I have a friend who's been working as a senior Project Control Specialist for this O&G company but has no education (7yrs experience) making 6 figures and just made me think that there's people out there with a Engineering degree that can't even get a job. I feel like it's a slap in the face for those that do get a Engineering degree. How far up the ladder can just experience take someone like my friend or would they eventually need to go back and get there education?

Hi all, I’m having a career switch dilemma right now. For context, I’m a process design engineer for offshore and onshore facilities. Been in this role for 6 years now. I just don’t see myself working in the technical field in the long run. Recently got an opportunity to be a business development analyst for a sustainability tech company. I’m very comfortable at my current company and I’m scared I’m throwing away this stability for the unknown.

Hi, i’m currently 4th year Chemical Engineering student and very curious about drug development field. I want to work with polymers, drug carrying systems, to make tests etc. And my time table is very strict I leave home at 6:45 and come back at 18:00, so I have to choose what to read wisely, I have to be sure that, yk this is the one. Ofc im thinking of continuing with Masters degree as well, but I want to learn so I can apply for internships beforehand to have the experience in advance. So I’d be glad if you share the books or courses that you are sure will be useful.

When I first started learning #Crystallography, I often found myself staring at static 2D diagrams trying to mentally convert them into 3D structures. It was slow, sometimes frustrating, and often left me with only a partial understanding of how the atoms were arranged.

Although 3D visualisation tools for crystal structures have existed for years, using #Claude Opus 4.1 by Anthropic was a very different experience. Within seconds, I could generate and interact with fairly accurate 3D models not just for Sb₂Se₃ but for a wide range of materials. The ability to rotate zoom, isolate layers and highlight bonding patterns made the structure far easier to understand. While there may be minor errors or slight deviations from exact experimental data, the models are accurate enough to make concepts click almost immediately.

What stood out to me most was how versatile this could be for #Academia. A #MaterialsScience student could explore semiconductors, a #Biology student could study proteins and an #Engineering student could look at composites, all with the same tool. For teaching and self learning it transforms abstract data into something visual interactive and intuitive. Instead of spending hours piecing together information from different sources, you can gain a clear overall picture in minutes.

This is not about replacing deep study but about removing the early barriers that make complex topics intimidating. For me, it turned crystallography from something I had to decode into something I could explore and that in itself changes the way you learn.

You can check out this interactive model through this link:

https://claude.ai/public/artifacts/1bc48bdf-3757-45cc-8216-839b6f3e0ff6

Cheers 🥂

I've toured a few plants recently, and I'm a little concerned. Outside of the big auto or semi-conductor companies, it feels like a lot of factories are stuck in the past. We're talking tons of manual work, very little adaptation of lean manufacturing, and some people are literally writing down numbers on a blank sheet of paper to track their KPIs

It just makes me wonder about the new folks just starting out. If you don't land a job at one of the big, automated companies, are you already falling behind? It feels like you could be missing out on key skills compared to your friends working in high-tech plants.

And that brings me to a bigger question: with China cranking out EVs and building these massive, modern factories, would any of you seriously consider moving there for a few years just to get that kind of experience?

Curious to hear what you all think.

Hi everyone, similar situations like many other chemical engineers. I'm struggling to land an entry level process/manufacturing/production engineer job in the U.S so I'm very grateful to hear any advice you guys have for me.

I have about 2 yrs of experience in pharma industry as an engineer and technician. I lost my job in May 2025. Hoping to land into pharma/biotech industry around CA area but I'm open to other places as well. I'm learning Green Belt Six Sigma to boost my knowledge right now. If you know any company is hiring or if you're open to referral, pls drop a comment and I'll reach out! Thank you so much and good luck to my fellow job seekers.

Is a temperature gradient necessary for convective heat transfer (natural or forced) and a concentration gradient necessary for mass convection?

Does anybody know where they are hiring recent grads from Chem E? Preferably in the US

Hi everyone,

I’m currently applying for industrial internships and I’d really appreciate some feedback on my CV. My goal is to make it as strong as possible for industrial/industry-focused applications, and I’d love to know if it communicates my skills and experience effectively.

If you have a moment, could you let me know:

• Does it look suitable for industrial internship applications?
• Are there any sections/points that could be improved, added, or removed?
• Any formatting or clarity issues that stand out?
• Any further advice on industries that I might have a potential to apply?

I’m open to all corrections, suggestions, and constructive criticism. Thanks in advance for your help!

I have 3 years of experience in p&p at the same mill in mainly operations. The nice thing is that I've been in the chemical and power departments for most of it. The mill is in danger of closing in the near future however.

What's the best way to transition out of p&p if im not afraid of moving wherever?

Direct job applying wherever? Engineering staffing agencies? Job boards?

My entire network is also in p&p so I am not sure if that's an option either? Sorry about the open ended question I haven't had to look for a job since college.

Took the advice I got from my last post and attempted to improve upon my document. I attempted to make things more concise and fixed the format to help with that. I also made the skill section more noticeable, and I added a relevant coursework section. In the SC there is a summary section right above the cutoff, but I will be updating that depending on what job I apply to. There might be some small errors that I still need to look through but would like some general opinions and if it improved on the last one I posted.

