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Career change - Civil / Environmental to Chemical-Biological / Process

Career change - Civil / Environmental to Chemical-Biological / Process

Career change - Civil / Environmental to Chemical-Biological / Process

(OP)
I'm a Civil Engineer with 7 years experience in municipal consulting (treatment plants, pump stations). I've been working as a Project Engineer but I am interested in getting a more technical, process related position. I am thinking of doing a graduate degree (North America) in Chemical and Biological Engineering. Although I am more interested in doing a MASc, my impression is that a MEng degree would be more useful since it would allow me to take more core courses to improve my knowledge for a career in a different field.

Ideally I would like to get a position working with bioprocess, specifically in bioenergy or waste treatment. I realize the bioenergy field is still pretty small at this point, and such a position may be difficult to get.

Which degree do you think would be more beneficial (MASc or MEng) for my situation?

My main concern is post graduate degree, how would I be perceived by potential employers? Although some of my experience as a Project Engineer carries over to a Process Engineer (P&IDs, PFDs, plant layouts, piping design, equipment selection), I expect that I would likely need to take more of a Junior position instead of Intermediate since I am starting in a different field.

Would my knowledge and experience post Masters be considered up to par with a Chemical Engineer with little or no experience? Would my lack of a BASc in Chemical Engineering be considered too much of a gap in knowledge?

Thanks for reading, any insight would be appreciated.

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