What can I do with my degree?:Chemical engineering

A chemical engineering degree develops technical and transferable skills that can lead to a

range of jobs in business, finance and law, as well as engineering…

Job options

Jobs directly related to your degree include:

 Chemical engineer

 Energy engineer

 Petroleum engineer

 Product/process development scientist

Jobs where your degree would be useful include:

 Analytical chemist

 Energy manager

 Manufacturing engineer

 Materials engineer

 Mining engineer

 Production manager

 Quality manager

Remember that many employers accept applications from graduates with any degree subject, so don’t

restrict your thinking to the jobs listed here.

Work experience

Work experience is a valuable way of getting first-hand knowledge of specialised industries. If you are

undecided about the area of chemical engineering you want to work in, try to get an industrial

placement to get an idea of what’s available. This may be a placement that’s part of your degree

course, or one you set up yourself during the summer.

Work experience is often available in the pharmaceutical, petrochemical and food and drink

industries. Check out the careers section of company websites for more information.

Typical employers

Employers are as diverse as the products they produce and cover a broad range of industrial sectors.

Any company involved in large-scale conversion of raw materials into a product will require chemical

development engineers.

You’ll find major employers in gas and oil extraction, oil refining, nuclear and other power generation

and other process industries, including pharmaceuticals, fine and heavy chemicals and

agrochemicals. Other manufacturing industries that need chemical engineers include those supplying:

 food and drink;

 toiletries;

 pulp and paper;

 plastic and metals;

 fibres and polymers.

Many chemical development engineers work for engineering consultancy and contracting firms.

Engineers are well equipped for business roles and go into careers in financial services, management

or law.

There are a range of careers for chemical engineers. Be it

atomic science or polymers or paper or plastics or drugs or

food, there is chemical engineering involved in all!

As with all engineers, chemical engineers use math, physics, and economics to solve technical problems. The

difference between chemical engineers and other types of engineers is that they apply the knowledge of

chemistry in addition to other engineering disciplines. Some of them design and invent new processes while

some construct instruments and facilities and some plan and operate facilities. So be it atomic science or

polymers or paper or plastics or drugs or food, there is chemical engineering involved in all!

Here are some of the broad things that chemical engineers can work as:

 Chemical engineer (R&D): They develop the ideas for future plants, improving efficiency, environmental

performance and even developing new products

 Design Engineer: They determine how the process is to work. For example which pieces of equipment will be

needed, and how big they will be.

 Operations Engineer: They spend their time ‘onsite’ ensuring that the plant is producing the right amount of

product to the correct specification

 Projects Engineer: They organise and run projects for engineering companies, this can be anything from

managing a small modification to an existing pharmaceutical facility to building a multi-billion dollar

petrochemicals complex.

Job Prospects

Since Chemical engineering is a vast field, the job prospects and career options are varied and different across a

huge variety of sectors including:

 Chemical and allied products

 Pharmaceuticals

 Energy

 Water

 Food & Drink

 Materials

 Oil & Gas

 Process Plants & Equipment

 Biotechnology

 Environment

 Defence

 Business and Management

 Consultancy

These sectors exist across the private and public sector and thus chemical engineers are spoilt for choice as far

as job opportunities are concerned. You can easily find jobs in areas such as processing, operations or

manufacturing, research and development, design and construction, finance and teaching.

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