Chemical Engineers

Nature of the Work
Employment
Job Outlook

(D.O.T. 008.061)

• Nature of the Work

  Chemical engineers apply the principles of chemistry and engineering to solve problems involving the production or use of chemicals. They design equipment and develop processes for large scale chemical manufacturing, plan and test methods of manufacturing the products and treating the by-products, and supervise production. Chemical engineers also work in industries other than chemical manufacturing such as electronics or photographic equipment. Because the knowledge and duties of chemical engineers cut across many fields, they apply principles of chemistry, physics, mathematics, and mechanical and electrical engineering in their work. They frequently specialize in a particular operation such as oxidation or polymerization. Others specialize in a particular area such as pollution control or the production of specific products such as automotive plastics or chlorine bleach. Chemical engineers are increasingly using computer technology to optimize all phases of production, and therefore need to understand how to apply computer skills to process analysis, computer control systems, and statistical quality control.

• Employment

  Chemical engineers held over 49,000 jobs in 1996. Manufacturing industries employed two-thirds of all employees, primarily in the chemical, petroleum refining, paper, and related industries. Most of the rest worked for engineering services, research and testing services, or consulting firms that design chemical plants. Still others worked on a contract basis, for government agencies or as independent consultants.

• Job Outlook

  Although employment in the chemical manufacturing industry is projected to grow slowly through 2006, employment of chemical engineers should increase about as fast as the average for all occupations as chemical companies research and develop new chemicals and more efficient processes to increase output of existing chemicals. Much of the projected growth in employment, however, will be in nonmanufacturing industries, especially service industries. Chemical engineering graduates may face competition for jobs as the number of openings is projected to be lower than the number of graduates. Areas relating to the production of specialty chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and plastics materials may provide better opportunities than other portions of the chemical industry.
  
  
  (See introductory part of this section for information on training requirements, earnings, and sources of additional information.)
  
  
  

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