Careers in chemical engineering
OJ - MEng Chemical Engineering with Fuel Technology: "I had no problems securing job-offers on completion of the course and the general feed-back from my interviews and assessment centres reinforced my belief that I have spent the last 4 years of my life in the right place."
Qualified Chemical Engineers, who are more highly paid than those in other engineering professions, can choose from a wide variety of career opportunities including plant management, research, commissioning, process safety, environmental protection, process control, consultancy or sales and marketing.
Our graduates find themselves in a wide range of companies across the world, with most working as chemical/process engineers.
Our recent graduates are currently working for Shell, BNFL, Kvaerner, Northern Foods, BOC Gases, Procter & Gamble and Rolls-Royce to name but a few, in countries as different as the UK, the Netherlands and Malaysia.
Read Joanne Stoves' story on how she joined Shell
How Beth Bostock joined Shell as well
And how Tim Abbott joined Foster Wheeler
Michelle Minty is an award-winning process engineer at AMEC
If gaining a further degree interests you, then again there are various opportunities. You may wish to do a MSc which will help you specialise in a particular field, or go on to do a PhD. Roughly 30% of our graduating students decide on this latter option.
The majority of students appreciate the usefulness of work placements. Working in industry enables companies to judge students' abilities more effectively than by interview. A company is more likely to offer a job after your degree if you have worked with them during a placement.
Dr Stephen Wilkinson, Industry Liaison Officer, is the main contact between companies and the Department. This means that when vacancies arise the information is quickly passed on to the student body via the Careers Boards and e-mail.
Whether you are looking for a job, a summer placement or a 12-month placement, there are always opportunities available.
Some useful links for you to find out more about a career in Chemical Engineering are:
Information from the IChemE specifically for schools
Institution of Chemical Engineers
Graduate Careers for Engineers
Graduan – careers information for Malaysian students
Tom: "Most importantly, life at Sheffield is second to none and at the end of your degree getting a job at the end will be no problems what so ever (well, I´ve got one and the money is nice)."