What skills should a chemical or process engineer have?
What skills should a chemical or process engineer have?
(OP)
To become employable?
Other than the Ch E degree.....anything specifically like AutoCad, knowing some programming languages, Six Sigma, etc? I feel as if my degree taught me a lot about theory but few specific skills
Other than the Ch E degree.....anything specifically like AutoCad, knowing some programming languages, Six Sigma, etc? I feel as if my degree taught me a lot about theory but few specific skills





RE: What skills should a chemical or process engineer have?
Chris
SolidWorks 09, CATIA V5
ctopher's home
SolidWorks Legion
RE: What skills should a chemical or process engineer have?
Lots of things can be plusses, but, as a new graduate, not that many MEs have CNC experience, either. Nor do EEs PCB fabrication experience.
The other side of the coin is that I made PCBs in junior high, but have not come close to doing anything related since my first 2 jobs after college, and the last of them was over 22 yrs ago.
The main skills you should cultivate are being flexible and quick on your feet. CAD and analysis programs come and go. Understanding the BIG picture may get you farther.
TTFN
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RE: What skills should a chemical or process engineer have?
You are correct in feeling that your degree taught you nothing. As IRstuff says, your degree has taught you how to learn. When you start you will be lucky if you know anything, but you will quickly become an expert in one area, and then the next.
I guess the skills that are most handy to everyone are the transferable skills - document writing, presentation, communication, managing your manager etc.
RE: What skills should a chemical or process engineer have?
Tobalcane
"If you avoid failure, you also avoid success."
RE: What skills should a chemical or process engineer have?
Suppose you are called upon to do a calculation. Let's say it is a simple one involving pressure drop in a pipe from A to B so you can fill in some data on a Line List. You do the calculation and end up with something like 25 psi; somewhere on the order of 50 ft of head (fluid somewhat less dense than water, SG=0.88). You read the P&ID stick file and see the equipment descriptor for the centrifugal pump:
200 USGPM @ 40 ft dH, Eff.=0.7, Motor 2.0 bhp 480/3/60, SF=1.15.
Not only do you fill in the data on the Line List, but you mark up the stick file and send a polite email to the Mechanical Engineer and the Electrical Engineer suggesting that a 3.0 bhp motor should be considered.
In other words, there is no question that your university degree has given you the technical skill to perform the calculation correctly. Now you are making the leap of saying, "OK, if that is true, then this must happen and these people need to be aware of ____ ."
I think you will find that work is just a transition from "getting the answer" to "applying the answer". What will set you apart is understanding how things that you calculate affect others and drawing their attention to its significance in a timely manner.
Regards,
SNORGY.
RE: What skills should a chemical or process engineer have?
My apologies. I never made it as a good process engineer.
Regards,
SNORGY.
RE: What skills should a chemical or process engineer have?
I have been in consulting for 3 years now, and my experience is that every employer is looking for people with plant experience. They will hire people that have only worked consulting but only as a last resort.
What skills do you need to be successful? The most important one...listening. It is the best way to learn from more experienced people and to make others feel like you are intelligent.
CAD, Six Sigma, etc., are too specific to certain workplaces. I suggest that you, if you are still in school, get your GPA as high as humanly possible. It makes a huge difference. If you are finished with school start networking. That is how most jobs are filled, and therefore, it is an invaluable skill.
The rest you pick up with time and experience.
RE: What skills should a chemical or process engineer have?