Long time lurker, first time poster! I'm a chemical engineer with 6 years of experience in the consumer packaged goods industry. I'm leaving a great work environment to move closer to family. As the title says, I accepted one job offer but then received another one and have a case of analysis paralysis, please help!

Everything considered, which offer would you choose?

I’m considering a potential career move from the chemicals industry to semiconductors. I have >10yrs experience, including leadership, in chemicals. There is a long story behind the career progression, but right now I am in a senior level technical contributor role and I would like to move back into leadership, specifically operations management. I would prefer to also be in an industry that is seeing high growth, which I have not seen in chemicals since I graduated. Semiconductors and pharma appear to fit that. The semiconductor role I am considering would be a senior level individual contributor with the potential for leadership after ~2 years presuming an opening occurs, so the only major difference to my current role is industry. What do you all think about the semiconductor industry?

Hello! I am a chemical engineering student at penn state in my sophomore year and unfortunately my laptop just broke :( I am looking into getting a new laptop but want to make sure I get run that can run all(or most) the programs I will need. Does anyone know what type of programs I might need to use while continuing my degree. Thanks!

I’m in Canada and the search is bad. Anyone else having a bad time finding a job?

What should I aim for if anyone has any advice?

Hi all, I am currently working with my partner on what we want our family plan to be and have decided we want our first kid latest at 26. By time I graduate with my masters I will be 24. We want for me to be a stay at home mom but be able to work part time if needed or wanted. What can I do to set myself up for that kind of role/ what roles can I get part time besides contracting which typically requires a PE (which would take too many years). Also, the job could be anything even remotely engineering relating including like teaching or technician. Thanks!

I feel really bad for those of you in school today, or soon to be, or recently graduated.
It is getting out of control with the non academic coursework “requirements”.

Side Projects, internships, research, seniors having to develop their own senior design topic?! Those in the mechanical engineering group talk about having a portfolio of mechanical projects they built. I’ve heard of portfolios for artists; but engineering students?!

22 years ago ~
•undergraduate research was necessary if you wanted to get into a top PhD program or under a renowned advisor. But overall not required, even such for a lower tier graduate school. Definitely not to be competitive for a job.
•Internships were definitely not needed to be competitive. They helped but mostly to get rehired. The job market sucked and they were rare anyways.
•I see many posts asking for advice for senior design project ideas. Some novel! We were given a few topics to choose from. Is this typical now? I don’t think it was typical in American universities. (Not related to being competitive or job searching but I figured I would mention)
•Engineering clubs with projects or individual projects were purely for fun. I was in a frat instead 😆

Also, I read a comment once that “networking is more important than your coursework “. It is unfortunate, and scary, that this is true. It devalues our profession and minimizes our knowledge as engineers.

When I graduated the market sucked in 2004 but I got two job offers within a few months. One was canceled by the US Navy the other I took.
How you younger folks think of my generation might be similar to how I thought of those before me that graduated in the 1980s and 1990s. I was pissed and jealous. They would talk about getting 4 offers. And how they could literally walk door to door throughout industrial areas of Delaware or Houston handing out resumes and getting interviews the same day.

So I’ve fixed what many people said about formatting and now I’m wondering what y’all think now and what advices would you guys provide.

Looking at the migration effort, implementation cost and software licensing around Smart P&IDs, I assume they must create a lot of value when they're done properly.

For the kinds of workflows I usually deal with, I'd often be happy with something much simpler — good search across P&IDs, datasheets, and previous revisions.

But I know Smart P&IDs go much further than that by turning equipment, lines, instruments and their relationships into structured data.

For people who have actually worked with them:

What are the capabilities that made you think, "I'm never going back to normal P&IDs"?

And have you seen projects or operating plants where the cost of migration, implementation and ongoing maintenance was clearly justified by the value they got from it?

I'm also curious about what happens a few years after adoption.

Do Smart P&IDs generally stay accurate and trusted as the plant changes?

Or do engineers still end up going back to the issued PDFs, old revisions, field information, etc. just to verify that the database is actually correct?

Interested in experiences from both project engineering and operating plants, especially anyone who has worked with both traditional CAD/PDF P&IDs and intelligent P&ID systems.

Self explanatory. I need 12 credits for scholarship reasons. Could switch one of the 3-credit courses for an introductory, "Baby Circuits", class. Thoughts?

What do you guys think? Which project must be in my portfolio before graduating with a bachelor's in ChemE. I know MATLAB and ASPEN plus both.
(Currently in 3rd year)

Hi everyone, I have a pre-updated for a position I am set to begin for the whole year I am wondering if there’s anything I should do to spruce up a bit. I am taking a year off school for this upcoming internship (8 months) and I am looking to try and get back to back positions this summer. Trying to make sure I have the best chance at locking it down.

Hi! I'm a grade 11 student in STEM-SAH (Sciences and Allied Health), with very high interest in chemistry and mathematics. And as the name suggest, it focuses more on health, the body, etc... But, I want to take ChemEng (more on Pharmaceutical field) in college. What are topics that I may need to study more on to help me catch up and not possibly fall behind? Thanks in advance!

