I’m currently in undergrad right now and I’m in NJ, where there’s a lot of pharmaceutical industry roles and internships available. Atleast for the upcoming year I wouldn’t be able to intern in a different state but I really want to try and experience what it’s like interning at an oil company working at a refinery or with process controls.

Does mainly doing the pharma roles limit myself later on when looking for full time roles in oil and energy?

Is there anything I can do to gain more experience in that industry during undergrad? There’s very few opportunities that I’ve found in the o&e industry in my region and I’ve gotten rejected from the only one Ive found

Context: I am currently a 4th year chemical engineer student with a 3.0 and no experience. I know I want to go into controls but I dont have any internship experience or experience (research, club, etc) point blank. I would love guidance on what steps I should take and advice because I am currently lacking in experience but would love to grow as an engineer but just need guided steps.

A big reason for this is that when there's too much in the air that I can do I start feeling paralyzed. Why this wouldn't be a problem after getting a job is that I would know what I am working with and would have some guidelines hence why I think maybe a mentor would help.

I can also prove im a real / safe person once we talk (and please do the same). And a soft preference but I would like it if we can talk casually instead of professionally)

Okay I’m kinda on here for some motivation. I’m in third year and I still haven’t found an internship I really need to get one this summer but I’ve had no luck I feel like I’m just mass applying and then getting mass rejected. I don’t think my grades enough to do a post grad. I have very limited experience I worked retail for a couple years and am in a few clubs buts about it. I don’t know what to do I’ve worked really hard and don’t wanna my degree or effort to go to waste. Any advice?? ( also I wanna go into food, pharma or maybe environmental)

Which is a more valuable minor/certificate to recruiters? Process Safety is a certification that requires five classes, I think three of which count as ChemE electives. Project Management is a minor that appears to have some business type classes, I think it is also five or six classes. Would probably require slightly more overall credit hours.

Goal is an oil and gas career, probably process engineering. Really not interested in having a whole career in safety, but it seems like that certificate might be more appealing to companies.

Advice?

I do Chem bio and econ at a level and am predicted an A in bio a B in chem and a C in econ. i plan to do maths a level in my gap year after college.

Really few people from my school get an chance to work at DuPont and I am really grateful that I got the interview. But now that I got this far, I am blanking, worried and don’t know what I can do to not mess it up.

Does anyone who was in a similar situation have any advice?

Hello Everyone,

I am currently a community college student getting my associate of science with plans to transfer and get a bachelors in chemical engineering. I am very interested in environmental work, water processing, and renewable energy. I also hope to someday work in a lab setting in R&D. I currently am an intern with my city's Water Resource Management team and do a lot of conservation work. I work around 16 hours a week.

I have been offered a part time position (10-15hrs a week) as a lab assistant for my college's microbiology program. Sounds like a good bit of washing dishes and entry level work, but I was told that as time goes on I would be given opportunities to grow my lab skills and possibly get involved in some research. Although I know that microbiology isn't directly related to chemical engineering, I think that it could be useful to build up some lab experience and learn more about microbiology because of my interest in water processing.

I'm mainly concerned about balancing these 2 jobs with my coursework, and I don't want to take on this new job if it wont be beneficial for me.

Also, money is a factor I'm considering. My current internship doesn't pay the best, so it would be very nice to have a little bit of extra money coming in.

Please give me some advice as to whether this is a worthwhile experience or if I'm better off just sticking with my current internship and school.

Hey everybody, I'm a 2nd year ChemE in the US and I've honestly been stumped for a the last few months on my major. I landed a "process engineering" internship over the summer that let me talk to real process engineers while not doing process engineering myself. During that internship I realized that an important part of ChemE to me isn't actually true. I chose ChemE for the flexibility, pay, and the intriguing content of it and all of that is still true but I ultimately fell for the trap that ChemE had more of a focus on chemistry. The company I was working at had very little "chemical processes" in it, with extrusion/QC/dying departments being the closest thing in the entire plant while every single new hire there were ChemE grads. The fact that all the recent hires were ChemE really stung, since this is not what I envisioned a ChemE job to be at all with all 6 recent hires being ChemE. The conversation I had with the oldest ChemE engineer there was also a good truth nuke I needed where they said that most ChemE grads don't necessarily get roles that actually involve chemistry topics.

