't get accepted. However, I am finding that I should really consider chemistry because the program will allow me to get the grades needed in order to get into med school. But, the jobs in the chemistry field seem few and far between. I am not expecting to become a millionaire as a chemist (although that would be nice,) but I would like a relatively steady job (even then though job security is a thing of the past, lol) and I would like to enjoy my work (that means that i have a job related to my major.) I actually began school with the desire to become a CPA/ financial planner, but I want to do something more challenging that will let me contribute to the world in general. I guess my question is to everyone, knowing this, what would be the best major for me, having medicine as my ultimate goal? I would still like to be a cpa, but I am not sure that an accounting degree would be the best background for a potential physician. If I could get a CPA and apply to med school that would be great. Keep in mind that I am going to be a junior this year- also, i do not mind getting a dual degree, or spending an extra year or two at college. Any advice would be appreciated. </p>
<p>I wrote this quickly so please disregard my spelling and bad grammar :)
mustang06333</p>
<p>Medical schools do not take major into consideration, while GPA will matter a lot. If medical school is your ultimate goal, then you should major in something that you 1) are interested in and 2) can do well in. Please ask yourself as to what this might be. Don't let a more immediate and secondary goal destroy your long-term and primary goal. College is the last chance to learn whatever you want - don't let the desire to create a safety net (which could very well end up a self-fulfilling prophecy) stand in the way. Major in whatever you want.</p>
<p>The handful of people I've talked with who have actually gone through med school tell me that they do take your major into consideration. Of course that could vary from school to school.</p>
<p>Are you really a doctor?</p>
<p>I've talked to real medical school adcoms about this. Major does not matter, only GPA does. The exception is that major (like prestige and difficulty of undergraduate institution) can be used as a soft factor. While 4.0 engineering major will be preferred over the 4.0 basketweaving major at the same school, the 4.0 basketweaving major is going to be favored over the 3.5 engineering major.</p>
<p>If your major is going to end up lowering your GPA by any significant bit, it's just not worth it anymore (from a med school admissions standpoint).</p>
<p>I'm a B.S. Chemical Engineer '90 who decided to go back to school and become a dentist (starting my 3rd year now). While my age was probably a factor too, I believe my major helped me get in to dental school (which is not quite as competitive as med school, but still very difficult to get into). I had a 3.3 GPA and the average of our dental class is slightly over a 3.6 (with 3.4 being the lowest non-engineering that I have heard of). While near last in GPA, I'm ranked around 8th out of 60 after the first 2 years. I have no doubt they consider majors when they admit. However, GPA (and some modification for major) only gets you in the door, the admission tests for med school / dental school are what they really use to normalize the class on the same scale for comparison. If you really want med school, aim for a 3.6 GPA and a field that will prepare you well for the entrance exam. You will get some credit for the major difference, but believe me you won't get the difference you should. I took the biology requirements I needed before I started dental school and have no doubt I could have made a 3.9+ in biology whereas if I retook the chemical engineering curriculum I doubt I could move my GPA higher than a 3.6.</p>
<p>Whether you can do better in Chemistry or Chemical Engineering is more a function of who you are. Engineering will require good math skills. Chemistry is more conceptual understanding of somewhat abstract and/or arbitrary rules. Chemical engineering encompasses very little actual chemistry (at my school we took Organic I & II and physical chemistry I & II and that was it). Ironically, organic chemistry was my worst DAT (dental admissions test) score of them all.</p>
<p>Take a realistic look at who you are. If you didn't finish near the top of your high school, your chances of getting into med school are slim unless you have an overwhelming desire to improve and mature from where you have been the past 4 years. If that's the case then go for it, but take a path that you will have something of worth (to you) if you don't get into med school. If you were at the top of your class, then go into the field that best suits you to make a nice GPA. For me, engineering was far superior in that I was very good at math and I liked the ability to get a good job after 4 years. You may be the same, or you may do better in chemistry, but with chemistry, if med school doesn't work out, you'll likely need a masters or phd to become valuably employed.</p>
<p>If med school is your end goal, then why not a Biology major....far easier than either of the other two and much better at preparing you for the admission test.</p>
<p>In the end, I believe you will get some credit for the major difference, but believe me you won't get the difference you would deserve. I took the biology requirements I needed before I started dental school and have no doubt I could have made a 3.9+ in biology whereas if I retook the chemical engineering curriculum (without the partying this time) I doubt I could move my GPA higher than a 3.6. On the other hand, I have heard that there was another engineer that the dental school took 2 years ago with a 2.9 GPA.</p>
<p>Do what you will enjoy the most and you can't go wrong.</p>
<p>Carth</p>
<p>MCATs only cover the prereq courses for med school. The material covered in upper division bio courses are much to in depth to be really helpful. It is not worth any potential dent in GPA to choose a major just because it has something to do with what is tested on the MCAT.</p>
<p>About $25,000 a year.</p>
<p>cartha-what happened...chem E was too boring?...i'm wondering why you went to back to school to become a dentist</p>
<p>cartha-what happened...chem E was too boring?...i'm wondering why you went to back to school to become a dentist</p>
<p>there r a lot ppl who majored in ChemE and changed into different fields like Business and health field</p>
<p>my cousin who majored in chem e changed into finance after graduating
and a teacher(not a professor) in my college (she teaches college algebra) had a Bs in chem eng.</p>
<p>The difference between chemical engineering and chemistry can be illustrated by considering the example of producing orange juice. A chemist working in the laboratory investigates and discovers a multitude of pathways to extract the juice of an orange. The simplest mechanism found is to cut the orange in half and squeeze the orange using a manual juicer. A more complicated approach found is to peel and then crush the orange and collect the juice. A company then commissions a chemical engineer to design a plant to manufacture several thousand tons of orange juice per year. The chemical engineer investigates all the available methods for making orange juice and evaluates them according to their economic viability. Even though the manual juicing method is simple, it is not economical to employ thousands of people to manually juice oranges. Thus another, cheaper method is used (possibly the 'peel and crush' technique). The easiest method of manufacture on a laboratory bench will not necessarily be the most economical method for a manufacturing plant.</p>
<p>LMAO-plagiarism...............</p>
<p>Wikilicious. Nice copy-paste skills, tom!</p>