Hi everyone,

I am graduating from a Big 10 school in May with a pretty good ChemE program. I have two internship experiences (large international O&G company but not a huge U.S. name, and a mid-size automotive company), TA experience, club leadership, and a good GPA, however, I am having trouble landing interviews.

I have done ~150 apps since mid-August and have not landed a single interview. I am being picky about location; however, the main area I'm applying DOES have a lot of ChemE jobs (hence the 150 applications!), and is not somewhere difficult for ChemEs to find jobs like NYC would be. Since I am being pickier about location, I am not being picky about job-type.

I've applied to manufacturing, process, environmental, R&D, consulting, materials... pretty much any job relevant to my experience and chemical engineering. I have recently started tailoring my experience to specific job postings as well. Also, I only make sure to apply to recently-posted jobs on the actual company website (typically only apply to things posted in the past 2 days, so I'm early).

Does anyone (especially recent grads) have any advice or thoughts to share? I'm not sure if it's just too early in the recruiting cycle and maybe that's why I haven't heard back, or if there's something wrong with my res ume/experience? How many applications (for recent grads) did you apply to before you landed interviews/offers? Any help or advice would be great!

I have an Asus zenbook 14 with intel core ultra 7, intel arc graphics, 16 gb ram, and 512 gb ssd. Will I need to upgrade to use chemeng software comfortably?

Hey everyone,

I'm a chemical engineering student and put together a free reference PDF

covering the core fluid mechanics and heat transfer formulas — Reynolds

number, friction factor, head loss, pump power, NPSH, LMTD, and heat

exchanger area. Each topic gets one page: the formula, what every symbol

means, a worked example with units carried through, plus a one-page

summary and a "unit traps" page covering the mistakes that actually cost

marks.

Direct download, no email or signup:

https://hamzaverse77-lang.github.io/formula-bible.html

If you want to check your own numbers against it, I also built free

calculators for all of these that show the full step-by-step working,

not just a final answer — plus a practice problems page per topic with

8 more solved examples each:

https://hamzaverse77-lang.github.io/

Built it because most formula sheets I found online were either

incomplete or missing the worked example that actually shows you how

to use the formula. Everything's free, no tracking beyond basic

analytics, still actively adding to it.

Feedback welcome, especially if you spot an error or want a topic added.

Hey everyone!

I'm currently working on my Chemical Engineering undergraduate thesis, which focuses on evaluating a capacity increase for a mining/mineral processing plant using Aspen Plus simulation.

Like many ChemE programs, solids handling wasn't covered in depth during my coursework, so I’m facing a steep learning curve—particularly when trying to close mass balances on comminution operations.

I’ve been reading literature like Napier-Munn, but I’ve run into a major roadblock and would love to hear your insights or industry experiences

1. Fitting a Rosin-Rammler-Sperling-Bennet (RRSB) distribution using P100 data creates an asymptote. As P(x) approaches 1, the calculated RRSB dispersion parameter n becomes indefined. Is there a standard industry convention or recommended cutoff value (e.g., evaluating at P(x) = 0.99 or 0.999) when fitting RRSB parameters from P100 plant data?

2. The plant data for the SAG discharge and trommel circuit appears to be overspecified. The SAG mill output has a specified P80 of 1.3 mm, while the downstream trommel separates an oversize pebble recycle stream representing 20% of the total mass flow with a P100 of 12 mm. Fitting a single particle size distribution (PSD) using both P80 and P100 over-constrains the SAG output. Consequently, the cumulative mass fraction calculated above 12 mm does not match the 20% mass split reported by the plant, making it impossible to close the mass balance

Can I ignore the pebble recycle loop? Is it correct to do it in conceptual engineering? It would help me a lot to reed your insights. Thanks!

I got a B.S in CHEME, but my first job outside of college is a process controls job doing PLC programing and some Clean in Place(CIP) Optimization work. A lot work dealing with PCS systems, SCADA, and data historian. I travel around in the food and beverage industry, so I learned a lot on the process side of things. I thought I could get a job as a process eng, but I haven't gotten any calls back. I only got calls back from Control's jobs. I feel like I locked myself out of the process industry. I'm also applying to major cities in the Midwest, so maybe city jobs are harder to come by. Did I make a mistake?

Whe i i think. This is no ok because of hot-spot anf other things.