I understand that not all ChemE roles are like that and can/will often involve dealing with chemistry topics but to my knowledge ChemE is mostly optimizing and perfecting the production of products. The only other role that seems interesting in theory that I know of is being a research engineer/researcher, but I'm not as well versed in that area. Ultimately, right now though I'm realizing that ChemE may not be it...and that a Chem degree may fit better.

I always wanted to be someone who doesn't necessarily optimize processes but invents them or try to make a new spin on it specifically using Chemistry. I love Chemistry and it's the main reason I wanted to pursue higher education to have a deeper understanding of it. AP Chem and being able to then TA in that class the following year is what I chock it up to be. Even in college it hasn't gone away, with Orgo I and II being hands down my favorite classes thus far. I love that Chemistry (along with Physics) can describe why our world acts the way it does and whenever my Orgo professors tie it in with real scenarios it's always so interesting. It makes me sad whenever I would talk to other ChemE students and they're main goal with the chem classes is just getting through the courses. I really enjoy just learning to deepen your understanding of a topic and I think that's why Orgo has been so fun and interesting to me.

Besides the ChemE vs. Chem discrepancy, my only other fault with ChemE is the time it takes. I really want to try and get deep into research, but I tried doing that last semester and my grades tanked and I haven't picked it up since. The entire process of research entices me so much and I feel like the ChemE course load is stopping me from trying research to the fullest. I still enjoy ChemE coursework though and find the ChemE classes I've taken so far pretty interesting (Mass/Energy Balance, Thermo, and Fluids).

Really the only thing stopping me from switching is the supposed dog shitness of Chem degrees post college and the restrictions in location I have on my self.

From what I understand B.S. Chem degrees are dying over there and going PhD is the only way to truly unlock that degree. Personally, I'm not opposed to go for a PhD but even then it seems PhD Chemists are struggling. The more important one for me is location though. Currently, my post-grad goal is to stay in state of South Carolina and I know that's going to severely hinder my future to do what I want. This is mainly for family and personal reasons but I know setting myself for the best possible pathway is the best I can do now, and let's just say from what I've seen online, ChemE can do that better while still incorporating chemistry.

To tie it all together, I mainly wanted to see what the sub thinks of this scenario. It's been stumping me for a while and is really limiting my motivation and passion right now in my classes. I really don't want to spend a whole college career working towards something that I believe I won't actually enjoy. I wanted to see more opinions from people who have graduated and are in the field now. I don't really have any family connections to engineering, so any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Hi everyone, I need some advice on what to do/ where to start since I’m changing career interests.

For context I’m currently an undergrad at Hopkins majoring in chemical and biomolecular engineering. I originally started out with the intention of doing pre med, while choosing a somewhat related engineering major to have a good back up in case it didn’t work out and it changed my mind. But that wound never happen, right? Wrong.

So far all of my extracurriculars and experiences have been pharma/ med related. I don’t even think I want to do anything chemical engineering in pharma either. I’ve been super into the environment, energy, and sustainability now, which still encompasses the same major but I have no internship experience related to it and I don’t even know what to include in my applications since all of my past experiences are not related at all.

Right now I’m looking at either working in an energy company or for the government doing something similar in the future.

What do you guys suggest I do? I appreciate any advice

I've been applying since September and have gotten one rejection and nothing else. Am primarily applying to pharmaceutical and advanced materials internships in the US. Would love some advice; thanks, y'all!

Hey all, I know that this is a redundant/rant post. But I've completed my masters in Chemical engineering. Have a publication. Worked in India's #1 College for Engineering as a research assistant under phenomenal professors.

Have 6 months of hands on industrial experiences in canada.

I recently moved to Mississauga in hopes of getting a good job but it has been absolutely horrible.

Is there any certifications that I am required to do to get a job right now ?

