Most of us, chemical engineering students, probably thinking about following in the footsteps after graduates-spending the next few years learning to be a chemical engineer and possibly the next 40 years applying what we learn in a career. Even som it is fairly safe bet that, like most people in our position, we have limited idea of what chemical engineering is or what chemical engineers do.
Unfortunately, no universally accepted definiton of chemical engineering exists, and almost every type skilled work we can think of is done somewhere by people educated as chemical engineers. Consider the examples an see if any of then sound like sort of career we can see ourself pursuing and enjoying.
About 45% of the class went to work for large chemical, petrochemical, pulp and paper, plastics and other materials, or textile manufacturing firms.
Another 35% went to work for goverment agencies and design and consulting firms (many specializing in environmental regulation, pollution control, fire fighting, safety and health) and for companies in fields such as microelectronics and biotechnology that have not traditionally been associated with chemical engineering.
About 10% went directly into graduate school in chemical engineering. The master degree candidates will get advanced education in traditional engineering areas (thermodynamics, chemical reactor analysis and design, fluid dynamics, mass and heat trasnfer, chemical process design and control) and about two years most of them will graduate and get jobs doing process or control system design or product development, the doctoral degree candidates will get advanced education and work on major research projects, and in four or five years most will graduate and either go into industrial research ang development or join a university faculty.
The remaining 10% went into graduate school in an area other than chemical engineering such as medicine, law and business.
Several went to work for companies manufacturing specialty chemicals-pharmaceuticals, paints and dyes, cosmetics, among many other products. Most companies discovered that if they wanted to remain competitive they would have to pay intention to such things as mixing efficiency, heat transfer, automatic temperature and liquid level control, etc.. They also discovered that thise are areas in chemical engineers are educated and chemist are not, at which point these industries became an increasingly important job market for chemucal engineers.
Some work for companies that manufacture intergrated semiconductor circuits-involving coating small silicon wafers-identify reaction that can be use to produce the desired films, determine the best conditions at which to run the reactions, design the reactors, and continue to improve their operation.
Some took elective courses in biochemistry and microbiology and got jobs with small but rapidly growing biotechnology firms. Several others work on process that involve genetic engineering, in which recombinant DNA is synthesized and used to produce valuable proteins and other medicinal and agricultural chemicals that would be hard to obtain by any other means.Some join companies that manufacture polymers (plastics).
One on development od membranes for desaliation of seawater and for gas separation, and another is developing membranes to be used in hollow tube artifical kidneys.Etc.
Suprising! In Malaysia, some chemical engineering students also involve in oleochemical (palm oil) and pyhtochemical (herbs).
What about you? I tell you, chemical engineers will survive because we can involve in lot of field and yup! We are needful!
To all chemical engineers, good luck, enjoy your life (^^)/
[Credicts to authors, Richard and Ronal for their brilliant book "Elementary Principles of Chemical Process".
[credit also be given to sis Asniza. She is a chemical engineer]
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- Chemical engineering is one of the educational field that I'm interesting at.
- I'm also interesting at the other branches of engineering
Ok, till then~
2 comments:
smething special about chemical engineer..
gonna to join that..
yes, chemical engineering is kindda interesting..
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