r/ChemicalEngineering • u/MistakeSea6886 • Sep 21 '23

Salary What’s the most profitable career path?

I’m a freshmen Engineering major that is taking gen Ed’s. I am thinking of switching to chemical engineering next year. I really like ChE but but want to pick a profitable career path, which is why I’m on the fence between it and Computer science. I did research and found that petroleum engineering is very profitable, and ChE can pick it pretty quickly. However with the way the world is going(more green energy), are renewable energy jobs such as nuclear power plants going to experience a boom in demand and become more profitable?

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u/[deleted] Sep 21 '23 edited Sep 22 '23

If you want nothing out of a major other than the most money possible, I can advise you to look elsewhere. Not in saying that ChemE is a desolate career field; on average, it’s far from it. But there are definitely more profitable majors to choose from if all you want is money out of a career (compsci, compE, tech sales).

We are chemical engineers because we want to solve the worlds problems. We’re intelligent in chemical processes, thermodynamics, fluids, reactor design, separations, and material balances, and utilising this knowledge, we make the world a better place by solving problems, scaling up commercial processes, and managing and designing reactors. If this sounds like something you’re interested in, I’d look deeper into the coursework of a BS and the career fields available to you in ChemE.

You’ll make good money as a ChemE, enough to live comfortably. But do you ENJOY what you do? Trust me, and everyone else who’s made the same mistake, that that is a more important question.

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u/MistakeSea6886 Sep 22 '23

I don’t just want money. I am actually interested in chemistry and engineering, which is why I’m considering it over more lucrative options like CS or finance.

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u/[deleted] Sep 22 '23 edited Sep 22 '23

I never meant to make assumptions about you, but your post did say you were on the fence between ChemE and CS based on which is the more profitable career path, and the title of the post asks “what’s the most profitable career path?”. That approach to your career will only lead you to being unhappy. That being said, working as a chemical engineer will pay you enough to at least live within your means comfortably. If money isn’t your highest priority, then I would look more into the day-to-day life of a chem eng on youtube, what industries are available for you as a ChemE grad, what the core classes are (mass/energy bal, thermo, fluids) and if they sound interesting, and compare equally with compsci or any other major you’re interested in.