Aerospace

Aerospace

Agriculture & Biosystems

Agriculture & Biosystems

Biomedical

Biomedical

Chemical Engineering

Chemical

Civil Engineering

Civil

Computer Science

Computer Science

Electrical Engineering

Electrical

Environmental Engineering

Environmental

Industrial Engineering

Industrial

Manufacturing

Manufacturing

Materials Science

Materials Science

Mechanical Engineering

Mechanical

Nuclear Engineering

Mining & Metallurgical

Nuclear Engineering

Nuclear

Project Management

Petroleum

Materials Science

Project Management

Chemical Engineering

Imagine taking what you’ve learned in chemistry class and using it to create products that improve the lives of others in both large and small ways. That’s what a chemical engineer does: uses chemical processes to find innovative and creative ways of producing goods. The work of a chemical engineer can range from the luxurious (developing softer clothes and better cosmetics) to the lifesaving (producing fire-resistant materials and safer foods). As a chemical engineer, you might be involved in cutting-edge research at a pharmaceutical company, discovering how to extend the shelf life of antibiotics, or you might be part of a creative team at a food manufacturing company, dreaming up a delicious new candy bar.

Meet Francisca, a chemical engineer at Shell who uses her engineering and project management skills to design and build infrastructure on offshore platforms in the Gulf of Mexico! 

Graphic featuring headshot of chemical engineer guest Francisca Ogundele

Overview1

$108,540

Median salary

26,300

Number of jobs in 2020

9%

Expected job growth in next ten years

Jobs and education

4-year degree:

  • Create plant based foods that taste great, look good, and are appealing to consumers
  • Design environmentally-friendly cleaning products
  • Turn seawater into drinking water
    Develop ways of mass producing vaccines to ward off epidemics
  • Reduce pollution by developing cleaner sources of energy

 

2-year degree:

  • Evaluate a new food additive to find out if it improves the texture of a breakfast cereal
  • Be part of a research team investigating ways to eliminate waste in the production process

Real world engineering projects

Taking the lead out of water

Lead in drinking water is a big health problem. Imagine being able to treat it right at home in that’s both energy efficient and low-cost? Some engineers at MIT are working on that very problem. Part of the problem they are solving is keeping the good stuff we want in our water, like sodium and magnesium, while removing the bad like lead. This new approach is called shock electrodialysis. It’s still a ways off, but the early results are promising.

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