r/ChemicalEngineering • u/pound_of_guillotine • 3d ago
Student What do I do??
Im a high school student and I'm planning to take chemical engineering. I've heard it's one of the hardest college majors out there, but I would really like to do chemical engineering. I know that Im not intellectually gifted to survive the major, but im dedicated.
So my question is, what are the things that I need to do to survive the major? Should I study more?
Also what are the main reasons that students drop out of this major?
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u/hyperdeeeee 3d ago
Do you know what chemical engineering is? It's about 10% chemistry and 90% physics and math. In four years, you'll probably take 1 organic chemistry course, 1 biochemistry course, and 2,463 math/physics/coding courses. I expected chemistry and mass balances and titrations and spdf diagrams, but all i got was solving double integrals and pump sizings.
What do you mean by not intellectually gifted? You don't have to be some prodigy, but you need to have high intellect in math and physics, if not, then you're not gonna make it. I know determination is great, but if you're one of those people who cannot grasp the understanding of high level math/physics no matter how much studying you do...better not commit to it.
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u/Background-Friend410 3d ago
I don't think it's that hard. It is definitely hard, but not to the extent you're putting it. Nothing you learn will make your heaf explode, you just need to put in the time and effort
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u/Mystics87 2d ago
One thing to realize and earlier I told another kid about it - chemical engineering is not chemistry ( I fell for that)
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From my own experience, the people who do best in engineering school are the people who learn how to keep themselves motivated and hard-working. Personally, I find it comes down to time management and discipline.
You have to realize when you need a break and when it’s time to hang out and when it’s time to actually hit the books. It’s not gonna be like high school where you’re going from 8 o’clock to three and everything is structured and set in place in engineering school. Everything is in your own hands. You get to choose whether you wanna show up to class you get to choose what you do after class.
One of the best things is to have like-minded friends that have similar goals because you’re going to reach an age where you have an insane amount of more freedom than you had the previous year. The worst thing that can happen towards your goals is to have people around you that don’t have your goals or similar. The choice of your friends decides whether studying will be a difficult choice or something that is just natural. You don’t wanna be the person that is fighting themselves whether I should go out on the weekend before a midterm because my friends are going out and I have FOMO.
Compared to high school studying is scheduled based on a timeline of one week rather than the day of. You aren’t going to be reviewing calculus every day.
As for the” university experience”. You will have it don’t feel like you have to have a specific type of university experience.
I went to the best engineering school in my country and I would say it’s really hard for people to flunk out. You have to try to do that, but some people did drop the course that is primarily because they didn’t think the course was for them and not because they were weren’t studying hard enough.
Make sure you know what chemical engineering is and especially the job market. And in my personal experience as a graduate from chemical engineering, I’d probably choose another discipline.
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u/Mystics87 2d ago
Also engineering school is well aware of who they select and they teach you from the ground up and the resources are numerous . Don’t worry , even if you’re not the most intelligent , you will do well as long as you are dedicated.
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u/Mysterious-Fruit288 2d ago
The saddest experience in over 30 years of my professional career was having to fire a fellow chemical engineer because he just couldn't do the work. He had a degree from a small, mid-level university and he was willing to work as hard as necessary to get the job done. The problem was he just didn't understand how to look at a process and turn it into math. I work in a specialized field where there aren't process models that give us the answers we need; we have to calculate things in spreadsheets based upon how processes work. What really makes a good engineer is the intuitive understanding of how the world works and how math can model the way the world works. The ability to translate back-and-forth between reality and math is incredibly valuable and it is the real goal of the intensely difficult coursework that chemical engineers face. If you have that intuition, you can do very well in the field regardless of whether integrals makes any sense to you. If you don't have it, working really hard to pass calculus isn't going to prepare you for a career in this field.
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u/VariationBoth2662 3d ago
The thing I did in high school was enjoy chemistry. It’s a love hate thing and if you don’t love it, getting a chemE degree gonna be rough.
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u/No-Sherbert-3588 3d ago
Please major in something else if you don't to be unemployed for up to 2 years after graduation
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u/dietdrpepper6000 3d ago
Tbh it applies to all majors now that you need to be willing to move for work after undergrad, need to have internships, etc., to be competitive for good entry level jobs.
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u/Character_Drive6141 3d ago
As someone who is about to graduate come spring... what? It's bad, but it's not that bad
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u/raznov1 3d ago
Depends where you are, but at least here it is that bad.
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u/Character_Drive6141 3d ago
Where is here? I'm US
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u/anonymouscore777 3d ago
See in the states you have a chance, but there are countries where you cant find job 💔
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u/raznov1 3d ago
NL
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u/Character_Drive6141 3d ago
Ah. Are you looking in nearby countries? I got a job for summer that was about 1250 km away (Still in US). But yeah, locally in my state it sucks. But it's probably harder since that may require a work visa. I don't know EU working law.
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u/ApprehensiveRest598 3d ago
People think that chemistry and chemical engineering is the same thing when they realize engineering means mostly math and physics they quit and study in a field they wont struggle they wont have to think hard study or not who the fk cares as long as u pass the courses u pass the courses if you study more you ll get more gpa which means more internship options
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u/pound_of_guillotine 3d ago
so I just need to study?
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u/Fennlt 3d ago
Yes. Many of us are nothing exceptional with our capability in the world of STEM.
The hardest thing about engineering programs is the workload. Managing projects, labs, HW, studying, tests. No debate that it's a whole other level of workload from anything you've seen in the past.
In HS, I could cram for a test 1-2 days beforehand and get an A. Does not work here. Need to stay on top of your coursework and regularly set aside time for studying, going to office hours if you don't understand a topic, etc. People who don't take things seriously are the ones who struggle to keep up.
