What advice can you give to a chemical engineering student?

Answer 1

The most important advice I gave to students is the simplest one: show up to class. You'd be surprised how many undergrads would come to class maybe once a week, and then come into my office screaming for help the day before a test because they didn't understand anything. You're paying for it, so why not get what you're paying for? Attendance matters, even if it's not recorded.

Second on the list is make sure to get internships during the summer. Maybe they won't pay as well as other jobs (although they usually do), but the experience will teach you at least as much as a year in the classroom, and will count for more than any other factor when hunting for that first job. In theory there is no difference between theory and practice, but in practice there is. Internships will help show you what real world engineering is all about, and how it differs from the classroom. And EVERY interview I've ever had focused on experience. If you don't have any outside the classroom you'll be at a disadvantage.

Third on the list are the three classes you should devote all available energy to: process engineering (also called industrial stoichiometry, mass balances), unit operations, and heat/mass transfer. If you know how to apply the first law, what operations are required, and what is expected, then everything else is details. Process engineering is usually taken first year, unit ops is a junior level course, and transfer is for seniors. Those three define chemical engineers, and understanding them well is almost mandatory to become a good ChE.

Fourth is remembering that all the coursework does is lay a foundation for your real learning, which happens after you graduate. College does not make you a chemical engineer, you need to get out and get your hands dirty for that. Your classes will teach you the basics of what you need to know and the proper problem solving techniques you'll need to apply. But you'll learn more your first year on the job than in all of college combined.

Finally the last piece of advice I can give is to always remember that there is more than one solution to every problem. Your solution might not agree with everyone else's, but don't be afraid to develop your own style. And don't discount anyone else's simply because they disagree with you.

Answer 2

Study

Answer 3

(1) Don't try to estimate things beyond 2nd decimal places.
(2) Try to get into process design and engineering profession in some big E&C company at the beginning of your working career. Work there for at least 5 years
(3) The very first course you do in CHE usually Process Calculations, is the most important course.
More later if you are interested.
(4) Try to minimise your assumptions about everything in life including ChE.

Answer 4

Don't spend time thinking of how you will apply all the things you're learning. The most valuable part of Engineering school is learning how to solve problems. The concepts and the understanding will be far more valuable than where they will be applied.

Answer 5

Study hard and in a group... I found that by doing so, I kept myself sane. My studies this past semester could have easily been overwhelming, but with my study group, I was able to complete all my work and learn a few things I had trouble with on my own. And even though it can be tough, stick with it!

Answer 6

i'm a BS ChE '03, and my journey became that maximum places particularly basically seem lots at scholars who've finished greater suitable than possibly 2, surely 3 + years of their degree. i might say your "tutorial age" is the common proscribing ingredient -- yet are not getting discouraged interior the least, as a results of fact it will in all possibility a minimum of start to get greater advantageous by ability of next might. as quickly as you start up off entering into lots greater of the educational like separations, reactor layout, controls, and regular layout, then you relatively might stumble on a distinctive subject in the adventure that your GPA's fairly good and you possibly have some neat campus activities on your resume. surely a good call on starting to be a member of your AIChE team. . . that may not be able to particularly harm you activity-clever, relatively in case you get entangled in many the activities, and it is likewise superb basically for networking as you're making your way via lots of the rougher coursework. :) Is your financial ruin in contact in any of the greater contemporary ChE-based student layout communities that have been getting into life?

Answer 7

In addition to your engineering courses, you need to focus on communication. Make sure you can communicate effectively; written and oral methods. Absolutely critical to become a successful engineer. Also don't forget licensure once you graduate. Document what you do and who you work for (e.g. what P.E.s you work for). Take the FE and then later get your PE.

Answer 8

Get out of chemical engineering. In fact, get out of engineering all together. You want to do that crap for the next 35 years? What are you thinking? Do you have something against enjoying your job? Engineering is nothing more than details, criticism and deadlines. Have fun!

Answer 9

Give up! chemistry is too hard (sorry I'm a physicist and I'm chemically retarded)! Study study study. It will be worth it.

Answer 10

Also study computers as they can give u many short cuts.