Hey everybody, I'm a 2nd year ChemE in the US and I've honestly been stumped for a the last few months on my major. I landed a "process engineering" internship over the summer that let me talk to real process engineers while not doing process engineering myself. During that internship I realized that an important part of ChemE to me isn't actually true. I chose ChemE for the flexibility, pay, and the intriguing content of it and all of that is still true but I ultimately fell for the trap that ChemE had more of a focus on chemistry. The company I was working at had very little "chemical processes" in it, with extrusion/QC/dying departments being the closest thing in the entire plant while every single new hire there were ChemE grads. The fact that all the recent hires were ChemE really stung, since this is not what I envisioned a ChemE job to be at all with all 6 recent hires being ChemE. The conversation I had with the oldest ChemE engineer there was also a good truth nuke I needed where they said that most ChemE grads don't necessarily get roles that actually involve chemistry topics.
I understand that not all ChemE roles are like that and can/will often involve dealing with chemistry topics but to my knowledge ChemE is mostly optimizing and perfecting the production of products. The only other role that seems interesting in theory that I know of is being a research engineer/researcher, but I'm not as well versed in that area. Ultimately, right now though I'm realizing that ChemE may not be it...and that a Chem degree may fit better.
I always wanted to be someone who doesn't necessarily optimize processes but invents them or try to make a new spin on it specifically using Chemistry. I love Chemistry and it's the main reason I wanted to pursue higher education to have a deeper understanding of it. AP Chem and being able to then TA in that class the following year is what I chock it up to be. Even in college it hasn't gone away, with Orgo I and II being hands down my favorite classes thus far. I love that Chemistry (along with Physics) can describe why our world acts the way it does and whenever my Orgo professors tie it in with real scenarios it's always so interesting. It makes me sad whenever I would talk to other ChemE students and they're main goal with the chem classes is just getting through the courses. I really enjoy just learning to deepen your understanding of a topic and I think that's why Orgo has been so fun and interesting to me.
Besides the ChemE vs. Chem discrepancy, my only other fault with ChemE is the time it takes. I really want to try and get deep into research, but I tried doing that last semester and my grades tanked and I haven't picked it up since. The entire process of research entices me so much and I feel like the ChemE course load is stopping me from trying research to the fullest. I still enjoy ChemE coursework though and find the ChemE classes I've taken so far pretty interesting (Mass/Energy Balance, Thermo, and Fluids).
Really the only thing stopping me from switching is the supposed dog shitness of Chem degrees post college and the restrictions in location I have on my self.
From what I understand B.S. Chem degrees are dying over there and going PhD is the only way to truly unlock that degree. Personally, I'm not opposed to go for a PhD but even then it seems PhD Chemists are struggling. The more important one for me is location though. Currently, my post-grad goal is to stay in state of South Carolina and I know that's going to severely hinder my future to do what I want. This is mainly for family and personal reasons but I know setting myself for the best possible pathway is the best I can do now, and let's just say from what I've seen online, ChemE can do that better while still incorporating chemistry.
To tie it all together, I mainly wanted to see what the sub thinks of this scenario. It's been stumping me for a while and is really limiting my motivation and passion right now in my classes. I really don't want to spend a whole college career working towards something that I believe I won't actually enjoy. I wanted to see more opinions from people who have graduated and are in the field now. I don't really have any family connections to engineering, so any advice would be greatly appreciated!
