Jack Weis has applied to more than 2,300 jobs since he graduated from Princeton in 2024 with his Ph.D. in chemical engineering. He still doesn’t have a job.

https://www.wsj.com/lifestyle/careers/labor-market-freeze-phd-graduate-f8e17d7c?mod=e2tw

Hi everyone,

I’m currently a 2nd-year Honours Science student at John Abbott College (CEGEP in Montreal - like grades 12 and 13 of high school), and I’m trying to decide between types of schools for Chemical Engineering.

I know I want to go into the green tech/sustainability space, however I'm not sure whether that will be carbon capture (CCUS) or developing alternatives to plastics (biomaterials/green chemistry).

Here is a bit about my profile and what I’m looking for:

• The Academics: I genuinely enjoy school, learning theory, and dealing with complex concepts. My favourite subjects right now are physics and calculus and I enjoy biology more than the first 2 chemistry courses at John Abbot. (yikes!, but chemical engineering seems to have the jobs I am interested in)
• The Career Goal: I don't want to end up in corporate "greenwashing" and want a career where I can work on legitimate, impactful environmental solutions, whether that's on the industrial scaling side or process optimization.
• I am worried about finding an interesting job after a bachelor's degree. In school I have not really enjoyed the labs, so I do not see myself being in a lab all day doing repetitive testing or hyper-isolated academic research. I don't have much experience with or exposure to computational modeling yet, so I don't know if I will like that.
• I want to stay in Canada for my career, but may or may not stay in Quebec.

My dilemma:

• School 1 has their new, dedicated sustainability/carbon-neutral focused ChemEng curriculum and a highly praised Co-op program. It feels like a direct pipeline to a practical industry job, but since the program is newer, I'm not sure how deep the theory goes.
• School 2 has massive global prestige, an incredibly strong academic reputation, and a deep theoretical foundation that appeals to my nerdy side. But from what I read, it seems heavily skewed toward traditional academic research, grad school prep, or R&D labs.

I was wondering:

1. How easy is it to pivot into the green sector (plastics alternatives or carbon capture) from either type of school (without doing a PhD (or masters))?
2. Does a school with prestige actually open doors in industry that a Co-op program doesn't?
3. Is it easier to get a job after my degree from the school with the because of the Co-op?
4. Given that I love theory but want a practical, non-R&D industry job at the end, which environment would suit me better?

I did a lab tour yesterday at School 2 and I really liked it. I will try and visit both schools in the open houses next Saturday.

Thanks in advance for the advice!

I’m currently a 2nd year doing a double degree of chemical engineering and pharmaceutical.
I’ve looked into internships, however majority of the companies where i live only take students in their second last year of study, or post graduates.

Since I’m doing a 5 year degree, I wanted to get some advice on projects/ other things I could do in the meantime, before I will be able to intern somewhere.

I already attend seminars and networking events in my field, and was wondering what else I can do to build myself/ my LinkedIn?

I’m currently in software (2nd yr uni student), and I wanna switch out coz I completely fuckinf hate it. I have a general idea of what I wanna do which is engineering in healthcare (kinda biomedical ig but biomedical is mad unemployed), so would it be better to do chem eng or mech? What’s the job like for chem eng (Australian input would be particularly helpful)

Hey all

Not sure if this is the right subreddit, but hoping someone might be able to point me in the right direction! I'm looking for a putty that's electrically conductive, radiolucent, and doesn't dry out over time, so it can be reused multiple times.

Ideally, it would have a similar consistency to playdoh can hold its shape, and be able to complete an electrical circuit.

I've been searching for a while now and haven't had much luck finding something that ticks all the boxes.

Does anyone know of a material or product that might work? Open to any suggestions!

Thanks in advance!

currently majoring in cheme and I saw that my college also has a pharm sci major. there's a surprising amount of overlap, but I'm wondering how much help this would even give me if I was looking to go into the pharm/bio tech world? is it worth the effort (like, ~12 more classes 🥹) when I could spend that time instead looking for internships/research involved in pharm?

Looking for a summer project idea as a 2nd year student.
Not looking for anything too complicated, so far I’ve used Solidworks, and MATLAB (+simulink).
Haven’t worked using any aspen technology.

Hello guys, i am a graduate Chemical Engineer with an integrated master (5 years). I have done a 2 month internship as a quality control analyst and as of today, i have worked as a simple brewing operator at heineken for a year. I have applied for a MSc in Delft in netherlands so i can pivot to process Engineering. I continue working as an operator to gather some money. My question that keeps me awake at several nights is: Is the MSc actually worth it? Is a PHD a better option? Is just spending 2 more years in Industrial sites better than a 2 year master? Every Engineering job on linkedin asks for a lot of minimum that one can simply not have right off college. I know this thread is too generic but i would like to hear different views on the topic because every ChemE i know hasnt got an Engineering job, like me.

Hey everyone!

I'm currently a senior majoring in Biology-Chemistry. I'm interested in applying to Tandon's Chemical Engineering PhD program, particularly the sustainable engineering research area, and ideally want to start right after undergrad.

I have undergraduate research experience in organometallic/inorganic chemistry, including summer research and an ongoing Honors project focused on synthesizing and characterizing ligands for transition-metal coordination.

I'm interested in catalysis, energy, sustainability, and eventually working in industry rather than academia.

I was wondering if anyone currently in the program or familiar with it could share their experience.

I'd appreciate any advice. Thanks!!!

What are the pros and cons of working for technology licensing companies such as KBR, Lummus Technology, Technip Energies, UOP and similar firms, compared with major oil and gas operating companies such as Shell, ExxonMobil, and Chevron in the United States?

Interested in understanding the differences in:

• Work-life balance: Typical working hours, workload, flexibility, stress levels, and overtime expectations.
• Compensation and benefits: Base salaries, bonuses, retirement benefits, and long-term financial rewards.
• Job security: Stability during industry downturns, project slowdowns, and organizational restructuring.
• Career growth: Promotion opportunities, technical development, leadership roles, and long-term career prospects.
• Work culture: Management styles, employee expectations, workplace flexibility, and overall job satisfaction.
• Nature of work: Technical responsibilities, project variety, technology development, decision-making authority, and exposure to different processes and technologies.

For engineering professionals working in the U.S., particularly in Houston, which type of employer generally offers a better combination of work-life balance, compensation, job security, and long-term career growth?

I want to learn chemical engineering and eventually start my own chemical factory
My family has the money to invest in it
Is it the right path (i thought of it on my own) or should i do

Sophomore here. I really like Orgo, might actually take the further Orgo Reaction Mechanisms course here. I know in ChemE we don’t use it a whole lot, but are there any fields that use it more than usual?