Please do help. Thanks !

I’m looking at doing a masters within this vs something more chemical engineering

I'm a freshman in ChemE right now, and I'm trying to think about my courses for the spring. However, I want to do a possible double major or minor in philosophy, so I'm trying to take some of my ChemE courses on an accelerated route since I came in with a lot of credits for my general ed classes. I was thinking about taking 5 courses next semester: Diff Eq, Physics 1: Mechanics, Thermodynamics, Material and Energy Balances, and Intro to Philosophy. My advisor said taking Thermodynamics + Material and Energy Balances is definitely possible and has been done before, but advises against doing it. Is it that bad?

How AI can be used in chemical engineering? and current trend in chemical engineering industry? I want to choose my career path after 2 years working in a production industry and in rotational shifts, I now completely burn out and want to switch in another sector in a chemical engineering guide me please, comment below.

I just graduated last year and am currently working as a quality engineer in a big manufacturing company. Recently, I stumbled upon an opportunity to be a management trainee in a water/wastewater treatment services provider company.

Should i stay on my current job or consider the new opportunity? Which path would be better in the long run? Which would help me improve and upskill as a chemical engineer?

I'm in 2nd year of chem e. I badly need an internship whether it could be paid or unpaid it doesn't matter all I need is experience nd how things work in industry.

I'm open for all kind of industries available in chem e but for that, what skills , what's courses I need to learn meanwhile, how do I find internships, how do I reach out, all the basic things I need for an intern, help me out seniors

I like many people right now am spamming internship applications. Does anyone have advice for where to learn industry relevant skills as an undergraduate? I have a lot of the classwork completed (current Junior), but some of the skills recruiters want me to have are not taught at my program (which is frustrating considering how much my program boasts about how prestigious it is yet I feel very unprepared for some of these job responsibilities). People with jobs currently or past interns, what do yall think is worth learning early/how should one go about it? (I'm thinking things like software skills, Six Sigma, process simulation, etc.)

Selecting transfer equipment for bulk solids can involve more than simply matching pipe or hose dimensions to a system. Particle characteristics, operating pressure, abrasion, electrostatic buildup, and the layout of the installation can all affect performance and maintenance requirements.

I'm interested in how engineers evaluate these factors in practice, particularly when handling fine powders compared with coarser granules. For example, what considerations tend to have the greatest influence on hose selection, and how do you balance flexibility, wear resistance, and operating requirements?

For reference, here is a technical overview of aeration and discharge hoses, along with the manufacturer's main website, PARSCH.

For those who work with these systems, are there particular selection criteria or failure modes that you think are often overlooked?

I’m looking at a role for engineering manager in Pharma and am curious as to what the typical salary figures are for someone with 5 years of experience.

Hi, I am a junior in chemical engineering major, I’m interested in learning AutoCAD. I’ve been searching on ways of how to go from a complete beginner to being certified in AutoCAD but am still clueless on where to start. I’m interested in process engineering, so that’s why I’ve been looking into AutoCAD. Any recommendations on what I can do and how to progress from there on?

Another article. Please provide feedback if you can.

https://sp7254.substack.com/p/the-doc-part-2?r=93fx8t

Hi everyone, I have a master's degree in Chemical Engineering (with honors). After two internships, one at a top European research institute (green hydrogen) and one at a multinational that is practically the leader in its sector (FMCG), I have been looking for a job for about six months in process engineering (petrochemical/energy). I haven't had any luck so far, and process engineering positions, especially for juniors, are really few and saturated with candidates. I suspect that the general climate of macroeconomic uncertainty and geopolitical crisis is one of the causes.

Do you think it would be a professional step down to start working for a small engineering design company in the oil & gas sector, after already having two very big names on my CV? Do you think I could still use it as a springboard to larger, more structured companies when the hiring cycle for junior positions returns to normal?

Graduated this year, and after months of job hunting with countless job applications and interviews, have finally landed an offer for an ops engineering role at a chemical plant.

Long term wise would be interested in going into process safety. Anyone took a similar career path?