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Chemical Engineers

$112,100 Median Wage (2023)

1,400 Projected job openings (2023-2033)

9.80% Projected growth (2023-2033)

Design chemical plant equipment and devise processes for manufacturing chemicals and products, such as gasoline, synthetic rubber, plastics, detergents, cement, paper, and pulp, by applying principles and technology of chemistry, physics, and engineering.

Experience Requirements Overview

Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed
A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.

Education, Training and Experience

Required Level of Education: Bachelor's Degree

Related Work Experience: N.A.

On-Site or In-Plant Training: Over 1 month, up to and including 3 months

On-the-Job Training: Anything beyond short demonstration, up to and including 1 month

Detailed Work Activities

Determine causes of operational problems or failures.
Evaluate characteristics of equipment or systems.
Monitor the productivity or efficiency of industrial operations.
Conduct validation tests of equipment or processes.
Research engineering aspects of biological or chemical processes.
Develop safety standards, policies, or procedures.
Determine operational methods.
Estimate operational costs.
Prepare operational reports.
Direct industrial production activities.
Research industrial processes or operations.
Develop technical methods or processes.
Design control systems for mechanical or other equipment.
Design industrial processing systems.

Work Values

Achievement

Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment. Corresponding needs are Ability Utilization and Achievement.

Working Conditions

Recognition

Relationships

Support

Independence

Tasks

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.
Prepare estimate of production costs and production progress reports for management.
Design measurement and control systems for chemical plants based on data collected in laboratory experiments and in pilot plant operations.
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.

Work Styles

Achievement/Effort

Job requires establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks.

Persistence

Initiative

Leadership

Cooperation

Concern for Others

Social Orientation

Self-Control

Stress Tolerance

Adaptability/Flexibility

Dependability

Attention to Detail

Integrity

Independence

Innovation

Analytical Thinking

Data Source: This page includes information from the O*NET 28.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. This page includes Employment Projections program, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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