Career Details :: Chemical Engineers
Description
Design chemical plant equipment and devise processes for manufacturing chemicals and products, such as gasoline, synthetic rubber, plastics, detergents, cement, paper, and pulp, by applying principles and technology of chemistry, physics, and engineering.
Experience
Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.
Education
A bachelor's degree is the minimum formal education required for these occupations. However, many also require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).
Training
Employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training.
Tasks
- Develops processes to separate components of liquids or gases or generate electrical currents, using controlled chemical processes.
- Performs tests throughout stages of production to determine degree of control over variables, including temperature, density, specific gravity, and pressure.
- Performs laboratory studies of steps in manufacture of new product and tests proposed process in small-scale operation (pilot plant).
- Directs activities of workers who operate or who are engaged in constructing and improving absorption, evaporation, or electromagnetic equipment.
- Prepares estimate of production costs and production progress reports for management.
- Develops safety procedures to be employed by workers operating equipment or working in close proximity to ongoing chemical reactions.
- Conducts research to develop new and improved chemical manufacturing processes.
- Designs and plans layout of equipment.
- Designs measurement and control systems for chemical plants based on data collected in laboratory experiments and in pilot plant operations.
- Determines most effective arrangement of operations, such as mixing, crushing, heat transfer, distillation, and drying.
Related Careers
- Agricultural Engineers
- Engineering Managers
- Foresters
- Geologists
- Nuclear Engineers
- Nuclear Equipment Operation Technicians
- Product Safety Engineers
- Soil Conservationists
Important Abilities
General Work Activities
- Getting Information Needed to Do the Job
- Updating & Using Job-Relevant Knowledge
- Analyzing Data or Information
- Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events
- Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing
Important Skills
Frequent Work Context
- Consequence of Error
- Responsible for Others' Health & Safety
- Importance of Being Exact or Accurate
- Degree of Automation
- Job-Required Social Interaction
Related Majors
| Major | Add to XapPack |
|---|---|
| Apparel/Textile Management |  [ add ] |
| Chemical Engineering | [ add ] |
| Chemical Engineering Practice | [ add ] |
| Chemical Engineering/Environmental Engineering | [ add ] |
| Chemical Engineering/Petroleum Engineering | [ add ] |
| Chemical Engineering/Polymer Science | [ add ] |
| Chemistry/Chemical Engineering | [ add ] |
| Engineering Chemistry | [ add ] |
| Fiber Science | [ add ] |
| Fiber Sciences | [ add ] |
| Global Textile Marketing | [ add ] |
| Pre-Engineering Chemistry | [ add ] |
| Pre-medical/Medical Science | [ add ] |
| Pre-medicine | [ add ] |
| Textile Design | [ add ] |
| Textile Development/Marketing | [ add ] |
| Textile Engineering | [ add ] |
| Textile Management/Marketing | [ add ] |
| Textile Technology | [ add ] |
Institutions Offering Related Majors
No institutions found.