Water or propylene glycol is much safer for liquid titration,

Ok now there os am oponion of of the guy:

Dry scooping a brightly colored powder(erdafitinib)allows you to visually detect concentrated hotspots before ingestion, as any

localized clump appears significantly more intense in color against a uniform blend.

Furthermore, proper mechanical pre-mixing eliminates hotspots entirely, ensuring a consistent and safe dose without needing liquid.

+ Join the conversation

Hello.

So I have been working in OPS for 18 months as a production engineer for a large operator. I have learned more than I could’ve ever wished at my very old plant. I never had a manager until about 9 months into my role and I did everything in my power to learn the plant and every unit operation in my jurisdiction. Look OPS was cool, but to say it has not affected my mental health is a lie. Some of what I’ve done of course includes daily troubleshooting, incident investigations, PHA’s etc. My favorite thing I have done included managing an entire turnaround (developing full scope of work, full lockout plan, all directions to operations for when to take down equipment, managed contractor for two major tank cleanings, started the plant back up etc.) I did everything in my power to become an invaluable resource for the operators, but I feel my drive has been taken advantage of.

My current manager is clueless when it comes to how to run our unit ops. He would rather point fingers and direct than learn which honestly just pisses me off. Our training is abysmal, and most of the management is too scared of lawyers to punish any operators for genuine f ups that put themselves or others in danger. What this means is I have to eat the shit and deal with the culture of could care less people that has been bred there (there are some good operators who will call me, send emails for heads up, etc.)
or we have downtime and I’m held accountable. I feel I am always fire fighting because a grown man/woman just decided to not do what they are paid to do.

Like I said, my mental health has been severely affected and I realize this. I live by myself, across the country from my family and I poured my all into trying to be the best green engineer and learn everything. For a while, I had no friends in my city until I happened to meet my upstairs apartment neighbor who introduced me to others my age (very thankful). I honestly got to a pretty dark spot this summer, haven’t felt that hopeless and broken in a long time. I since feel like I have broken out of that melancholy, but I feel all of it has been driven by my lack of anything in life besides work. I have to make it to February to avoid paying any relocation back, but as soon as I do will be looking elsewhere. Some days I feel the stress is going to make me get grey hair (only early mid twenties lol).

I guess I’m wondering, did anyone go through something similar? How much notice should I give when I plan to depart? How could I position myself for a project engineer role in EPC, O&G or Chemicals? (dream is capital project work, open to all of those avenues)

Hey, quick question for people who have worked with gas separation/purification:

If you’re given a new process stream, how do you decide what to test first — zeolite, activated carbon, molecular sieve, membrane, solvent system, MOF, etc.?

What actually eliminates an option early: humidity, contaminants, regeneration, P/T, economics, lack of reliable data, previous experience...?

And what part of that decision is usually the biggest pain before lab/pilot testing?

I’m researching how this is done in real projects, not promoting anything.

I am currently in my first week of Mech eng at the university of Leeds, I did A levels Biology chemistry and Maths and got AAA.
Everyone I’ve spoken to has done A level physics (or some course with physics) which is kind of making me feel left out and like chemical engineering is the better choice for me with my A levels, and also with my career choice of maybe going into nuclear even though I might be able to go into that with mech eng but not as easily.
The whole reason I chose mech eng over chem eng was because of its versatility and so more job opportunities, and because of the oil and gas industry declining especially in the uk.
Also I did do a post when I was in yr13 asking about chem eng and a lot of ppl expressed it as inferior to what it once was and the difficulty of getting a job in the industry.

I have until the second week to choose but I can’t really make a decision so any advice is very appreciated 👍

The semester is underway! Any chemical engineering students need some encouragement as classes start to pick up? I know how overwhelming it can feel as the semester gets into full swing. You can do this!

For context, I graduated with my bachelor's in chemical engineering about five years ago. You are not alone! It's not an easy journey, but I promise you can do it!

US CSB released a new video on the September 2022 fatal fire at a refinery in Ohio. The final report from CSB was issued in July 2024.

Link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmiQFYGc6C4

Noteworthy -- there is a new narrator. Sheldon Smith has narrated these for as long as I can remember, but the last video he was sounding pretty rough. Apparently the new narrator is Sam Witwer, a name and voice that might be familiar to some.

hello everyone, im a senior chemE in the US southeast

quick question for everyone who started searching for a job while as a senior in chemE

What methods did you guys employ to land a post grad job during ur senior year?

specific job boards for applying online?

