r/ChemicalEngineering • u/Practical-Trash8893 • 20h ago

Career Advice ChemE or MatE. Which should I pick?

I managed to get accepted to transfer from Civ eng to ChemE and MatE. I don't know which one to pick. I hated CivE because I felt forced to do it as my dad is also a civil engineer. I enjoy chemistry and math and physics (except mechanics). I also do want to create my own startup and the idea of inventing my own materials sound pretty cool to me.

Also I'm Canadian studying at the University of Toronto

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u/AICHEngineer 18h ago

Materials would be matE, chemE only concerns itself with materials when some product may be corrosive, or you need certain strength steel, or welds might be concerning / expensive, etc

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u/Derrickmb 18h ago

MatE don’t do EPC

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u/mykel_0717 14h ago

As a simple rule of thumb, ChemE deals with fluids while MatE deals with solids. I'd say ChemE is the more versatile program, whereas the one major industry that is relevant for MatE is electronics/semiconductor manufacturing (which ChemEs can also enter)

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u/futurechemEng 4h ago

I am a ChemE and I am doing my second internship in Materials. To me it seems companies prefer ChemEs, you can do your focus in materials science at most schools or a minor.