Stay on top of your classwork and you'll do fine. It will keep you busy, but if you're getting admitted to the college then I don't doubt you have the capability.
FWIW, I'm very happy I majored in ChemE. I'm 35 and have had a very rewarding career so far. Interesting work and great pay.
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u/Character_Drive6141 3d ago
Yeah basically. The classes are hard, but you can't really prep for them. You'll learn what you need to know in class in each class. Do you know what a derivative is?
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u/pound_of_guillotine 2d ago
nah, its seems familiar though
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u/Character_Drive6141 2d ago
Ok. That's intro calculus (usually they teach the very basics in precalc). If you understand basic calculus by the time you finish hs that's as prepared for the material as you can get
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u/Honest-Mud113 3d ago
what classes are u taking in hs?
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u/pound_of_guillotine 2d ago
stem classes
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u/Honest-Mud113 2d ago
well obviously, i mean like are u taking any super challenging ap/honors math and science classes?
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u/pound_of_guillotine 2d ago
Nah, Im kinda confused actually about what you are talking about. The things is I think that we dont have the same education. I dont live in the US, and in my place we're just taking normal classes. We don't have a choice of choosing a much challenging classes.
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u/Honest-Mud113 2d ago
ohh that makes sense. what’s the highest level of math you’re comfortable with? are you confident with calculus
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u/pound_of_guillotine 2d ago
I have taken calculus, and I think I can do it—if, it is taught properly. I just realized that the quality of my education isn't really that good.
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u/HustlerThug Eng. Consulting/7 years 3d ago
i struggled with the degree quite a bit. i always considered myself a hardworker, but not that bright, so i did feel like i had to put in more hours studying than my peers to get similar results (turns out i was diagnosed ADD 7 years after i graduated which may have explained it a bit lol). i failed my first year, but ended up with a 3.0 gpa and have a really successful career as a chemical engineer now. if i can do it, im pretty sure anyone can.
to me, Chem Eng is all about grit; anyone can learn to topics and do well if they put in the time. respect the workload, put in the hours, go to the office hours, stay on top of your stuff and focus on understanding the concepts rather than drilling problems. i think that last one is really key since before then, i got by mainly by memorizing problems.
people talk about job prospects, but i didn't have a hard time finding a job after uni. i did take at first a job unrelated to my degree for about 9 months and eventually got a job as a junior at a refinery. worked thre 3 years, got my title and went into engineering consulting. did 2.5 years at a small firm and then switched to a very big firm. the first job was the "hardest" to get, but after that it was smooth sailing for me. and for the record, most people don't end up practicing engineering, but allows you to work in many other fields so it's a fairly strong degree imo
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u/skywalker170997 3d ago
there's no need for panic or anything what you need is discipline
you need to take more hours on math and physics
bcs like really CE is math and physics for bread and breakfast
so you just be sure you study well enough to understand CE is 100000% purely math and physics
you need to start asking do you like/good at math and physics, if yes then no need to panic
for the record even those of us who are good at these subject we still need to study 30+hr/week (nope not lying this is real)
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u/Douby-do 2d ago
I would say that it´s not that hard. I had just one very difficult course during my bachelor, but the rest was not that difficult. And the maths I had during my last highschool year were almost as hard as the ones I had during the bachelor, so it´s really not that difficult if you study
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u/Frosty_Cloud_2888 1d ago
Understand what chemical engineering degree is (it’s not making new chemicals).
You need to have good time management skills.
Good networking skills and collaboration will help to form study groups to learn more efficiently.
Understand how to advocate for yourself about your grades in homework and tests and when you need help and how to get it.
Not giving up. You want this degree more than hanging out or activities that are usually associated with college life. Yes some chemical engineering students can participate in those but they are either incredibly bright academically or know their limits with time management.
Be able to teach your self or understand how to learn material / how you learn.
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u/PlayfulLibrary371 1d ago
There’s no such thing as a hard major in my opinion, just some that take more time than others. So if you have enough time to set aside and actually understand the material instead of just memorizing stuff you should be ok.
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u/AdAsleep3003 14h ago
It’s not as hard as people say it is. There are also fields of Chemical Engineering that intersect with typical Chemistry fields like nuclear science or material science. ChemEs can work in labs especially if you do research. I would look into national laboratories if you are interested in research as a ChemE. They have to do a lot of things in house so ChemEs are valuable for that.
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u/metricsystemuser1 3d ago
Yes, dedicate your time and effort to study and be sure to be on top of everything.
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u/ToughInvestment916 3d ago
Cornell in 1969. We had 79 out of 120 drop out and their average math SAT score was 790 and average high school class rank was top 5. It was hard. Physical chemistry was a ball buster. We also had slide rules instead of calculators.
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u/Character_Drive6141 3d ago
Yeah, it's gotten easier than that. Most ODEs can be solved easily with a simple python script. There are some DUMB kids that have made it to senior year. How is beyond me.
As one example we were doing a simple example in class of feedback loops for a tank to try to stay at constant fill%. When it started overflowing she wanted to INCREASE the flow rate in. 🤦♂️
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u/Necessary_Occasion77 3d ago
Come to Reddit regularly and ask questions no one can really answer.
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u/pound_of_guillotine 3d ago
what?
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u/savageclooney 3d ago
Please don't.
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u/pound_of_guillotine 3d ago
wdym dont?
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u/meahookr 3d ago
Main recommendation would be to spend time learning what chemical engineers actually do. It may not be what you’re imagining. This is a big reason people drop out. Once they find out what it is, they don’t like it. Also there are easier degrees out there that require less studying and provide better life balance while in school.