Now people in India think engineering is nothing but Mechanical, Software, Civil, Electrical. So if you tell or ask anyone about chemical engineering answers might range from ‘What is this ?I didn't know chemical engineering exist to ‘Mechanical sahi hai. Job market tagda hai n all’. Forget all this. Think logically. Look around yourself. If you observe carefully everything that is around you requires chemical engineering. Simply take Toothpaste or Hair oil or anything. Without chemical engineering its impossible to produce all these.
Now if we think like an engineer, Chemical Engineering is just the name of the branch its generally referred as Process Engineering. Now scope of chemical engineering is to vast. It ranges from core Oil and Gas, Mineral processing, Pharma, Polymers to Pollution Control. So opportunities are practically huge. Being chemical engineer opens you to go to any of the sectors. Chemical engineers are required both in Govt (BPCL, ONGC) and Private sectors. Their job profile ranges from Production engineer, Design Engineer etc.
Moerover chemical engineers can have very good career in R&D, Teaching. Trust me chemical engineers unlike in India are highly paid abroad.
This does not end here. Chemical engineer can become very good entrepreneur. There are infinite opportunities like say Mineral Water production, Small scale fertilizers and current hot Organically (Non chemical) produced eatables.
In Designing
If you have an interest in design you can opt for these type of jobs. These companies usually design a process and related equipment. They also design plants. Some of the companies include - Engineers India Limited (EIL), Flour, KBR, Shell etc. You can join these companies after your graduation. It's a normal office like work i.e. 9-5 job. EIL usually give 8.5 lakhs/annum to freshers. Other companies also give handsome salaries. Job conditions are good and if you like challenging stuff this is the best job for you. The companies in this field are usually MNC's so its highly probable that you will get exposure to various countries and industries.
Chemical engineering jobs does not mean plant jobs . You can be a part of companies which does the design work for refineries. These are office jobs in which you work on computer softwares only.You will work on heat exchangers design /reactor design /vessel sizing and many more refinery design related work. Such companies are called EPC companies , which do engineering work for clients. And trust me in such companies its all chemical engineers who give inputs to other engineering sections. But its all about which company you will join based on your performance.Some of the best epc companies India are: Shell, UOP, Fluor, Technip,Bechtel, IOCL,EIL,Samsung,Punj lloyd and many more. Offices of these companies are in delhi/NCR/Bangalore or in mumbai.
In Research
You will find many chemical engineers involve in research. These are the guys that study processes and try to find out the best way to produce a thing on a large level, both safely and economically. They also try to improve existing processes.Some of the guys also work in hardcore science like ionic chemistry (battery etc.) , nanotechnology, biotechnology (yup chemical engineers have really very wide options when it comes to research.) If you have an interest in computational science then you may do research in fluid dynamics etc.
If you want to go in research field then you have to do MS/M.Tech and then Ph.D. It will take around 9-10 years after class 12. People usually prefer doing Ph.D. abroad as research facilities are not good in India.
After your Ph.D. either you can do research in a university or you can join R&D department of a company. If you want to be a scientist I will suggest you go to the US as they have better-working conditions and good pay scale.Working hours will be like usual office hours. If you join a university you will have flexible working hours and you can work as you like.
In Production
These companies are involved in the production of materials on large scales. These includes fertilizers,petroleum, pharmaceuticals, etc. There are many companies in this field like ONGC,IOCL,BPCL,HPCL,GAIL,HUL,Proctor andGamble,Reliance,Cairn,Tata Chemicals,RCF,Asian Paints etc. You have various options to choose from. Petrochemical companies usually pay very handsomely. BPCL pays around 11.5 lakhs/annum in Mumbai to freshers, which is quite high for a government job. The engineers in this field are highest paid. If you plan to go abroad you will even get higher pays and there are many companies out there like Schlumberger, BP, Chevron, Exxon Mobil etc. The working condition is a little bit hard in this field as you have to work in plant or rig etc. Usually, these are located outside of the city and sometimes even in mid of sea. You can join these companies after graduation. Working hours are not flexible and you have to be ready for overtime as emergencies may occur at any time.
If you are really interested in chemical engineering that you can do .
Here are ten (possible!) future careers of chemical engineers:
1. Space Fuel Processor
Space shuttle
With the imminent dawn of commercial space travel e.g. Virgin Galactic; it is probable that competition from other companies will drive the price of travel down, making space flight more common.
Space tourism will initially involve just two to three hour sub-orbital flights. But this will gradually develop into longer voyages with flights lasting several days or weeks to allow visits to distant planets or space stations.
Chemical engineers are currently working to find new sources for fuels e.g. bio-refineries, wind farms, hydrogen cells, algae factories and fusion technology. These could be applied to fuel space travel.
2. Uranium Recycler
Alternativgies like solar, wind, tidal and hydrogen are going to become increasingly important. But currently strategy highlights the leading role nuclear energy will have. However, current thinking is that a shortage of uraniumdamages this plan.
