Explore Chemical Engineering
I really enjoy being able to work with a broad array of technologies… I also thoroughly enjoy working with and coaching my team members.
—Adam Meuler, ChemE ’09I enjoy being a critical piece to the resolution of an issue. Chemical engineers are hired for their broad knowledge base, versatility, and problem-solving abilities.
—Matthew LaBrosse, ChemE '04Solving complex problems and integrating many areas of medical knowledge is akin to solving complex engineering problems. It's very intellectually satisfying!
—Jackson Baril, ChemE '16Chemical engineers build a bridge between science and manufacturing, applying the principles of chemistry and engineering to solve problems involving the production or use of chemicals. They design equipment and develop processes for large-scale chemical manufacturing, plan and test methods of manufacturing products and treating byproducts, and supervise production. Chemical engineers also work in a variety of manufacturing industries other than chemical manufacturing, such as those producing electronics, photographic equipment, clothing, and pulp and paper. They also work in the healthcare, biotechnology, and business services industries.
Chemical engineers apply principles of chemistry, physics, mathematics, and mechanical and electrical engineering. They frequently specialize in a particular chemical process such as oxidation or polymerization. Others specialize in a particular field, such as materials science, or in the development of specific products such as fertilizers and pesticides, automotive plastics, or chlorine bleach. They must be aware of all aspects of chemical manufacturing and how it affects the environment, the safety of workers, and the customers. Chemical engineers use computer technology to optimize all phases of research and production, so they need to understand how to apply computer skills to chemical process analysis, automated control systems, and statistical quality control.
*Salary and Career Outcomes gathered from the 2018-2019 CSE Graduation Survey. Post-graduation outcomes reflect the percentage of students who were employed full-time in their field or were enrolled in a graduate program at 6 months post-graduation.
What can I do with a major in Chemical Engineering?
- Agriculture
- Appliance manufacturing
- Biotechnology
- Clothing/textiles
- Consulting
- Food/beverage
- Healthcare
- Higher education
- Industrial products
- Manufacturing
- Mining
- Packaging
- Parts design
- Pest control
- Petroleum
- Pharmaceutical products
- Pharmaceuticals
- Polymer resins
- Pulp and paper
- Tire and rubber
- 3M
- Andersen Corporation
- Boston Scientific
- Brady Corporation
- Cargill
- Ecolab
- Emerson
- Epic Systems
- ExxonMobil
- Flint Hills Resources
- General Electric
- General Mills
- H.B. Fuller
- Kraft Heinz
- Land O’Lakes
- Medtronic
- MOM Brands
- Renewable Energy Group, Inc.
- Schlumberger
- Sherwin Williams
- Stratasys
- The Dow Chemical Company
- Advanced and Basic Chemistry Laboratory Techniques
- Biology Laboratory Techniques
- ChemDraw
- Excel
- LoggerPro
- Mathematica
- MATLAB
- Chemical engineer: Design chemical plant equipment and devise processes for manufacturing chemicals and products by applying principles and technology of chemistry, physics, and engineering.
- Operations and manufacturing engineer: Design, integrate, or improve manufacturing systems and related processes. Spends time ensuring that a plant is producing the right amount of product to the correct specification.
- Process engineer: Designs, implements, controls, and optimizes industrial processes—such as chemical, food, pharmaceutical etc.
- Product engineer: Follows the production cycle of a particular product to ensure it is meeting specification. Product engineers may work with marketing and R&D to ensure that a product will meet the needs of customers, then sees the product through production. They may work on new products or variations of existing products.
- Project engineer: Organizes and runs projects for engineering companies. This can be anything from managing a small modification to an existing pharmaceutical facility to building a multi-billion dollar petrochemicals complex.
- Quality control engineer: Monitors the manufacturing of products to ensure that quality standards are maintained. Quality control engineers may bring samples of a product in from a field test or from a normal application, and then test them to determine how specific properties — such as strength, color, and weatherability — change over time.
- Research and development engineer: Develops the ideas for future plants, improving efficiency, environmental performance, and even developing new products.
- Technical analyst: Works independently and identifies appropriate course of action to analyze issues, recommend solutions, and administer budget.
