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Career Center for Science and Engineering


What Can I do with a major in Chemical Engineering?

What Activities Could Chemical Engineering Majors Do?

Chemical engineers build a bridge between science and manufacturing, applying the principles of chemistry and engineering to solve problems involving the production or use of chemicals. They design equipment and develop processes for large-scale chemical manufacturing, plan and test methods of manufacturing products and treating byproducts, and supervise production. Chemical engineers also work in a variety of manufacturing industries other than chemical manufacturing, such as those producing electronics, photographic equipment, clothing, and pulp and paper. They also work in the healthcare, biotechnology, and business services industries.

Chemical engineers apply principles of chemistry, physics, mathematics, and mechanical and electrical engineering. They frequently specialize in a particular chemical process such as oxidation or polymerization. Others specialize in a particular field, such as materials science, or the development of specific products such as fertilizers and pesticides, automotive plastics, or chlorine bleach. They must be aware of all aspects of chemicals manufacturing and how it affects the environment, the safety of workers, and customers. Because chemical engineers use computer technology to optimize all phases of research and production, they need to understand how to apply computer skills to chemical process analysis, automated control systems, and statistical quality control.

What Industries Could Chemical Engineering Majors Explore?

Pharmaceuticals Manufacturing Petroleum Consulting Polymer Resins
Healthcare Biotechnology Pulp & Paper Clothing/Textiles Parts Design
Food/Beverage Pest Control Industrial Products Packaging Mining
Tire and Rubber Higher Education Appliance Manufacturing Pharmaceutical Products Agriculture

What Employers Hire Chemical Engineering Majors?

Aerotek BP/Amoco 3M Aveka Inc. BASF Bechtel
Blueprint Boeing Co. Cargill US Air Force Clorox Co. Dow Chemical
Caterpillar Universities Best Buy Dupont Dial Co. Bayer
Cummins Donatelle Boston Scientific ExxonMobil Kodak General Mills
Lucent Goodyear IBM Innovex Ingersoll Rand Intel

What Are Some Full-Time Job Titles For Chemical Engineering Majors?

Air Quality Engineer Production Engineer Research Engineer Chemist
Marketing Engineer Consulting Engineer Systems Engineer Project Manager
Packaging Engineer Manufacturing Engineer Process Control Engineer Sales Engineer
Chemical Engineer Plant Production Engineer Process Development Engineer Project Engineer

What Are Some Websites For Chemical Engineering Majors?

Chemical Engineering Jobs www.chemicalengineer.com
Chemical Engineering Magazine www.che.com
Chemical and Engineering News www.chemjobs.org
Chemistry Jobs www.chemistryjobs.com