What do 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.
Also known as:
Chemical Engineer, Development Engineer, Engineer, Engineering Scientist, Process Control Engineer, Process Development Engineer, Process Engineer, Project Engineer, Refinery Process Engineer, Research Chemical Engineer, Scientist
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Ranks #34 in job growth rate70Job Openings
Ranks #5 in net job growth
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- Bachelor's degree (59%)
- Master's degree (22%)
- Doctorate or Professional Degree (6%)
- Associate's degree (4%)
- Some college, no degree (4%)
- High school diploma equivalent (4%)
- Less than high school diploma (1%)
Most Popular Majors that prepare Chemical Engineers
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#1
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Degrees Granted
9,245
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Female Students
3,758
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Male Students
5,487
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Median Starting Salary
$69,800
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-
#2
-
Degrees Granted
169
-
Female Students
33
-
Male Students
136
-
Median Starting Salary
$64,763
-
-
#3
-
Degrees Granted
146
-
Female Students
75
-
Male Students
71
-
Median Starting Salary
$69,800
-
-
#4
-
Degrees Granted
118
-
Female Students
54
-
Male Students
64
-
Median Starting Salary
$64,763
-
-
#5
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Degrees Granted
73
-
Female Students
32
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Male Students
41
-
Median Starting Salary
$64,763
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People in this career often have these skills:
- Science - Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
- Complex Problem Solving - Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Mathematics - Using mathematics to solve problems.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Systems Analysis - Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Active Learning - Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Systems Evaluation - Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Operations Analysis - Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
- Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
People in this career often know a lot about:
- Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Chemistry - Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
- Physics - Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
- Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
- Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
People in this career often have talent in:
- Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
- Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
- Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
- Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
- Information Ordering - The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
- Category Flexibility - The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
- Mathematical Reasoning - The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.
- Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
- Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
- Fluency of Ideas - The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
- Originality - The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
- Number Facility - The ability to add, subtract, multiply, or divide quickly and correctly.
- Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
- Flexibility of Closure - The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
- Perceptual Speed - The ability to quickly and accurately compare similarities and differences among sets of letters, numbers, objects, pictures, or patterns. The things to be compared may be presented at the same time or one after the other. This ability also includes comparing a presented object with a remembered object.
People in this career often do these activities:
- Research engineering aspects of biological or chemical processes.
- Develop technical methods or processes.
- Determine causes of operational problems or failures.
- Evaluate characteristics of equipment or systems.
- Research industrial processes or operations.
- Conduct validation tests of equipment or processes.
- Estimate operational costs.
- Prepare operational reports.
- Design control systems for mechanical or other equipment.
- Determine operational methods.
- Direct industrial production activities.
- Monitor the productivity or efficiency of industrial operations.
- Design industrial processing systems.
This page includes data from:
Career data: O*NET 28.3 Database
by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (“USDOL/ETA”). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA
Occupation statistics: USDOL U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment Statistics
Videos: CareerOneStop, USDOL/ETA and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development
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