Chemical Engineering Degrees – A Process Of Development

What degree affords you the opportunity to travel across the globe pushing frontiers of innovation and saving the planet?

Far from its staid image of freezing labs and oil pipes a degree in chemical engineering can take you into a multitude of sectors, from developing and producing medicines to enhancing the performance of a jet engine, from manufacturing ice lollies to improving the texture of your favourite chocolate bar! Chemical engineering offers a solid professional basis with the opportunity to diversify into a multitude of commercial and industrial sectors, and the opportunities are growing...

The chemical engineering profession is traditionally viewed as the domain of the stalwart petrochemical, oil and gas and pharmaceutical industries, but these days chemical engineering superheroes can be found in such diverse fields as food technology, water, mining and environmental protection. With the rise in media focus on processed foods, the lack of clean drinking water in poor areas and the need for more environmentally friendly fuels, chemical engineers developing solutions to these problems have been revered as the harbingers of change. The expansion of these industries has also ensured a growth in the need for chemical engineers worldwide.

Chemical engineers work out the best way to produce, extract, mix, separate and manipulate and that is why they can be found in such a diverse selection of industries. They design the best way or 'process' by which a raw material is transformed into a product, whether that product is cheese, the fuel in a car engine or paracetamol. But the skills involved don't limit the chemical engineer to manufacturing. Chemical engineers are involved in the current development of nanotechnology, alternatives to fossil fuels and refrigerants that don't damage the ozone layer.

Chemical and Process engineering degrees in the UK are formulated to ensure that their graduates are fully equipped for industry, with all the skills they will need, from design, problem solving, numeracy and analysis skills, to 'transferable skills', such as communication and teamwork. A chemical engineering degree will enhance your employability whatever your choice of industry or profession, that's why you will also find chemical engineering graduates in accounting, marketing and teaching.

You may not, however, want to stray far from the chemical engineering career path as these professionals are amongst the highest paid in the engineering field! In the most recent IChemE (the Institution of Chemical Engineers) salary survey the average UK graduate wage was £24,988, rising to £31,564 between the ages of 25 and 29, with some engineers earning up to £136,000 later on!

The substantial starting salary can be partially attributed to the significant amount of responsibility given to newly employed graduates. Fresh graduates often move swiftly up the corporate ladder reaching positions of senior management while still comparatively young.

In order to ensure that these chemical engineers are taking their responsibility seriously and keeping themselves and the public safe, chemical engineers are independently assessed by the external body governing the ethics of the profession, IChemE. 'Chartered Chemical Engineer' status is the internationally recognised, professional benchmark that demonstrates to peers, prospective employers and family that you are serious about chemical engineering and the related responsibilities. In fact being a Chartered Chemical Engineer is so well respected it is the badge of professional competence. And while your experience may be hard to translate, becoming chartered is a universal qualification that will be recognised wherever you are in the world. Due to the diversity of chemical engineering jobs and the specialisation of many professionals chemical engineering could take you all over the world, from the oil fields of Saudi Arabia, to the pharmaceutical companies in the Republic of Ireland.

In order to secure your place as one of these chemical engineering elite it is important to choose the right undergraduate degree course. Over 5500 students studied chemical and process engineering in the UK last year. Around 35% of these students were from outside the UK; Europe, Malaysia, China and Singapore, and these figures are rising every year.

An undergraduate chemical engineering degree at one of the 22 universities in the UK that currently run them can take the form of either a Bachelor of Engineering (BEng Hons) or a Master of Engineering (MEng Hons). To help you discern which ones are the best look out for their accreditation status. IChemE accredits degrees at 20 UK universities, checking that the quality of the course, teaching and resources matches our strict requirements. An IChemE accredited degree ensures you get the best opportunity of an excellent degree and its independent standard demonstrates the quality of your degree wherever you are in the world.

Visit our website at www.icheme.org or contact memberdev@icheme.org.uk for information on which courses we accredit and how best to embark on your chemical engineering degree.

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