Chemical Engineers

Madison

What they do

Chemical engineers apply the principles of chemistry to solve problems involving the production or use of chemicals and other products. They design equipment and processes for large-scale chemical manufacturing, plan and test methods of manufacturing products and treating byproducts, and supervise production.

Examples of jobs a chemical engineers might do

Manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, design and construction, petrochemicals, food processing, specialty chemicals, biotechnology, and environmental health and safety industries.

Education required in order to qualify for a job in this field of engineering

A bachelor's degree in engineering is required for almost all entry-level chemical engineering jobs.

Average starting salary for an engineer in this particular field of engineering

The average starting salary for chemical engineers who have earned a Bachelor's degree is $64,902

Examples of places this type of engineer might work

Laboratory

Factory

Hospital

Examples of different companies that employ this type of engineer

Novartis

Pfizer

General Mills

DuPont

Dow Chemical Co.

Chevron

ConocoPhillips

Many state environmental health and safety agencies

Future predictions about the availability of jobs in this field of engineering in the future

Chemical engineers are expected to have an employment decline of 2 percent from 2008 to 2018. It is expected to continue to decline, although chemical companies will continue to employ chemical engineers to research and develop new chemicals.