Grab Your Future with Chemical Engineering

 Grab Your Future with Chemical Engineering

-Harry Francisco-

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Chemical engineering is the Luke Skywalker of science. How is that possible?  Well, Chemical Engineering is one of the branches of engineering that deals with chemical production and the manufacture of products through chemical processes. George E. Davis, an English engineer is the founder of this fascinating engineering branch. He founded Chemical Engineering in the late 19^th century and published the first comprehensive overview book of this discipline “Handbook of Chemical Engineering” (Lucas, 2014). A person who studies and engages in this branch of engineering is called a chemical engineer. They design processes, systems, equipment to produce, transform, and transport materials. It begins with experimenting raw materials in the laboratory followed by the application of technology in full-scale production. Due to the large number of industries that depend on the synthesis and processing of chemicals materials, great demands of chemical engineers are inevitable (Stanford.edu, 2021).

Chemical engineers have a diverse career field, with a broad opportunity for graduates with the appropriate skills. The complexity of their career field will require these engineers to apply the principles of Chemistry, Biology, Physics, and Math to their work (Aiche.org, 2020). More than 20 job fields are available out there for Chemical Engineering graduates to choose from. In other words, graduates from this branch of engineering will have an enormous range of choices. Some of those job fields are biotechnologist, chemical engineer, energy engineer, nuclear engineer, petroleum engineer, food technologist, manufacturing engineer, materials engineer, pharmaceuticals, mining engineer, analytical chemist, production/process engineer, and many more (AGCAS editors, 2020). Additionally, engineering graduates can work in non-engineering jobs such as product tester, trade person, graphic designer, financial sector, data scientist, and many more (Indeed Editorial Team, 2021). To work in these fields, a chemical engineer must have a complete and quantitative understanding of both the engineering and scientific principles underlying these technological processes. The employment of chemical engineers is expected to grow 4 percent from 2019 to 2029 (bls.gov, 2021). Especially in this Covid-19 pandemic situation, chemical engineers with the appropriate qualification is highly needed in the pharmaceutical industry to formulate medicine and vaccine. This can be a consideration for people who are likely interested in chemical engineering.

The next interesting part about chemical engineering is the immense amount of salary. Chemical engineering is among the top 10 highest-paid engineering jobs in the world (Case Western Reserve University, 2019). For instance, in the US chemical engineers made an average of $114.470 per year and can go up to $152.270 per year. But these numbers vary across job fields and places. For example, in Texas, America, chemical engineers can make upwards of $147.720 per year as a mid-career salary. Big companies like Xerox are willing to pay $181.000 to hire chemical engineers. For entry-level chemical engineers in the US, they can expect a median starting salary of $68.704 per year. Chemical engineers can make more money along with the improvement of their skills and career prospects. Chemical engineers earning potential can increase significantly year-to-year as they build their careers. Some other factors that can affect chemical engineers’ salaries are education level, hard skills, hands-on experience, and location of work (Mowlaee, 2019). With a salary of this magnitude, you can fulfill all the necessities of life and live in luxury.

If you are a science student and Math, Chemistry, Physics, and Biology is your favorite subject, then this is the right choice for you. Chemical Engineering requires its students to have critical thinking, logical thinking, problem-solving, and data analyzing skills. It sounds complicated but they have the reasons why those skills are highly needed in Chemical Engineering (Aiche.org, 2020). Several well-known universities require an A average for students who wish to study in this branch of engineering. In this specific discipline of engineering, students will not only learn about chemistry but also required to do numerous researches; either they do it inside the laboratory or outside their campus. For undergraduates, Chemical Engineering degrees can last from three to five years. The duration of the degree varies based on the institution and the country in which students select, but also depends on students' preferred program-Bachelor of Engineering (BEng) or a Master of Engineering (MEng). Master’s program allows students to develop a greater depth of chemical engineering skills and complete a wider range of project work. Students begin their degree program with some core chemical engineering courses such as pure and applied mathematics, computing and computer-aided design (CAD), and the sciences. Students can advance to study these topics in more depth, with the option to specialize by looking over a wide scope of elective courses. This particular discipline of engineering is constantly evolving. It is constantly expanding its scope to help advance scientific knowledge in fields such as fuel cells, mineral processing, nanotechnology, fabric development, and bioengineering. Other chemical engineering courses students may receive are thermodynamics, techniques for separation of materials, economics, mass and heat transfer, process systems, process plant design, process analysis, fluid mechanics, and process operations (Topuniversities, 2021).

That is why chemical engineering is the Luke Skywalker of science. It’s a newcomer who wasn’t there at the beginning but brought huge impacts and filled with potentials. If you are a science student who has the appropriate group set of skills and requirements, then you can consider chemical engineering as your future. Chemical engineering has vast job prospects that can ensure your future and it comes with an incredibly large salary, where else can you pursue something like this. Moreover, the higher your education level, the larger your salary is. This special discipline of engineering is incredibly suitable for those who seek infinity.  

 

References:

AGCAS editors. (2020, July). prospects.ac.uk. Retrieved from Chemical engineering: https://www.prospects.ac.uk/careers-advice/what-can-i-do-with-my-degree/chemical-engineering

Aiche.org. (2020, July 23). Aiche.org. Retrieved from What do Chemical Engineers Do?: https://www.aiche.org/k-12/what-do-chemical-engineers-do

bls.gov. (2021, April 9). bls.gov. Retrieved from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: https://www.bls.gov/ooh/architecture-and-engineering/chemical-engineers.htm

Case Western Reserve University. (2019, May 1). online-engineering.case.edu. Retrieved from Top 10 Highest Paying Engineering Jobs of 2020: https://online-engineering.case.edu/blog/highest-paying-engineering-jobs

Indeed Editorial Team. (2021, April 1). indeed.com. Retrieved from 22 Non-Engineering Jobs for Engineers: https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/finding-a-job/non-engineering-jobs-for-engineers

Lucas, J. (2014, October 3). What Is Chemical Engineering? Retrieved from LiveScience: https://www.livescience.com/48134-what-is-chemical-engineering.html

Mowlaee, N. (2019, April 23). interestingengineering.com. Retrieved from Chemical Engineering Salaries State by State: https://interestingengineering.com/chemical-engineering-salaries-state-by-state

Stanford.edu. (2021). Stanford.edu. Retrieved from Where do Chemical Engineers Work?: https://cheme.stanford.edu/academics-admissions/where-do-chemical-engineers-work

Topuniversities. (2021). topuniversities.com. Retrieved from Course Guides: https://www.topuniversities.com/courses/engineering-chemical/guide