Chem Eng

Types of Degrees Chem Eng Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many chemical engineering graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	1,617
Doctor’s Degree	1,072
Graduate Certificate	24

What Chem Eng Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, chem eng majors were asked to rate what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important in their occupations. These answers were weighted on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the most important.

Knowledge Areas for Chem Eng Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in chem eng should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

• Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

Skills for Chem Eng Majors

A major in chem eng prepares you for careers in which the following skill-sets are crucial:

• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

Abilities for Chem Eng Majors

Some of the most crucial abilities to master while a chem eng student include the following:

• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).

What Can You Do With a Chem Eng Major?

People with a chem eng degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Architectural and Engineering Managers	5.5%	$140,760
Biofuels/Biodiesel Technology and Product Development Managers	5.5%	$140,760
Chemical Engineers	7.3%	$104,910
Engineering Professors	14.7%	$101,720

Who Is Getting a Master’s Degree in Chem Eng?

This major tends to be male dominated. About 63% of recent graduates are men.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of chem eng majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	181
Black or African American	40
Hispanic or Latino	125
White	491
International Students	714
Other Races/Ethnicities	66

Geographic Diversity

Students from other countries are interested in Chem Eng, too. About 44.2% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Chem Eng

Some careers associated with chem eng require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to chem eng have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	0.4%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	1.4%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	2.3%
Bachelor’s Degree	53.5%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	3.9%
Master’s Degree	22.7%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	2.5%
Doctoral Degree	10.5%
Post-Doctoral Training	2.9%

Online Chem Eng Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	1	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	25	0
Bachelor’s Degree	9	2
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	140	4
Post-Master’s	2	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	111	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Majors Related to Chem Eng

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to chem eng.

Major	Number of Grads
Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering	273
Other Chemical Engineering	0

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By Mikulova under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.