Chemistry Major

[Going_The_Distance]

<p>How are the job prospects for a chemistry major? Recently I’ve come under the impression that they are not so hot, so I am having second thoughts. Would it help to minor in EECS?</p>

[dr_reynolds]

<p>Can you even get a minor in EECS? Even so I doubt it would be worth much. You cannot do much with a Chem bachelor’s degree. You need to get at least a master’s to have significant job prospects, and even then they are not that strong. Once you get a PhD in Chemistry then you have a lot of opportunities.</p>

[racnna]

<p>look into chemical engineering</p>

[Going_The_Distance]

<p>Chemical engineering just doesn’t seem to excite me that much. From what I hear, it a lot different from chemistry.</p>

<p>I guess I’m just not certain about what I want to do for the rest of my life. I enjoy science, particularly the physical sciences, but I don’t know how I can translate this into a career that is both enjoyable and pays very well. Chemistry is looking worse and worse the more I research, but I don’t know what would be a good choice. I am also interested in EECS, but I don’t have too much experience with it. In addition, I might want to work with the business side of something. I know that I’m supposed to explore in college to figure out what I like, but I feel like I’m way behind on this, and that not knowing my career goals in advance will cause many problems.</p>

[ChemE_rules]

<p>Depending on where you live, a chemistry degree will get you the same job as a ChemE degree xcept less $ and less chance of advancement. Mainly because ChemE’s are trained in the financial aspects of plant management an optimization. MS and PhD are definetly much better. But you can get jobs with…DuPont, DOW, BASF, Bayer, Henkel, PPG, and the list goes on and on. </p>

<p>There are plenty of jobs for a Chemist - you just may need to start out as a tech until you wear off some of that green. You just need to be dilligent while looking for a job and start early. if your College Offers Co-op - DO IT. Science jobs have a huge learning curve so experience is King.</p>

[RatedPG]

<p>Can someone help a newbie with a few clarifications: What is EECS? And how is chemical engineering “a lot different from chemistry”? I ask because my daughter (rising senior) loves chemistry and is considering Chem E as her major. Thanks</p>

[superwizard]

<p>RatedPG ChemE is pretty different from Chemistry. A good website to read is this: <a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemical_Engineering[/url]”>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemical_Engineering&lt;/a&gt;
Here’s the example they have on the website:

The difference between chemical engineering and chemistry can be illustrated by considering the example of producing orange juice. A chemist working in the laboratory investigates and discovers a multitude of pathways to extract the juice of an orange. The simplest mechanism found is to cut the orange in half and squeeze the orange using a manual juicer. A more complicated approach found is to peel and then crush the orange and collect the juice. A company then commissions a chemical engineer to design a plant to manufacture several thousand tons of orange juice per year. The chemical engineer investigates all the available methods for making orange juice and evaluates them according to their economical viability. Even though the manual juicing method is simple, it is not economical to employ thousands of people to manually juice oranges. Thus another, cheaper method is used (possibly the ‘peel and crush’ technique). The easiest method of manufacture on a laboratory bench will not necessarily be the most economical method for a manufacturing plant.

I love chemistry too and I am planning to major in ChemE. However if you’re planning to major in ChemE you probably should like mechanics and physics too.</p>

[toronto_guy]

<p>For the same reasons chemistry is a poor choice of major, so is chemical engineering. In fact, chem E is a very poor choice of major. </p>

<p>If you are interested in chemistry, I would suggest taking maths with physics, preferably in a double honours format. Anyone will tell you, physics is basically applied chemistry anyway. BUT, employers recognize the rigour of the maths and physics program and candidates are offered good jobs. </p>

<p>For example, many physics grads do risk management on Wall Street because of their training in advanced mathematics which lends itself well to financial risk modeling. And of course, those jobs pay very very well.</p>

[racnna]

<p>chemical engineering is a poor choice of major? Can anyone confirm this?</p>

[superwizard]

