The students who choose the path of chemical engineering are not only at the forefront of discovering new ways to power automobiles or spaceships, they are in essence entering fields that span both traditional engineering and newly discovered technologies.
Traditionally, graduating chemical engineers have enjoyed solid employment prospects, but an increasingly strong economy both in India as well as the states and heated competition from new employers creates a profusion of jobs.
There’s more competition for graduates. Not only are petroleum and petrochemical companies coming out of a slump, they also find themselves up against newcomer service and consulting companies. Industries such as food and consumer products that hired some chemical engineers but never in large numbers are taking bigger bites out of the total BSChE graduates.
However, it must be pointed out that petroleum and chemical company hiring tend to be cyclical in nature.
Not only are ChE grads getting great jobs and good salaries, they also are looking outside the box for employers. In 1998 it was reported that in the 10 biggest chemical engineering departments in the US, 50% of the students are going into diverse industries.
Now that companies have learned how to operate in lean times they seek engineers who have the ability to see the big corporate picture. Chemical engineers have to operate beyond the confines of one process and determine how it will impact the environment, cost line, labor, management and safety.
U.S. chemical engineering employers also feel the heat from global companies. Experts see definite growth in foreign firms expanding in the U.S. and Asia. Also noteworthy is the tendency toward the demand for global skills.
Engineering + Biosciences
In the 1950s Dr. Charles R. Wilke, one of the founders of the department of chemical engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, predicted the marriage of chemical engineering and the biosciences. This union is reflected in the over 40 chemical engineering departments across the country adding “bio-” to their department’s name. “Since then, chemical engineers have continued to contribute to this emerging technology,” says Dr. Tony Saliba, chair of the University of Dayton’s chemical and materials engineering department.
Carnegie Mellon University has started a bio-medical degree, and their chemical engineering department now requires a double major. “Within the bio-medical program, which we recently started, we now require a double degree,” says Dr. Andrew Gellam, head of the chemical engineering department. “And most students choose chemical engineering as their second degree.”
How are chemical engineers contributing to the biosciences today? Chemical engineers work alongside microbiologists in pharmaceuticals testing drug delivery. They are aiding in the development of bacteria, labeled “bugs”, which can break down harmful pollutants.
For those students wishing to delve deeper into research, bio-medical research allows those with advance chemical engineering degrees to work on developing artificial tissues, therapeutic devices and organs. “Bio-medical engineering is still in the research phases and not at a point of mass production,” says Dr. Kyriacos Zygourakis, professor and department chair of chemical engineering at Rice University.
Another area of opportunity for chemical engineers is materials research, or nanomaterials, an area where engineers and scientists are building materials at the molecular level to have specific properties for various uses. “Chemical engineers, because of their strong background in chemistry, their understanding of processing to property relationships, and their ability to work on the microscale and macro level, can make a significant contribution to this promising industry,” says Saliba. Dr. Kyriacos gives examples such as extracting lactic acid from corn, which is then made into fibers. These fibers are used in products from carpet to the packaging used for dairy products.
Alternative Fuels
Though bioengineering, bio-medical and nanomaterials are exciting areas for chemical engineers to enter, Saliba believes the most significant contributions can be made in the areas of research and development of new sources of energy.
“In addition to the petroleum industry, which chemical engineers have traditionally worked in, significant opportunities are available in the development of alternative energy sources from shale, wind and solar energy, and fuel cells,” says Saliba.
In fact, the future of how cars are run is now centered on proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells. Engineers are making many advances in searching out an alternative to petroleum-based fuel. PEMs use a process to convert hydrogen and oxygen into heat and electricity, thus powering cars. There are difficulties, however, that researchers have yet to overcome, such as storing hydrogen in the car. Hydrogen must be stored in containers that can handle high pressure and be small enough not to take up too much weight.
Car companies are optimistic, though, and have already rolled out their own prototypes of fuel cell cars. Despite the difficulty fuel cell powered cars face, engineers, car companies and the government see the benefits these cars provide, such as a cleaner environment and less dependence on fossil fuel.
Opportunities for Success
Though bioengineering, nanomaterials and alternative energy are at the forefront of chemical engineering, the more traditional areas of the industry still need top graduates. Established chemical industry jobs haven’t decreased, it’s just that the field itself has diversified to include the newest technologies.
According to the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, between 1990 and 2000 the percentage of students going into traditional chemical processing dropped from 44% to 27%. Sectors that saw an increase, however, included biotech, which rose from three percent to seven percent and electronics, going from two percent to 16%.
“Companies such as Intel hire many chemical engineers, especially in the computer chip making process,” says Dr. Gellman. Though these numbers have changed over the last decade, one shouldn’t be deceived. “Don’t just look at the numbers; companies are not going away. There are many opportunities out there [with the more traditional chemical companies],” says Dr. Zygourakis.
Future chemical engineers have a vast array of choices when it comes to the industry and type of position they desire. “The job outlook for chemical engineers is promising because of the wide range of industries that they can contribute to, such as food processing, pharmaceuticals, and environmental and agricultural engineering,” says Dr. Saliba.
