TL;DR Majors Chemical Engineering

I hope everybody had a safe and socially distanced Thanksgiving. At SciTeens, we're back with our TL;DR majors series. This time we're covering the major of Chemical Engineering. We hope this look at specific majors will help you choose how you want to explore your interests in college and get a sense of what activities you could be doing in high school to prepare yourself for this major.

What is Chemical Engineering?

"Chemical engineering requires a foundational knowledge in chemistry, biology, physics, and mathematics. From this foundation, chemical engineers develop core expertise in thermodynamics, transport processes, and chemical kinetics."

- MIT ChemE

That description is definitely a mouthful so let's try and break it down. As with a lot of these STEM fields, Chemical Engineering builds on many disciplines, which makes a lot of sense if you consider the jobs many chemical engineering majors end up going into. A strong understanding of chemistry is obviously important, as if you don't understand the complex interactions of different compounds, you'll be in big trouble trying to perform experiments. Likewise, if you major in chemical engineering to go into medicine or engineering, an extensive background in biology and physics will be necessary.

What Jobs do Chemical Engineering majors get?

A degree in Chemical Engineering offers students a solid preparation for professional work in the development, design, and operation of chemical products and processes. It prepares the student for employment in such industries as chemical, petroleum, electrochemical, biochemical, semiconductor, nuclear, aerospace, plastics, food processing, or environmental control.

- UC Berkeley ChemE

Chemical engineering majors have the opportunity of working in a wide array of fields depending on their interests and specializations. If you're interested in creating the future of clean energy or making more classic fuel sources like oil and natural gas, chemical engineering is for you. Likewise, if you want to work for companies like NASA or SpaceX but don't necessarily want to be an astronaut, you can participate in their projects by helping them design the most efficient fuel for their rockets. Some chemical engineering majors decide to pursue a different route entirely and go into medicine or law. Regardless of your interests, if you have a passion for understanding the world around you, chemical engineering can help you achieve your dreams.

We'll end this article off as we usually do, with an interview with real students at universities studying the major in question.