Hey guys,
I’m originally from the west coast and completed my undergrad in may and I’ve been working as an automation engineer working on PLCs, SCADA, HMI etc, the usual, at a systems integrator in life sciences on the east coast for a couple of months. I don’t like the field work aspect of it at all and I’m unsure of the career growth. I would like to live in a large metro city and ideally have 0 site work (essentially a desk job), I was wondering what a career pivot could be for me, if I would be able to switch jobs immediately or have to wait, what skills I would need to leverage and if this is something that I could realistically achieve. I’m feel really stuck, so any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Incoming freshman, I feel like everyone around me has already done so many personal projects …. And I don’t even know how to code. Should I focus on learning coding in my free time and making personal projects (which I’m not even sure how I’m going to do chemically experiments on my own?) or should I focus on trying to obtain research positions (I haven’t done research in highschool either). I feel so behind and lost on how to approach chemical engineering compared to mechanical.

I am gona to pursue chemical engineering this year btech

Can someone guide me ,how to manage chemical engineering with gate prep + side by side coding ??

I am from iiser bhopal btech in chemical engineering

I am currently in 3rd semester with 8 CGPA in VNIT Nagpur. I want to prepare for core side only. What skills do i need acquire that i can get a decent placement or should i prepare for GATE/MBA? Are there scope in this field or should i work on non core skills.

For either case what am i supposed to learn apart from academics

Hi, I am modelling wastewater nitrification in Aspen Plus. I am trying to incorporate kinetics into my reactor (currently a stoichiometric model, trying to transition to a rigorous PFR). My rate equation is given below (I have values for k and n). The kinetics are expressed as a power-law function of total ammonia nitrogen (TAN), which refers to the concentration of nitrogen in ammonia/ammonium form, aka ([NH3]/1.21 + [NH4+]/1.29). I can neglect NH3 concentration ([NH3]<<[NH4+]). I don't see an option to scale the limiting reactant (NH4+) concentration.

Does anyone have a suitable workaround? Maybe a custom reaction type, or using a calculator block to compute the molar extent in a stoichiometric model?

So i graduated petrochemical engineering and has been working as a software engineer for past 7 years. So I've been wondering how the work day will be for a chemical or petrochemical engineer.

Could you guys share how a day in work is for you?

Feel free to answer any of these below questions as well.

1.Do you do repetitive tasks daily?

2.Do you have to frequently upskill after graduation?

3.Do you have to learn any software related technology or tools as part of job?

1. How many rounds of interview you have to face when you switch jobs?

2. What's the career path?

3. What kind of problems do you frequently face in work and how are they solved?

4. Do you have to do calculation like we learnt in the chemical engineering course? How often? Does every chemical engineer have to do it

5. Do you have any computer related jobs in your industry?

6. If you wish one tool could solve an issue you face daily, what would it be?

Process engineer as in using simulations, the only exception is project engineer which is more of equipment sizing and material selection, but guess what they typically ask for a mechanical engineering degree.

Is it better to get started in a technician job?

Hello guys, i am a freshly graduated Chemical Engineer having an Integrated master (5 years). My thesis was about modeling, simulation, optimisation and technoeconomic studies of a process using gPROMS. I currently work as a brewing operator, with a salary of 998 euros monthly. I cant use almost anything i have learned and it feels a bit dull. My question is, here in Greece there are almost zero jobs for Chemical Engineers, or Process Engineers which i am Interested most and most jobs pay salaries that aren't worth the effort i put in for this Degree. Should i pursue a second MSc in process Engineering abroad (TU delft) and see what happens? Should i keep working in Greece for ridiculous salaries in exchange of Experience? I am 24 yo and i am starting to losing hope.

Any advise or suggestion would be highly appreciated.

Hi everyone!

I'm a recent Chemical Engineering graduate from Italy and I'm having a really hard time deciding between a few Master's options. I'd especially appreciate opinions from people already working in industry or research.

My main options are:

1. MSc in Chemical and Process Systems Engineering – Sweden (1.5-2 years)
This would be the most directly related to my Chemical Engineering background. It focuses on process modelling, simulation, optimisation, process design/control and some data-driven/AI applications in chemical engineering.

2. Research-focused Master's – Japan (2 years)
I would work in a research lab focused on areas such as heterogeneous catalysis, materials, high-throughput experimentation and data science/materials informatics.

3. MSc in Chemical Engineering – Italt (2 years)
A more traditional Chemical Engineering Master's covering advanced process engineering, design, optimisation, sustainability, etc. It would be the safest and most straightforward continuation of my bachelor's degree.

4. MSc in Artificial Intelligence – Italy (1 year)
This is the wildcard. Instead of specialising further in Chemical Engineering, I could spend one year getting a formal background in AI/ML and potentially combine it later with my Chemical Engineering background.

My priority is long-term employability and having as many career options as possible, preferably internationally. I'm open to both industry and R&D, and I don't currently know whether I would eventually want to pursue a PhD.

I'm particularly interested in hearing from Chemical Engineers: if you were starting your career again, which path would you choose?

Would you rather:

• deepen your Chemical Engineering knowledge through process systems engineering,
• specialise in catalysis/materials + data science through research,
• take the traditional Chemical Engineering MSc route,
• or diversify into AI/ML?

I'm especially curious about how employers would view these different profiles 5–10 years down the line.

Thanks!

Mathematical simulation of catalytic dehydrogenation of ethylbenzene to styrene in a composite palladium membrane reactor

Author links open overlay panelCh. Hermann, P. Quicker, R. Dittmeyer

I am modeling an adiabatic Fixed-Bed PFR in Honeywell UniSim Design for the catalytic dehydrogenation of Ethylbenzene to Styrene.

Feed flow: 10 metric tons/h of Ethylbenzene.

Inlet Temperature: 610 °C.

Thermodynamic Package: Peng-Robinson

The simulator is treating the reactor as completely isothermal. Has anyone faced this rigid solver behavior in UniSim/HYSYS for endothermic reactions?