- **Some of these positions may require an advanced degree.
- Active Energy Club
- Alpha Chi Sigma
- American Institute of Chemical Engineers
- CSE K-12 Outreach
- CSE Ambassadors
- CSE International Ambassadors
- Engineers Without Borders
- Nat’l Org for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers
- National Society of Black Engineers
- Plumb Bob Honorary Leadership Society
- Science and Engineering Student Board
- Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers
- Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers
- Society of Women Engineers
- Solar Vehicle Project
- Tau Beta Pi
- TeslaWorks
- Theta Tau
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Why Not Chemical EngineeringGet a PDF version of this information here.
Q&A with Jackson Baril, Medical Student–Class of 2020, University of Minnesota Medical School
In my first and second years, I learn the science of medicine and spend about one day a week with practice patients or real patients to develop my clinical skills. During my third and fourth years, I will be on the wards in various inpatient and outpatient settings 5-6 days a week.
What's a typical workday?
I will watch 3-4 lectures online, go to a lab course or my clinical skills course for 2-4 hours, study material from previous days, and prepare for exams. I have time to go to the rec center and exercise. I study every weekend and volunteer in three extracurricular organizations. Overall, you are doing about 60 hours per week of school work when you are a first- or second-year medical student.
What qualities are important for this position?
- Resiliency—medical training is long and challenging. You must be resilient and work hard, but also take care of yourself and not burn out.
- Empathy—caring for patients requires that you really care about them as people, even when they appear to have put themselves in their situation, disagree with you, or are from a different background that you.
- Interpersonal communication—if you can't be clear in directing the medical care for your patient, how can you expect a nurse, other physician, or patient to carry out that mission accurately?
- Intellectual curiosity—medicine is incredibly complex. The idea of being a lifelong learner should excite you.
What part of your job is the most satisfying?
Accompanying patients on their journey. You get to use your interpersonal skills, as much as your medical knowledge and reasoning, to help patients. For example, I observed a mitral valve replacement on a critically ill patient, and I’ll never forget the look of sheer gratitude and hope on the family’s faces when they heard that the surgery was a success. Solving complex problems and integrating many areas of medical knowledge is akin to solving complex engineering problems. It's very intellectually satisfying!
Most challenging?
It's a long road to become an attending physician. This means years of study, years of practice, and therefore years of delaying certain things in life like buying a house. It can be hard to continue as a student, then resident, while your friends pursue careers and move to different stages of life. You should be content with delayed gratification.
Chemical engineering is a fantastic major and I loved it! You go through a rigorous program and become a better student, and person, in the process (plus the material is fascinating). That said, chemical engineering is not a typical major for pre-med because it is so challenging. It can be difficult to fit in the extracurriculars and elective courses you need to apply to medical school. Reflect on your interests and ability to fit in those things that are important in a medical school application when deciding on your major.
Any other advice you'd like to share?
If you’re considering medical school, think about what you would like on your application early in your undergraduate career. If you want research experience, ask the principal investigators or faculty for positions. The worst that will happen is someone will say no. That said, many students apply later in life to medical school too. I highly recommend shadowing physicians, both for your application and your own growth. Take the MCAT seriously and study at least from preparation books and practice exams. Lastly, submit your application early. Most medical schools are rolling admission and the earlier you apply the better.
Q&A with Adam Meuler, Senior Technical Superisor, 3M
I supervise and lead a team of 13 full-time researchers developing biomaterial technologies. My team works in 3M’s Corporate Research Materials Laboratory, an organization that is not responsible for any one specific product or business, but is rather tasked with technology development for 3M as a whole. My group operates at the interface between academic research and commercial product development, and is typically trying to take new technologies and figure out how to turn them into commercial products.
In general, our technology development efforts are long-term in nature, and often last more than 3 years until a technology is commercialized. Examples of technologies developed by my team include separation/purification technology for biopharma products, diagnostic and molecular detection technologies, and various materials for the promotion of oral health.
What's a typical work day?
