CHEMICAL ENGINEERING (got some questions) (1 Viewer)

[ragingcurry]

Is there a lot of job opportunities in chemical engineering (specifically in SYDNEY)?
Does it have a lot of chemistry or does it lean towards engineering more? If so should I do industrial chemistry cause I'm a big fan of chemistry as opposed engineering (I still like engineering though, don't hate it)?
What is really like when you are employed (a day in the life of a chemical engineer)?
Can I work for research institutions if I'm a mechanical engineer?

 

[strawberrye]

It doesn't have much chemistry in it-it has a lot more physics. I don't think there is much job opportunities for chemical engineer in Sydney-you might have better luck if you go overseas such as USA. You should probably do science and engineering degree, majoring in industrial chemistry in science and chemical engineering. I think you will need to ask a chemical engineer what it is like in a day of their typical job-and it is unlikely they will still roam around these forums-so your best shot is search for youtube videos. I am pretty sure if you are good enough, you can work for research institutions regardless of what type of engineer you are-provided you meet their criteria.

 

[anomalousdecay]

Chemical engineering does involve a fair bit of chemistry. However, the main role of chemical engineering is to maintain systems that deal with chemical processes. If you want to get into more research/laboratory roles, then consider industrial chemistry or just chemistry where you can be set up to work on developing different chemicals on a small scale and conducting tests on them. Chemical engineering has a stronger focus on large scale production and processes compared to industrial chemistry.

 

[ragingcurry]

thanks for the help

 

[joshman94]

There isn't a whole lot of chemistry in chemical engineering honestly, you'll take intro chem in your first two semesters at uni then won't really use any of it until you take Mass transfer and Kinetics. Mass transfer rarely goes beyond basic reactions as it's more about designing evaporators, condensors, reactors, distillation columns etc. It is important to understand the reactions taking place as this does have an effect on the mass and energy balance but it's not a major focal point as it's considered pretty basic. ANY engineering discipline has a huge focus on mathematics and physics, don't think of chemical engineering as chemistry with a bit of maths. Fluid mechanics and thermodynamics are huge parts of chemical engineering and contain no chemistry at all.

You do use some chemistry in your lab work but it's mostly analytical chemistry. In some of my past labs I've used gas chromatography to do qualitative analysis on plug flow reactors to determine ideal mixing conditions and Infrared spectroscopy on reflux columns products. Again most of the lab work you do will be physics/math based like studying heat transfer in a fluidised bed, frictional head loss in pipe flow, rate of mixing etc.

Research and development mostly depends on the company, some companies may have huge R/D teams that continuously work to find new tech to improve their current process, while some companies may not. Alternatively you can go in to academic research if that's your thing.

It's hard to comment about job opportunities, ChemE's will always be needed but jobs seem to fluctuate year to year like in majority of fields. Don't fall in to the trap of doing engineering because you think it's going to land you a high paying job just because you've got a degree

 

[ragingcurry]

Yeah I don't mind if it doesn't have a lot of chemistry cause I like physics a lot as well.
If I do decide to do chemical engineering I'll be doing it with a bachelor of science degree, where I will pick chemistry as my major. This should open up a lot of different types of jobs that I can do after I graduate.

Thanks for the advice.