Searching

Career Exploration

Chemical Engineers

Also called: Chemical Engineer, Engineer, Process Engineer, Scientist

What they do:

Design chemical plant equipment and devise processes for manufacturing chemicals and products, such as gasoline, synthetic rubber, plastics, detergents, cement, paper, and pulp, by applying principles and technology of chemistry, physics, and engineering.

On the job, you would:
  • Monitor and analyze data from processes and experiments.
  • Develop safety procedures to be employed by workers operating equipment or working in close proximity to ongoing chemical reactions.
  • Develop processes to separate components of liquids or gases or generate electrical currents, using controlled chemical processes.
On the job, you'll need:

Engineering and Technology

  • product and service development
  • design

Math and Science

  • arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, or statistics
  • chemistry

Manufactured or Agricultural Goods

  • manufacture and distribution of products

Arts and Humanities

  • English language

Basic Skills

  • using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems
  • thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem

Problem Solving

  • noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it

People and Technology Systems

  • figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it
  • thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one

Ideas and Logic

  • group things in different ways
  • notice when problems happen

Math

  • choose the right type of math to solve a problem
  • add, subtract, multiply, or divide

Verbal

  • read and understand what is written
  • listen and understand what people say

Visual Understanding

  • see hidden patterns

Realistic

People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions.

  • Analytical Thinking
  • Integrity
  • Attention to Detail
  • Dependability
  • Achievement/Effort
  • Initiative

Analytical or scientific software

  • Minitab
  • The MathWorks MATLAB

Presentation software

  • Microsoft PowerPoint

Computer aided design CAD software

  • Autodesk AutoCAD
  • Dassault Systemes CATIA

Video courtesy of CareerOneStop.

Job Outlook

The job outlook for this position is Bright.

New job opportunities are very likely in the future. This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Median Annual Salary: $106,260

Education

Bachelor's degree is usually needed.