I typically spend a portion of my day in meetings with my team and/or with collaborators in other organizations within 3M. The meetings cover technology development, business or market strategy, and coaching of team members. I also attend and give presentations or seminars on a regular basis. There is also time spent on intellectual property/patents, either reviewing or managing our patent portfolio, or working on drafting new patents. Finally, I spend some of my time looking at external science and technology, either through conference attendance, reading the literature, or meeting with external technical experts.
What qualities are important for this position?
The abilities that are important for a successful supervisor are a bit different than those needed by an individual technical contributor. In the supervisory role, an ability to relate to team members and coach them through their own projects is critically important. Communication skills are critical, both in communicating with my team and in communicating with upper management and/or with colleagues in other parts of 3M (both technical and business).
Successful supervisors/managers need to be able to ask good technical questions, and consequently be able to recognize and champion promising research programs. Patience is also a virtue in supervision. Researchers need time to figure out solutions to the tough technical problems.
What about technical skills?
Supervisors need to be able to understand a broad range of technologies, and be able to quickly pick up and understand technologies in new areas. The latter skill is especially important as one transitions to new groups or technology areas. This ability to learn quick is something I believe I developed during graduate school at the University of Minnesota. Good supervisors have enough technical depth to be able to ask good technical questions and to understand when the team has made a promising discovery. Good supervisors also need to be able to determine when an idea is technically flawed and should be re-scoped.
What training were you offered for your position?
There are many technical seminars at 3M, all of which provide an opportunity to learn something new. In terms of training for a management/supervisory role, I frequently attend courses on leadership and management. Some of these courses are all-day events, while others last a few hours. There is also a lot of individual coaching from more senior managers.
What part of your job is most satisfying?
I really enjoy being able to work with a broad array of technologies, and find it very satisfying to learn and work on so many different programs. I also thoroughly enjoy working with and coaching my team members. It is incredibly gratifying to see them lead successful technology development programs.
Most challenging?
Commercialization of new technology is hard, and takes the alignment of a lot of different job functions with different incentives and responsibilities. Building consensus across disciplines can be very challenging, particularly when near-term incentives can be in conflict.
What are your possible career paths now?
There are opportunities to continue along the path of technical management, either within the Corporate Labs or in one of 3M’s commercialization divisions. There are also opportunities to into more business-focused roles (e.g., marketing, business development). Some members of 3M’s senior management team came from the technical labs.
Chemical engineering is a great major because you will learn to solve problems. This problem-solving ability and mindset can be readily transferred to new areas outside of the core fundamental technologies associated with chemical engineering. I believe this ability to move into new areas is what makes a chemical engineering degree truly valuable in the marketplace.
Any other advice you'd like to share?
Never stop learning new things.
Q&A with Matthew LaBrosse, Senior R&D Engineer, Cambria
I perform investigations on new and existing raw materials, provide technical support for production and process control, and facilitate new product development.
What's a typical work day?
Typical days are a mix of meetings, lab/plant work, and desk work. All are important; some days are heavier in one area.
What qualities are important for this position?
Adaptability, positive attitude, and willingness to be part of the solution are most important at Cambria, though I would wager this is universal to all companies. Abilities can be taught, but only to those who want to learn.
What about technical skills?
Strong technical background, spatial awareness, organized and detailed, familiarity with programming and software.
What training were you offered for your position?
Most training at any company is “how to” perform a specific task or run equipment. Best practices for professionalism, time management, and work product come from your undergraduate experience and through self-awareness.
What part of your job is most satisfying?
I enjoy being a critical piece to the resolution of an issue. Chemical engineers are hired for their broad knowledge base, versatility, and problem-solving abilities.
Most challenging?
Working in teams or groups is a departure from much of the individual work done as an undergraduate. This can still be a challenge, though it gets easier.
What are your possible career paths now?
I am currently at a comfortable position with not much room upward. However, growth comes in other forms. My path forward is to continue expanding my role in the company and building a team to support that vision.
The Chemical Engineering program at the University of Minnesota is very difficult and should be selected with care, but it is worth the challenge! Those who successfully complete the program will be armed with broad knowledge base and technical skills to succeed in any industry.
Any other advice you'd like to share?
To me, the goal in selecting a major is finding something in line with your passions, abilities, and future goals.