Chemical engineers, working as uranium recyclers, will be needed to convert bomb-grade uranium from warheads into low-enriched uranium for use in nuclear power plants to ensure that the uranium shortage does not cause an energy crisis.
3. Genetic Pharmer
Farmers of the future will not only raise livestock and agricultural crops, they will also grow plants than have been genetically engineered to grow therapeutic proteins, pharmaceuticals and chemicals. Hence they are Genetic ‘Pharmers’!
Chemical engineers are already working on producing vaccine carrying plants. A recent example of this has come to light in the ebola epidemic; tobacco plants have been engineered to grow the antibodies for the ebola serum.
I think this will be a key area in the future, where chemical engineers can have a huge role driving these processes further to achieve better results.
4. Nano-manufacturer
With advances in nanotechnology already offering a huge range of nanoscale processes, a new group of nano-chemical engineers will be required to manufacture these systems.
Nanotechnology essentially is just the manipulation of very small (or nano-the Greek for dwarf) matter measuring 1 to 100 nanometres.
Some experts think that the next decade will see an increase in manufacturing; Tim Page, senior policy officer at the TUC UK said “The UK will identify niche sectors of manufacturing that are highly skilled and knowledge-intensive,” and this will be led by nanotechnology advances.
This explosion of technological advances in nanotechnology will lead to opportunities arising for chemical engineers to lead the way.
5. Vertical Agriculture Engineer
Future city living
This is one area that is happening right now. The use of vertical farms could allow us to increase food production whilst taking restrictions on land useinto account.
The concept of urban farms, stacked in towers or underground, with hydroponically fed crops and artificial lighting is gaining momentum. Chemical engineers would be well suited to these systems and could drastically increase our food yields and reduce further environmental damage.
This will negate the issue of ‘food miles’ by offering a method where all your food can begrown next door.
6. Simplicity Expert
This job is a bit more abstract than some of the others, but when I saw it listed I thought simplicity is what every chemical engineer strives to achieve. Through refining and optimising processes surely all chemical engineers should be called simplicity experts?
Simplicity experts will find ways to streamline and simplify day-to-day operations. In the future to save time we will need to condense three days of work to half an hour of work (although I already feel like I need to do this). Chemical engineers, who excel at math, have an eye for design and a keen sense of planning will do well in this line of work.
The world we live in today seems complex, so we often assume that it can only get more complicated in the future. The chemical engineers of the future will work to ensure that this is not the case by finding ways to simplify and streamline our processes.
7. 3-D Food Printer Engineers
Advances in 3-D printing are reported in the news frequently. The printers work by bonding material particles together layer by layer until a complete item is formed. It is suggested that this could be applied to food.
Many chemical engineers work in the food industry helping to refine products, scale them up for production and make them healthier. 3-D food printers would need chemical engineers to scale down these processes for use in individual printers.
Converting 3D printers to work with cartridges containing food-stocks will prove demanding on a number of levels. Chemical engineers can solve this kind of problem, e.g. by developing ingredient “cartridges” which can be inserted into the printers. NASA has already implemented a study to see how 3-D food printers would fare on space missions.
8. Green Process Engineer
The focus of all chemical engineers is to work sustainably. Corporations and consumers worldwide are increasingly embracing green technology e.g. at the IChemE awards in November we will be celebrating achievements in sustainable technology, water management and energy efficiency.
This is not a new area but I can only see these roles becoming increasingly important as new processes are used. Green process engineers will develop environmentally benign chemical processes and products, select processes that minimise pollution, use less hazardous materials and develop alternative reactions. This will all need to be done while meeting emerging regulations and laws.
9. Galactic Engineer
Futuristic megalopolis
In the US, President Obama’s 2014 budget includes $105 million of funding for astronauts to reach an asteroid by 2025. This in itself offers many opportunities for chemical engineers, but if successful could lead to the mining of precious minerals in space.
Galactic chemical engineers will be needed to develop processes to mine distant asteroids or planets; designing systems that can work in the extreme conditions that outer space entails. Being able to assess and then use these new materials could offer new resources, elements and materials to improve the quality of life on Earth.
10. Climate Change Reversal Engineer
As the threats and impacts of climate change increase and manifest further, a new breed of chemical engineers will be needed to help reduce and reverse the effects of climate change. They will need to be able to apply multi-disciplinary solutions to solve a range of problems.
Chemical engineers are currently working on models that predict the outcomes of climate change and developing strategies to combat it. In the future they will need to work to develop long-term strategies to intervene before an anticipated climatic disaster occurs, to deal with climate events that are already happening and to try to help locations that have been devastated by climate change.
This work will typically involve developing energy strategies, refining alternative energy systems or protecting and rebuilding ecosystems.
There were many more areas I could see chemical engineers leading the way in, for example; Energy Storage, Zero Water Strategies, Alternative Food Design, Disposal Textiles Design, Land Fill Reclaim and GM Food.
However, I am also sure that some aspects of chemical engineering will never change. We will always need waste engineers, drug developers, researchers and food processors!
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