Students have gone to work for companies such as Eli Lilly, Bayer and BP America. Engineers who are less interested in the research and development side of the field can consider more traditional positions. “Engineers who hold a bachelor of science degree can go into positions that have less research involved, such as plant managers, or they can go into management with a company and work their way up the ladder,” says Joe Cramer, director of technical programming at the American Institute of Chemical Engineers.
This leads to an important question: should future chemical engineers have any concern when it comes to finding a job? “The placement of chemical engineers at the University of Dayton has been good despite the weak economy the past few years,” says Saliba. “Sixty-nine percent of our students land a job within three months of graduation.” The starting salaries of University of Dayton chemical engineers range from $42,000 to $59,000. And according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, the average starting salary of a chemical engineer is $52,819.
Future of Chemical Engineering
Students graduating with chemical engineering degrees have a unique opportunity to enter the field in any area they choose. Engineering students who decide to go into research will be able to advance technologies that will benefit the environment or help physicians treat their patients more effectively. Those who are interested in business or management will have the opportunity to grow and succeed with the vast number of prosperous chemical companies.
While we’re not filling up our cars with hydrogen and proton membrane fuel cells at the local Quickie-Mart today, the hard work chemical engineers like you put in after graduation might work to further this cause. Just think, the cutting-edge technologies that we rely on in the future will be the result of your hard work.
In India, the present outlook for chemical engineers is very bright to say the least! Large number of MNC’s are coming here to grab fresh talent. Add to that the oil PSU’s, the large private sector petrochemical giants and the design and automation companies, the future for chemical engineers is very bright. Traditional jobs in manufacturing sector are abundant but the only issue in India is the monetary compensation which is far less than what the peers get in other countries! Though I must concede that the situation is changing dramatically with most Indian chemical companies giving very high starting salaries (in many cases more than that of the IT sector) thereby creating a renewed demand for this major!
Some good courses in chemical engineering include the ones at:
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
California Institute of Technology
University of Minnesota–Twin Cities
University of California–Berkeley
University of Wisconsin–Madison
Stanford University(CA)
Princeton University(NJ)
University of Texas–Austin
University of California–Santa Barbara
University of Delaware
University of Illinois–Urbana-Champaign
Carnegie Mellon University(PA)
University of Michigan–Ann Arbor
Cornell University(NY)
Georgia Institute of Technology
Purdue University–West Lafayette(IN)
Northwestern University (McCormick)(IL)
University of Pennsylvania
University of Colorado–Boulder
North Carolina State University
Pennsylvania State University–University Park
University of Florida
Johns Hopkins University (Whiting)(MD)
Rice University (Brown)(TX)
University of Washington
Ohio State University
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute(NY)
University of California–Davis
University of California–Los Angeles (Samueli)
Texas A&M University–College Station (Look)
University of Massachusetts–Amherst
University of Notre Dame(IN)
University of Virginia
University of Cambridge
Imperial College - London
IIT Kharagpur
IISc Bangalore
IIT Kanpur
IIT Delhi
IIT Powai
IIT Chennai
UICT Mumbai
Source: http://www.graduatingengineer.com/
A word of advice: Do go through a previous post on BIO-SCIENCES
Suggested Reading: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemical_engineering
Listing of some of the biggest chemical companies/suppliers: http://www.chem.com/directory/
……Anyhow the reason why I decided to bring up this issue is quite simple, I am sure some of you (those who know me well at-least) will definitely understand why I am talking about a MBA here! Well, I have always been interested in management and economics. I had always thought I would be a lousy manager though! To be honest, I still feel that me trying out any of my non-existant managerial skills would probably be like an ostrich’s attempt to fly; and I am quite certain that a MBA is of no use for me! But many of my friends keep telling me that I could be a good manager, particularly so in the last few years! So, I just decided to try and find out whether it is a possibility! When this idea sprang in my mind, I felt like a stupid bum to be thinking something so very foolish. But my search has got me some really interesting results! And that has made me start thinking……. 
…… Anyhow, I would cut to the chase and come to the main point. It seems there are many examples of people doing their PhD’s and then going on to get a managerial degree. In fact such examples are quite abundant in USA (probably their flexible education system makes it easier). People finish their Ph.D’s from good schools (including the likes of Stanford and Harvard) and then go on to get MBA’s from MIT! In fact, MIT has a dual degree program (LFM) which gets you a master’s and a MBA from Sloan. This class typically sees 1-2 PhD holders coming in every year!!! I was amused to find a PhD degree holder thinking of getting another masters….. 
….!! I even read about a guy who obtained a MBA degree from U. Michigan right after his PhD in molecular biology and now he works for Microsoft. He was interviewed by Google and many investment banks as well. As far as I know, working for an investment bank in US can easily fetch salaries in the range of 200k to 300k. Another option which I found many guys to be considering seriously was a part-time MBA along with a full-time PhD. So I guess my idea was not all that weird…. ok maybe a bit weird! But I am sure I’ll probably never get an MBA, more so because of my own lack of self confidence and fortitude when it comes to managing situations!! But who knows……..after all, future is as dark as the past is bright! 