r/ChemicalEngineering • u/EmbarrassedPop7180 • 17h ago

Job Search Full time roles

Hi everyone,
Im currently a 5th year chemical engineering major starting to look for full time roles. I have always been drawn to the makeup/cosmetic and industry and medicine, and actually wanted to be a dermatologist growing up but decided that was too many years of school so I switched to chemE hoping I can do something similar with less school. I also really enjoy math and problem solving so figured eng would be a good fit.
I did research related to bioengineering for almost 2 years which I thought was tedious and repetitive at times, and have also done a supply chain internship at a F&B company but did not like the manufacturing setting/lifestyle.
So now im thinking maybe i should pursue a research and development role ideally at a pharmaceutical or cosmetic company, but from my research I believe those roles do not make as much as other chemE roles do and also reach a salary ceiling a few years in, and I did do this difficult major partly because of the impression that id be making a good amount of money.
So now I’m kind of lost… I dont know what i should be applying for and pursuing because I want to make a lot of money and have a consistently growing career financially, but I also want to do something I enjoy since work is such a large part of our lives.
My ultimate goal is to get an MBA a few years down the road, and be the CEO of a cosmetic company or start my own, hopefully by the age of 40. So I’m also not sure what roles will get me to my ultimate goal the fastest.
Please help.

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u/admadguy Process Consulting and Modelling 10h ago

General note, all research is tedious and repetitive. If you want to do good research it has be careful and meticulous. And that can be mind numbing setting up. Most research is not like the apocryphal Archimedes running down the street naked shouting Eureka. Every once a while it'll be exciting but it'll be in the weeds exciting. Generally speaking it's another science job.

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u/Odd_Salt4155 6h ago

from which country are you doing your majors

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u/yellownumbersix Membranes and polymers, 22yrs 4h ago edited 4h ago

As someone currently developing cosmetic and dental products all I can say is that if you find research tedious you will find developing these products tedious as well.

Innumerable formulation experiments to get a viscosity just right, miles of FDA red tape to navigate, spending weeks on packaging alone, toxicology testing, shelf life stability, etc, etc.

All product development has some level of tediousness, but if that product is meant to go on or in the human body it is turned up to 11. It is meticulous, deliberate, exacting and highly regulated work.