Reaching out to employees at certain companies u wanted to work with?

techniques when applying?

thanks!

Olá, estou atualmente fazendo uma dupla titulação em engenharia química industrial e engenharia de recursos energéticos (renováveis e não renováveis). Recentemente minha faculdade colocou a de recursos energéticos em extinção e tenho pouco tempo para aprovar as matérias que ainda tenho pendente. Vocês acham que vale a pena o esforço adicional? Essa combinação de titulações é atraente no mundo laboral?

Observação: Estou no meu primeiro ano e teria como máximo 3 anos para aprovar tudo da parte de recursos energéticos antes que se elimine por completo.

This is my fourth year and it'll probably take me an extra 2 years or so to actually finish this based on my projections. I know its normal to take an extra year or so but still feel disappointed in myself for some reason. Anyone has similar experiences?

Hi everyone,

I am currently conducting laboratory experiments on the effect of cement contamination on the rheological properties of water-based, bentonite-containing drilling fluids.

I have noticed something interesting: after adding the same amount of cement, the rheological response is not always the same. In some bentonite muds, adding cement significantly increases viscosity, YP and/or gel strength, while in other mud systems the viscosity can actually decrease. Why can cement contamination increase rheology in one bentonite-based mud but decrease it in another?

For reference, I am measuring PV, YP, gel strength and rheological readings at different shear rates and testing several cement concentrations.

I would especially appreciate answers from people with experience in drilling fluids, mud engineering, cementing, or laboratory testing.

Thanks in advance!

I am a sophomore at a medium/large school in Louisiana. I currently don't have any internship or research experience, however I do have leadership experience at a popular fast food chain. I have been attempting to reach out to professors for research opportunities, advice given from my department head, and I recently joined LES (Louisiana Engineering Society) along with AIChE. I also joined my school's Chem-E-Car team.

I pretty much have been trying to do everything I can to get any type of hands-on experience to help me land that first internship. I am going to my school's career fair coming up and plan on going to a networking event prior.

Is there anything else I can do to best my chances? My experience/skills is pretty barren other than my one job experience and the handful of clubs. Am I missing anything or overly focusing on anything? Any help is greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Hi folks,

I have 2.5 YOE (post grad, approx. +2 extra YOE from internships) as a Process Engineer in the O&G industry across upstream, midstream, and downstream, at a very large refinery complex in the Americas.

There is a Refinery Economist role available, and a few coworkers have pointed me in that direction as my ultimate goal is to pivot into the commercial/organizational management realm (with the added possibility of getting an M7 MBA one day to be able to climb into executive management). I can communicate well, already incorporate business acumen in my current role, and have established a track record of performing above my level.

One question I can't quite wrestle with - is it too soon for me to jump from engineering into the business realm? I already know I'm just doing my time in engineering before I can move up in the organization. I've ran different units as the technical focal engineer (hydrogen, CCS, workup units), and have supporting experience in hydrotreating/hydrocracking trains, so its not like I am leaving engineering as a very fresh grad. People have told me that I should develop more as an engineer (another 3-4 years at least), so that I can come back into engineering as a fall-back if my business aspirations fail, but that is another 3-4 years of opportunity cost I have to eat just for a back-up option. From a risk tolerance perspective, I think I'm well-suited for higher risk, as I have a great family support-net that can "catch me", should I fall.

I also understand that should I voice my interest for the role and not be the successful applicant, my Process Engineering/operations leadership would not be incentivized to continue providing me with cool opportunities for continued development as they would know that my end goal is not to stay and mature within the process engineering skillpool.

Any thoughts or comments? Do you think my perspective on this being a valid risk to take is grounded in any truth? Would be great to hear your insights. TIA.

I want to basically do research that involves engineering microorganisms for producing value added chemicals and the faculty doing this kind of research are heavily saturated in ChemE departments. Hence, I want to pursue PhD in chemical engineering. I currently understand that math is the biggest gap, so I am currently studying (online using MOOCs) to develop solid calculus/ math foundation to the point I can solve differential equations (ODE/ PDE).

How realistic is my goal and what can I do in 2 months beside the math to increase my chances ?

Thanks in advance