Chemical Engineering

College of Engineering

Engineering is a very large profession. Almost two million people are employed in this country as engineers, and the field will continue to expand as long as there are technical problems to solve. Engineers are problem-solving people who invent new products and make things work better, more efficiently, quicker and less expensively. They turn ideas into reality.

Engineers have a variety of career possibilities from which to choose and may specialize in research, consulting, planning, design, manufacturing, construction, management, teaching, writing, or sales. Engineering graduates have excellent prospects for finding employment in private industry, government, military service, or academia.

Engineers receive rigorous training in the basic sciences, mathematics, and the engineering disciplines. Students choose to major in chemical, civil, computer, electrical, environmental, or mechanical engineering. While pursuing their undergraduate degrees, students also have opportunities to participate in undergraduate research with the faculty or to gain work experience through engineering internships and cooperative employment with industry.

For further information about engineering, contact the Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Affairs, College of Engineering, 102 DuPont Hall, 302-831-8659.

Chemical Engineering

Chemical engineers turn new advances in chemistry, materials science, and biology into large scale practical realities in the everyday world. Chemical engineers are directly or indirectly responsible for the production of the fuel we burn and the food we eat, for the purification of water and air, and for the recovery and use of raw materials. They ensure the efficient operation of industrial plants and create new chemical processes in a continual effort to get the most from our limited supply of natural resources.

The study of chemical engineering has traditionally relied upon concepts drawn from mathematics, chemistry, and physics. The concern with biotechnology, biochemical engineering, and environmental issues has led students to include the life sciences as well in their programs. As a result, it is an attractive major for students with a wide range of scientific interests and lends itself to specialization at a later time. This broad scientific background provides the basis not only for employment in the traditional chemical process industries, but for constructive and innovative approaches to ecology, energy and conservation, the production of pharmaceuticals using genetically engineered organisms, and such areas as the development of artificial organs for humans from biologically compatible tissue. A number of students use the broad technological basis of this curriculum to prepare for graduate work in areas of medicine, law and business which require the scientific application of ideas.

For further information, contact the Associate Chair for Undergraduate Studies, 237A Colburn Lab, 302-831-8905.

Career Caveat: Engineering

One of the frequent tendencies that students in technical disciplines have is to inextricably link their career possibilities with their academic major. They seldom realize that a major is largely an administratively convenient tool used by a college or university to categorize students.

There is not always an obvious parallel between your engineering major and an occupational field. In the same way that accountants are used as computer information systems analysts along with those having computer science backgrounds, engineers work in capacities other than hands-on engineering. Said in another way, just as the same job can be filled with individuals from a variety of academic backgrounds, so individuals with the same major can qualify for many different jobs.

While the realization that more career options are open to you as a technical major than you previously were aware of can be uplifting, it also poses the dilemma of identifying and narrowing down the appropriate options. To remedy this confusion, it is helpful to approach your career selection in terms of the types of functions you wish to perform within an organization. An example might be a mechanical engineer who determines that he/she would like to function in a sales or marketing capacity instead of in a manufacturing role due to his/her interests, persuasive skills, and outgoing personality.

Job titles differ from industry to industry and company to company. Because job classifications are not standardized, trying to determine your fit among seemingly endless lists of titles can be very confusing and frustrating. Thinking of jobs in functional terms provides a way of organizing the multitude of job titles you will encounter in company literature and employment ads. Thinking in terms of functions will, therefore, allow you to clearly indicate to potential employers exactly what you want to do regardless of what the job title is.

Sample Concentrations

Research and Development: Designs and performs experiments and interprets the data obtained. Invents and creates new ways of developing products, controlling pollution, reducing safety and health hazards, and conserving natural resources.

Design and Construction (Project Engineers): Designs and constructs chemical manufacturing facilities. After construction they may assist in equipment testing, operator training and plant start-up.

Operations/Production: Responsible for the day-to-day operation of a manufacturing facility. Primary interest is in the economic and safe production of a product.

Technical Sales: Introduces new products to customers and assesses why some products do better than others in the market place.

Environmental and Waste Management: Devises techniques to recover usable materials from waste products. Develops methods to reduce the pollution created during the manufacturing of a product. Designs waste storage and treatment facilities as well as pollution control strategies for plant operations.

Check the Dictionary of Occupational Titles under section 008 for additional related careers.

Enhancing Employability

Some Employers of Chemical Engineering Majors

* chemical industry        	
* federal and state government
* cosmetic companies       	
* plastic manufacturers   
* environmental industry   	
* petroleum companies
* food processing companies	
* agricultural chemical companies  

Other Sources of Information

American Association of Engineering Societies
www.aaes.org/

American Chemical Society
www.acs.org/

American Institute of Chemical Engineers    	
www.aiche.org/

Chemical and Engineering News
http://pubs.acs.org/cen/

Chemical Engineer
www.chemicalengineer.com

Chemical Engineers' Resource Page
www.cheresources.com

EngineerJobs.com
www.engineerjobs.com

EngineeringJobs.com
www.engineeringjobs.com

Graduating Engineer Online
www.graduatingengineer.com

National Society of Black Engineers
www.nsbe.org

PhDs.org
www.phds.org

Society of Women Engineers
www.swe.org/

The Riley Guide
www.rileyguide.com

Resources for Finding Employment

• Chemical Manufacturers Association, Education Resource Guide (CSD 314)
• The Environmental Engineering Selection Guide (CSD 316)
• The EnviroDirectory (Mid-Atlantic & New England) (CSD 317.2 & 317.5)
• American Consulting Engineers Council (ACEC) Membership Directory (CSD 350)
• Job Hunter's SourceBook (CSD 376)
• Professional's Job Finder (CSD 377)
• Careers for Scientific Types & Others With Inquiring Minds (CSE 457)
• Career Opportunities in Engineering (CSE 526)
• Is There an Engineer Inside You? (CSE 536)
• Opportunities in Engineering Careers (CSE 537)
• Great Jobs for Engineering Majors (CSE 538)
• Careers in Focus - Engineering (CSE 539)
• www.udel.edu/CSC/netresources.html CSC's Internet Resources

Further information including: Skills to Develop, Strategies for Contacting Employers, Grad School Information and where to get assistance is available in the CAREER RESOURCE CENTER located at 401 Academy Street.

Last updated: November 13, 2007 (CH)