<p>Alright so I have to pick my major for college and I like chemistry so it is either chemical enginering or chemistry. The thing is that i want to go to law school and be a patent attorney so I know that high grades are a must, but I am interested in the research of chemical engineering in the biotech sphere. If I go for chemical engineering how bad of a GPA cut would it be? The school i am going to is University of Texas and the top 25-20% GPA in chemistry is a 3.73 whereas for engineering it is a 3.25, so under the circumstances which one would you pick? And could you give any advice?</p>
<p>I am a chemical engineering major myself. Funny, I don't remember how I stumbled upon chemical engineering. My parents as well as teachers suggested engineering because they make pretty good money and I would be engaged and enjoy the variety of career opportunities. I enjoyed chemistry in high very much so I just started checking chemical engineering boxes on apps.
Anyway, I just recently decided I would like to be a patent attorney (though I might just try to get an MBA. I really just want to start my own business or work as a consultant). Anyway, chemical engineering is very difficult, and I think many schools take your undergrad major into consideration when applying for law programs. I thought about switching majors but I decided it would be best to stick with CHE. The benefits are great. If, at some point you realize you might not want to be a patent attorney then you will still have a great career waiting for you when you graduate. I plan on working a few years before I pursue law school or an MBA program because I think it would be a waste of my time and devoted effort to study chemical engineering and not reap the high salary benefits for a person who just received his/her bachelor's. You say you like the research aspect and the biotech industry, so chemical engineering would definitely be the way to go. If you can do well on the LSAT, then an average GPA in chemical engineering will not seem as bad as you might think.</p>
<p>First of all: Chemical engineering and chemistry are nothing similar. Many people think, oh, chemical engineering, it's like chemistry, right? Chemistry was easy for me, chemical engineering was difficult for me. </p>
<p>Have you touched upon Felder's "Elementary Principle Process" book? This is the introductory chemical engineering class (usually) which in my opinion lets you determine if you want to be in chemical engineering or chemistry. </p>
<p>Chemical engineering and chemistry pre-major classes are similiar, core of math, physics and chemistry. So usually it's possible to switch prior to taking the actual major classes (usually). </p>
<p>Choose the major you enjoy more in my opinion. If you don't like the process class, don't be a chemical engineer. If you enjoyed it but found it difficult, be a chemical engineer.</p>
<ul>
<li>TB54
ChemE 08</li>
</ul>
<p>Dbate,</p>
<p>If you want to be a patent attorney/biotech, I feel that Chemical Engineering will offer much better benefits than a Chemistry degree. However, as a recent UT grad, ChemE @ UT is HARD! In fact, in the 2008 graduating class, NO ONE was able to graduate with "highest honors".</p>
<p>the highest gpa in my chemE class was like a 3.7, which was godly amazing.</p>
<p>A lot of folks start off with a 4.0 with the calculus/diff eq and ochem/pchem and then it slowly decreases as you hit the chemE classes.</p>
<p>I knew a girl with a 4.0 in up to sophmore year, but graduated with a 3.1.</p>
<p>Is chemical engineering hard?
Yes, I'm not going to lie.</p>
<p>The chemical engineering department at my school hated masters student and bachelors. We only had 1 masters student graduate, while mechanical and civil had over 50. </p>
<p>It could be indifference from faculty.</p>
<p>However it could be also, the material is obscure.</p>
<p>The problem as Sakky pointed out, nobody understands chemical thermodynamics completely. I believe Feynman said it himself too. Transport phenomena isn't the nicest material to an undergraduate with its tensor analysis/math. Separations is dry as it can be and heavily emphasizes chemical thermodynamics and physical chemistry.</p>
<p>The girl who graduated with honors (don't know if cum laude, magna cum laude or sum cum lauda) went to MIT for graduate school. Not many people graduated with honors, only ~3 out of a class of 50 for my school. </p>
<ul>
<li>TB54</li>
</ul>
<p>
[quote]
Is chemical engineering hard?
Yes, I'm not going to lie.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>What's ironic is that the job of the chemical engineer is not really unusually hard; I don't think it's any more difficult than any other engineering job. How many times does a practicing chemical engineer actually use such obscurities as the Maxwell's Relations, the Bridgman's Equations, or the Cauchy momentum equation? I'm going to go with 'never', and I think I will be pretty close to the mark for the vast majority of practicing chemical engineers. </p>
<p>The problem is that, as I said, the curricula forces you to learn things that you don't need to know. I furthermore use the term 'learn' very loosely: as most students at even the best schools don't truly learn the concepts at all. All they learn is enough to pass the exams, but they don't really know what is happening, because, honestly, nobody does. I've known some top notch chemical engineers who have gone on to complete PhD's at top programs, a few of whom have even become faculty members, and even they admit that they don't really understand what's going on in certain classes.</p>
<p>Nshah, is it really that bad? I hope not, i am not an average student I will have 27 of the 128 credits needed for graduation by the time I graduate from high school (or is everybody else who does engineering like this as well?) But also could you gauge the average GPA of ChemE at UT?</p>
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[quote]
The problem as Sakky pointed out, nobody understands chemical thermodynamics completely. I believe Feynman said it himself too
[/quote]
</p>
<p>To quote Arnold Sommerfeld, noted pioneer in quantum mechanics:</p>
<p>Thermodynamics is a funny subject. The first time you go through it, you don't understand it at all. The second time you go through it, you think you understand it, except for one or two small points. The third time you go through it, you know you don't understand it, but by that time you are so used to it, so it doesn't bother you any more</p>
<p>Anyway I decided to major in chemical engineering. I figure that it is something that i like so why not?</p>
<p>it depends, it youre interested in research do chemistry. if youre interested in application do chemical engineering. personally i would do chemistry but im a research kind of guy. funny that my brother went into engineering.</p>
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[quote]
Anyway I decided to major in chemical engineering. I figure that it is something that i like so why not?
[/quote]
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<p>If you like it, then that is a damn good reason to major in it.</p>
<p>My supervisor did always said that chemical engineering has nothing to do with chemistry. Chemical engineering is tough as hell. I am ready to get back to school next week but I'm not ready for all the CHE classes I am taking. I know that I will have to sacrifice a lot of my nights, weekends, and sleep but it the end it will be worth it. If you can just hang in there you will be glad you did. My friend is a Civil and said if he could do it again he would do Chemical.</p>