I also tried looking for the thread to properly put this message into, but I was unable to find it. If anyone can let be know if that is still active or even where to find it that be great. Thank you!

Basically, I want to calculate the concentration distribution within a plug flow reactor (PFR). I know there’s a simplified formula on Wikipedia, but I tried to develop my own approach and am curious if it would work.

A PFR can essentially be imagined as an extremely long cascade of continuous stirred-tank reactors (CSTRs) with infinitesimally small volumes, right? Each "plug" would have a constant concentration.

For a first-order reaction in a CSTR, the concentration of the reactant is given by: C(t) = C(0) · exp(-k · t), where t is the average residence time in the reactor, defined as the ratio of volume to volumetric flow rate.

My approach would be to calculate the average residence time for a very small length (e.g., 1 millimeter), plug it into the formula, and—since the constant concentration at the outlet of one CSTR becomes the inlet concentration for the next—describe the reactant concentration at any given length as: C(t) = C(0) · exp(-k · n · t) with n being the given length . This assumes a constant volumetric flow rate and isothermal conditions.

Question: If I plot this, would I get a reasonably accurate result?

is it easy to get into chemical engineering and do you guys do a lot of studying in univeristy?

Hello all, I was recently on a trip to Alaska and I loved it there. I know there’s a bit of O&G up there especially on the north slope and was wondering if anyone could share their experience working in Alaska. As well, I heard that some places might do 6 weeks on and 6 weeks off type thing and was curious how difficult that is. Also was wondering how available opportunities there might be, is the job major under/over saturated at all? Anything and everything you can say about working there I’d be interested in hearing!

Howdy people, long story short I'm planning to go back to school for my master's. I've got a bachelor's in chemE and as part of that I did polymers and soft materials research. Now I work at a small EPC in a project/process engineering role mainly working on petrochemical and energy projects.

For grad school I'm going back and forth between sticking with polymers or going to semiconductor/electronic materials. And this is all US-based, but I am not a citizen so that is another factor.

Polymers

• Familiar and interesting, and my lab work/experience will lend to a better application
• Using previous work experiences this will land me with a solid resumé for working in the battery industry
• I like working on multidisciplinary problems so with knowledge of materials, petrochemicals, and previous mechanical/prototyping experience I have a good tool set for finding a job that itches that spot.

Semiconductor/electronic materials

• Job security and higher pay (think Samsung, Applied Materials, etc.)
• Still a cool and interesting field I can dig my teeth into
• Slightly more limited as to where I can work in the US if I stick to manufacturing facilities, but if it is with a large company that gives me scope to move around the world

So my questions are

1. Do these sound reasonable or am I missing something?
2. Any specific school recommendations or parts of the country where I should focus for better industry connections?
3. Anything I should focus on in terms of my current job before jumping off to grad school?

Hey!

I work in the gulf coast and started off as a production engineer for a major petrochemical company. I hated the role so much, and after discussing with my manager they moved me to controls. So far I love it! The pace is much better I actually enjoy what I’m learning and it keeps me thinking.

I was having lunch with a manager at my company and she’s kind of a mentor to me. She said that she was glad I liked what I was doing but that to move up in the company they rlly need to see solid production/ ops experience. I mean I don’t care to be a manager now but does this mean if I stay in controls the chances of being a team leader is pretty much nothing?

Hi everyone, I'm currentrly at the third year in ChemE. I would like to start working part-time in the industry(since I now there are these type of contracts available) to start making some experience. Do you think it's a valid option or should i continue just studying and focusing on my carrer later on. Thanks in advance

I am currently in my penultimate year at uni studying chemical engineering in the UK with the hopes of getting a placement year in America/Canada. How likely is to achieve this move from the UK to NA and which companies allow sponsorships to achieve this?

Anyone here work for bridgestone? They are offering co ops for next year, what is the pay rate and also do they provide housing or a stipend? How is working for the company? (option to choose between Nashville HQ or Dsm plant)

the trial version only allows usage of two equipments and i need more for my assignment.

if anyone has the license or the full ver. software please dm me or send in the comments 🙏🏻

i would really appreciate it

A mixture of dry flue gas and acetone at a pressure of 750 mm of Hg and temperature of 30 °C at a dew point 25 °C is kept in a vessel. It is proposed to condense to 90% of the acetone in the cooling of mixture of 5 °C and compressed. Calculate the necessary pressure in psi. Data's given: Vapor pressure of acetone at 25 °C = 229.2 mm of Hg and Vapor pressure of acetone at 5 °C = 89.1 mm of Hg.

I'm an ME undergrad with a strong strategic focus in additive manufacturing. Anyone here doing that sort of thing? What are your experiences?

Any reading recommendations?

Thanks so much

Joe

It’s been less than a year since I started work in a refinery. Ngl it’s been pretty tough and I’ve found it more challenging than school. I feel like I have so much work and stress to get things done and often have to make decisions that I honestly don’t feel I should be making considering my inexperience. Idk if it’s an industry specific thing but I also spend 12 hours a day regularly at work and feel like it takes me longer to get things done. I was wondering what yall thought?

anybody have the pdf or paperback copy of the current Chemical FE practice exam they can share?