r/ChemicalEngineering • u/WannabeChE • 3d ago

Career Advice What they don’t tell you in school

You will meet people that have worked at the plant you work at that started off as operators 15+ years ago that are miles and miles ahead of you in experience. They will know the process and have a good understanding of what is happening. They will know their system and won’t need to (but can) trace lines. A degree does not make you smarter but it gives you a deep understanding of the physics and science behind something explaining why. It will put you at about the same level as an operator who has worked there for 10-15 years in terms of pay, but learning never ever stops! In my opinion the experience is so much more valuable to the company, but experience and understanding why is gold!

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u/dirtgrub28 3d ago

you'll also meet people that have been there 15 years that have no fucking clue. the trick is being able to differentiate the two

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u/Cool_Election7606 3d ago

Those are funny enough important workers because they will almost never leave and you can rely on them for routine tasks 😅

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u/Cool_Election7606 3d ago

Obviously anything complicated you gotta talk to the right ones goes with everything