r/ChemicalEngineering • u/Ashamed_Resolution76 • Feb 21 '25

Student Is Chem-e really tough?

So right know I am a highschooler and I was very confused what to major in but I found out about Chem-e and really liked it. I wanna know if it's easy to get a job after you graduate on the East Coast, do I need to be good at physic is my main concern???

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u/Cauliflowwer Feb 21 '25

This is one of those questions where I think it REALLY depends on the school, other students in your class, and your affinity for things. I originally wanted to be a civil engineer, but was told it was extremely difficult and chemical would be easier for me.

Chemical engineering is by far the HARDEST undergrad major at the school I went to, with 12 more required credits (yeah a whole full time semester) than any other undergrad program. My roommate and now best friend was a civil major. We graduated at the same time. I spent most of my weekends and nights studying/doing homework/ learning. She spent 80%+ of her free time playing video games. And it wasn't because she had better time management or was better at math. She just had a lot less to do than I ever did.

So really. Look at the course catalog. Think about the classes and their descriptions. If you're gunna do engineering in general you need basic physics no matter what discipline. But generally chem e is more based on thermo, ochem, and kinetics than anything. And in my job out of college it's way simpler than any of that even. So don't let high school physics be what stops you.

But my #1 advice, this is the most important part of my comment! Don't choose a major based on the major being cool. Choose the major based on the CAREER you want. Want to work in a paper mill and improve/oversee the process? Want to work in semiconductor manufacturing? Medical device manufacturing? Manufacturing in general? Chem e is great for that. Want to work on a construction site? Want to build things physically with your hands? Want to be out on the field? Chem e probably isn't for you (oil and gas maybe? But I wouldn't know.) I have a lot of friends who got their B.S. in chem e and realize they don't want any of the jobs available to them. They all pay great, but can you see yourself doing them 40 hours a week?

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u/clingbat Feb 21 '25

Chemical engineering is by far the HARDEST undergrad major at the school I went to

This will vary by school. Our EE program was on par with ChemE in difficulty, and it's a top 10 ranked ChemE undergrad program in the US (#7)...

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u/Cauliflowwer Feb 21 '25

Yeah, that's exactly what I said in my comment? Lol. I said I went for chem e instead of civil because of the perceived difficulty of civil, and then chem e was way harder than civil would've been.

I also think your affinity for the concepts will also change whether one discipline is harder than the other.

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u/clingbat Feb 21 '25

ChemE seemed to have more shit packed in but the math in EE is generally the worst. That's the main trade-off I observed. I went into electrochemistry for my PhD studies which really was a mix of both with EE crap mixed with a lot of thermo, mass transfer and pchem.