Chemical Engineer

Overview and Key Facts

What Do They Do?

A chemical engineer could...

Overview Listen to this section

Chemical engineers solve the problems that affect our everyday lives by applying the principles of chemistry. If you enjoy working in a chemistry laboratory and are interested in developing useful products for people, then a career as a chemical engineer might be in your future.

Do You Have the Skills and Characteristics of a Chemical Engineer?

1. Science: ? Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
2. Complex Problem Solving: ? Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
3. Critical Thinking: ? Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
4. Judgment and Decision Making: ? Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
5. Systems Analysis: ? Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.

6. Reading Comprehension: ? Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
7. Mathematics: ? Using mathematics to solve problems.
8. Systems Evaluation: ? Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
9. Active Learning: ? Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
10. Operations Analysis: ? Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.

Core Tasks

Think about if you'd like the typical tasks a Chemical Engineer might do:

• Monitor and analyze data from processes and experiments.
• Develop safety procedures to be employed by workers operating equipment or working in close proximity to ongoing chemical reactions.
• Develop processes to separate components of liquids or gases or generate electrical currents, using controlled chemical processes.
• Troubleshoot problems with chemical manufacturing processes.
• Evaluate chemical equipment and processes to identify ways to optimize performance or to ensure compliance with safety and environmental regulations.
• Conduct research to develop new and improved chemical manufacturing processes.
• Perform laboratory studies of steps in manufacture of new products and test proposed processes in small-scale operation, such as a pilot plant.
• Design measurement and control systems for chemical plants based on data collected in laboratory experiments and in pilot plant operations.
• Prepare estimate of production costs and production progress reports for management.
• Determine most effective arrangement of operations such as mixing, crushing, heat transfer, distillation, and drying.
• Direct activities of workers who operate or are engaged in constructing and improving absorption, evaporation, or electromagnetic equipment.
• Perform tests and monitor performance of processes throughout stages of production to determine degree of control over variables such as temperature, density, specific gravity, and pressure.
• Design and plan layout of equipment.