<p>Well this discussion certainly isn’t new and actually there was a thread that discussed this <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=203383[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=203383&lt;/a&gt;.
In that discussion after toronto_guy posted a pretty similar post sakky responded

@sakky

@toronto_guy

Chem E is a very poor career choice. I know literature says that they start at the highest salary range - but that is with a large oil or petrochem firm. Trouble is, very few people can hired in these firms. They have far more applications than spots. The problem with Chem E is that your whole degree is based on processes. If you consider that the last refinery built in North America is at least 25 years old, you start to see the problem. Now, there is rebuild and retrograde work but not many greenfield chemical projects which is theoretically what you are being trained for.

This is not true. First off, ChemE’s do not just work in refineries. The oil industry is not just about refining. It is also about natural gas processing, petrochemical processing, plastics manufacturing, and so forth - and PLENTY of those plants have been built lately. And besides, in the wake of Katrina, the US government is now spurring construction of new diversified refinery capacity. </p>

<p>Secondly, high tech is now one of the biggest employers of ChemE, especially semiconductor chip processing. And chip companies actually tend to pay BETTER than oil companies do. I can tell you that of the chemical engineering class coming out of Berkeley recently and who took jobs (i.e. didn’t go to graduate school), probably about 1/2 of them took jobs in the semiconductor industry. This industry isn’t going anywhere - in fact, it’s actually expanding. Intel, for example, has announced an initiative to greatly expand its US production capacity.

@toronto_guy

If you look on Monster.com for chemical enginering relative to mechanical engineering you start to see the issue.

</p>

<p>Uh, no, this is NOT the way to see the issue. Sure, there are more ME jobs than ChemE jobs. But there are also far more ME’s than ChemE’s. You can’t just look at the demand for labor, you also have to look at the supply of labor. For example, there are far more cashier jobs than there are lawyer jobs, but who makes more money - a lawyer or a cashier? </p>

<p>Look, when it comes to engineering, and to bachelor’s degrees in general, ChemE’s have it pretty good, relatively speaking. Does that mean that they are problem-free? No. But they are doing quite well, all things considered. I do, however, agree that ChemE is geographically specialized. For example, if you happen to be a ChemE in the US Gulf Coast or in Alberta, then you will have little difficulty in finding good jobs. However, if you insist on living in a place like New York City or Boston or Toronto where the chemical industry is not prevalent, and you never want to move, then I agree that ChemE may be less useful. You have to be willing to move to where the jobs are.

</p>

<p>PS:I’m sure sakky won’t mind me posting this.</p>

[sakky]

<p>

For the same reasons chemistry is a poor choice of major, so is chemical engineering. In fact, chem E is a very poor choice of major.

</p>

<p>Reference my post #15 in this thread. </p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=222461[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=222461&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>To recap, ChemE is one of the BEST bachelor’s degrees you can get. Especially now when oil is $70 a barrel, and predicted to remain high for years to come. </p>

<p>The main issue is that you have to be willing to move to where the jobs are. I agree that there may not be many ChemE jobs in the city of Toronto, but there are PLENTY in Alberta, if you are willing to move there. If you’re not ever willing to move, then you should expect to have career problems. That’s life. Don’t blame the degree for your choice of not moving to where the jobs are. It’s like somebody wanting to be an investment banker but also insisting on living in, say, North Dakota. It doesn’t work that way. </p>

<p>

For example, many physics grads do risk management on Wall Street because of their training in advanced mathematics which lends itself well to financial risk modeling. And of course, those jobs pay very very well.

</p>

<p>Yet right here you have alluded to the logic that I am using. Just like you seem not to be willing to move to where the ChemE jobs, what about a math guy who isn’t willing to move to Wall Street? He’s going to have just as many problems as you are having now, and for the same reasons - that if you’re not willing to move, your job choices will be constrained. But don’t blame the degree for that.</p>