r/ChemicalEngineering • u/Ok-Carpenter-7748 • 27d 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

73% Upvoted

27 comments sorted by

View all comments

3

u/Es-252 27d 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 27d ago

Didn’t quite get you

2

u/Es-252 27d 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 26d ago

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

2

u/Es-252 26d 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.