r/ChemicalEngineering • u/Ok-Carpenter-7748 • 26d ago

Student Degree Vs Skill 🤔

I’ve heard literally every other person talk about how skill is more important than a degree. Personally as one pursuing chemical engineering what skills are there that I can develop that will help boost my career? Please help me

10 Upvotes

71% Upvoted

27 comments sorted by

33

u/West-Character-1625 26d ago

Skills are only important after you have got your degree

1

u/Ok-Carpenter-7748 25d ago

Yeah I was just looking for what skills will help me in the future

8

u/hysys_whisperer 25d ago

One not mentioned here is the ability to bullshit with operators. Especially the old crotchety ones that nobody likes.

Your personal relationship with ops is what you'll live and die by.  If you're hanging out talking cars in the control room, you'll hear all sorts of random tidbits that if you piece together, can give you the epiphany you need to solve long standing problems.

1

u/MuddyflyWatersman 23d ago edited 21d ago

operators do not necessarily know what causes problems... but they know what they are.... they know that they see A happen and then B happens... even if they don't know why. spend time sitting with them and asking questions about how they do things and what they don't like what gives them problems... and you'll be way ahead of most young people

#1 complaint I hear from operators about young engineers is they will try to solve a problem without even knowing what it is. Somebody told them to go fix a problem in a meeting so they do that without even talking to the operators and understanding what the actual problem is... A lot of times what's been communicated to them is wrong, just hearsay from person to person. then they come propose some kind of stupid solution to something that's not even the problem....

we got a whole generation of young engineers today who.... want to find the answer to everything on the computer..... it's not there.... you got to go talk to people.... operators.... inspectors.... mechanics and maintenance people..... to get the real information... dig through files on equipment and inspection records that are written by hand..... lots of young people fail at this point because they simply refuse to go talk to people to dig up real information..... they've been conditioned their whole lives to find it on a computer or it's been given to them....

3

u/Prestigious_House564 25d ago

To me, the “skill” is actually solving the problem quickly and efficiently; whether it is technical or human in nature.

2

u/supahappyb 25d ago

Defining what the problem is is also a skill that many people lack. A clearly defined problem statement with root causes identified is well on its way to a solution

2

u/Auwardamn 23d ago

Excel.

The world operates on janky spreadsheets. Knowing how to manipulate the data in them to give you insights is so insanely valuable, I’ve unexpectedly made a career out of data from it.

6

u/probably_pooping98 25d ago

People skills. If you don't like talking to people, start figuring that out. If you have an abrasive personality, work to smooth it out. Be as helpful and friendly as you can be. Learn how to learn people's names. You might not have opportunities to do all these things starting now, but prepare to do them. Don't be above a menial task because you are an engineer.

3

u/Walnut-Hero 24d ago

Hate the abrasive ass hats. Being negative and aggressive all the time isn’t increasing productivity Mitch. Makes me not want to consult you under any circumstance.

12

u/Realistic-Lake6369 26d ago

Not a specific skill recommendation, but having an entrepreneurial mindset can be very valuable. ChEs work across so many different fields and industries that being able to “sell” our skills and knowledge package to any employer is very valuable.

On the other part, without a degree, it’s virtually impossible to convince employers to take you on as anything other than entry level unskilled labor regardless of your true potential, so getting that piece of paper is equally as important as developing strong skills and knowledge.

1

u/Ok-Carpenter-7748 25d ago

Yes that piece of paper is very important but was just looking out what skillset would help in the future

5

u/supahappyb 25d ago

Written communication. Oral communication and presentation to senior leadership without data overload / sharing too many details. Being ok with “good” instead of “perfect”. Teaching others how to do something. Leadership. Resiliency. Being able to stay calm when crisis arises (crisis management). Anticipating problems before they occur and creating preventative measures

4

u/NoDimension5134 26d ago

A degree is some institutions guarantee you have proficiently developed certain skills. It also will give you the tools to properly develop new skills. Depending on where you end up you will need to acquire some additional skill set. One of the best skills I learned in college was how to teach myself effectively so I can learn new things while at work.

One skill I think chem e’s should learn more of is presentation skills and other soft skills. Like others said we need to market ourselves and work to businesses and people

3

u/Zestyclose_Habit2713 25d ago

You aren't going to learn energy balance or mass transfer with skill. You might be competent at doing actions but you aren't giving orders if you don't know what's going on.

1

u/Ok-Carpenter-7748 25d ago

I was just looking for what skills can complement my degree and give a heads up from others

3

u/Es-252 25d ago

Typically:

B.Eng + 2 YoE > M.Eng

High-school Diploma + 5 YoE < B.Eng

It all depends on the technicality of the degree and the "skills".

1

u/Ok-Carpenter-7748 25d ago

Didn’t quite get you

2

u/Es-252 25d ago

A bachelor's with 2 years experience will typically be more desirable than a master's with 0 years of experience. In the case, skills exceed degree.

But someone with only high school ed will typically be less desirable than someone with a degree even if they have equivalent years of experience. In this case, a degree is more desirable.

At the end of the day, a lot of it has to do with societal norms and perceptions.

1

u/DetailOk3452 25d ago

What about M.Eng (or MSc) + 2 YoE?

2

u/Es-252 24d ago

Well that's certainly gonna beat a B.Eng + 2 YoE.

But it might not beat a B.Eng + 4YoE.

My observation so far is that for engineering roles, most people with M.Eng get hired into entry level positions same as those with B.Eng, and preference will typically be given to higher YoE rather than education.

But for science/research roles, it's very different, and a higher degree is often required. But even then, it's really the research experience that's being sought after. With an M.Eng or B.Eng, you may not have research experience so those with MSc or PhDs will win.

2

u/Thomasiksde 25d ago

Depends where you are working. If you are in a German speaking area (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) your skills aren't worth a damn without a degree. You'll hit a ceiling faster than Usain bolt finishes 100m. Anywhere else in the world I go for skills. Skills in the lab, skills in data transformation, skills in Interpretation of data just as much as presenting your findings. Get to know people and their personal field of skills in chemistry. I guess it all depends on what you wanna achieve.

2

u/Jealous_Prune_3557 25d ago

idk become really good at pumping or creating large chemical processes

2

u/koreanmist 24d ago

PLC programming

1

u/KingSamosa Energy Consulting | Ex Big Pharma | MSc + BEng 23d ago edited 23d ago

I won’t lie, a good degree will give you a good launch pad. It’s night and day difference how grads from middle of the road universities get treated vs those from well known universities. But skill will definitely carry you through your career.

Honestly for chemical engineering, there is nothing much you can do besides getting into the top internships/co-ops unless you wanna take up coding or cad.

As someone mentioned below, dealing with blue collar workers is a skill in itself. Definitely comes in handy in interface roles like project engineering or commissioning/decommissioning.