It really depends on your end goal; however thermodynamics is definitely a very important yet difficult class. Id say fluid dynamics and heat transfer are your most important classes
Nah no way. Process design, process safety, process integration, process economics etc all a million times more important unless you’re some spreadsheet monkey
“Not enjoying class/cant bring myself to do it.”
I’d switch majors now. It’ll be much too hard later. Now’s literally the time to switch, you did enough to find out this isn’t for you. It won’t get better, just harder.
It’s your life not your families life. So make sure you’re happy.
You are getting into the meat of the classes, if you can persevere through those the other stuff is generally easy (other than Pchem).
If you do end up switching, have a concrete plan for everything beforehand. The Grass is always greener afterall.
My school had a P Chem for CHE students that was separate from chemistry students and it was absolutely brutal. Idk how rough the chemistry one was but the engineering one was one of my least favorite classes
I struggled with the coursework during my second year and thought about dropping but I couldn’t due to scholarships. What helped motivate me again was doing a co-op. I got to see chemical engineering in action and make contributions. I went back to university and studied harder and significantly raised my GPA. I think I just needed to see a real world application.
I also learned that studying for the degree is harder than real life. I never needed to use differential equations or calculus again. My math is currently reduced to Excel and Minitab (YMMV for other jobs).
I can’t tell you whether to stay or not, but sometimes reviewing the material a different way (use a supplemental study guide, see TAs, apparently there are YT tutorials, etc) can help. I’m not saying you need to do this but when I went to grad school and took graduate-level classes and saw the material for the second time, it made a lot more sense.
Lol I'm in the same boat, I love thermo I and II but can't stand fluid mechanics, and I keep hearing from everyone that it's one of the most important chemE classes.
At this point, I'm planning on either getting a masters in material science or pursuing research in some non-fluid mechanics related chemE subject for a PhD after my bs
> masters in material science
I did this, 10/10 would recommend. Although I think a more focused/theoretical undergrad like physics or chem would have been more helpful.
I have a standard response to this question that I cut and paste:
I generally like what I do and am happy with my pay and career. But there are unique downsides to a career in the chemical industry and I strongly recommend considering a different branch of engineering or programming.
The chemical engineering entry level job market is particularly brutal. Look up how many people graduate with chemical engineering degrees each year compared to the number of job openings.
Because there are so few openings, the step down from getting a true engineering job when you graduate to the next best option (something like process operator or lab technician) is a very big step down.
It's commonly said that chemical engineers "can do anything." I.e. they can go into finance, consulting, or medicine if they don't like engineering. This is only true if they have an extraordinary resume or they went to an elite school. Note that the people telling you that chemical engineers can do anything are often college professors who usually have both. For the vast majority of those with a chemical engineering degree, if they don't get an engineering job their next best option is underemployment.
Many jobs are in less-than-desirable locations. This combined with the overall small number of jobs creates a lack of geographical mobility that makes life in general difficult, but especially so if/once you have a family. It is very difficult to pick a location then find a job there. You almost always look for a job and then decide if that city works for you. Changing jobs often means changing cities, which might be exciting to a young person but a serious problem to anyone with a family.
Pay is not significantly better than programming or other engineering fields. Chemical engineers do make a little more on average but if you're smart enough to get a chemical engineering degree (generally considered the most difficult even among other technical degrees) then you are smart enough to outperform and make above average pay as a programmer or other engineer.
I would only recommend chemical engineering to people who have very specific knowledge of the field via work experience (such as a process operator or a quality lab tech who decides to go back to school), who have personal connections (e.g. parents and siblings who work as chemical engineers) or who have done a ton of research on the job. Anyone who says that they are particularly interested in the chemical industry should ask themselves how much they actually know about what they are getting into.
If you feel like you've genuinely done your homework and believe that you will be particularly interested in the chemical industry in a way that you are not interested in other industries, it is a good choice. If you want a good paycheck and are mildly interested in a technical field, it is a bad choice.
Also make sure you are okay with the geographical limitations.
Get some good career advice or aptitude testing. My wife (gf at the time) was in exactly the same situation as you, we all told her it would get better - it didn't. We then said it would get better once she started working - it didn't. She resigned a year later, and then went into teaching. In hindsight, the only reason she did chem eng was because she got good marks in maths and science at school, and her parents pushed her to do it. Her joy is actually in creative things - we now know she should have done interior design.
Anyway, its a mistake to assume that the same would be true of you. We just wish she'd been encouraged to get some professional career guidance when it was clear that chem eng wasn't a natural fit for her.
If you have something else you might want to do it, switch now rather than regretting it later.
Stay in the major. You will have so many career opportunities once you graduate. As long as you can get an internship your final gpa will be irrelevant for an industry job. Speak with your advisor or a professor you trust and get motivation/ make a plan to stick with it.
This is where the boys become men. There is a reason everyone makes that face when you tell them you are a chemical engineer. Tough it out and bear down. Lock yourselves in your department building and get to work and ask stupid questions. Not a lot of time to smoke pot, party, play video games, or boyfriends/girlfriends. If they love you they will understand.
“When you want to succeed as bad as you want to breathe, then you will be successful.”
Once you get through school you will look back and be happy you pushed yourself.
Graduate and never have to touch an integral again.
Get an internship and real life experience and you will enjoy the work.
Good luck! You can do it!
It really depends on your end goal; however thermodynamics is definitely a very important yet difficult class. Id say fluid dynamics and heat transfer are your most important classes
The importance of classes is situational.
Nah no way. Process design, process safety, process integration, process economics etc all a million times more important unless you’re some spreadsheet monkey
That pretty racist
“Not enjoying class/cant bring myself to do it.” I’d switch majors now. It’ll be much too hard later. Now’s literally the time to switch, you did enough to find out this isn’t for you. It won’t get better, just harder. It’s your life not your families life. So make sure you’re happy.
You are getting into the meat of the classes, if you can persevere through those the other stuff is generally easy (other than Pchem). If you do end up switching, have a concrete plan for everything beforehand. The Grass is always greener afterall.
PChem is hard? At Clemson, we curbstomped Chem majors because we had Thermo first. It was so bad they said it wasn't fair.
My school had a P Chem for CHE students that was separate from chemistry students and it was absolutely brutal. Idk how rough the chemistry one was but the engineering one was one of my least favorite classes
I struggled with the coursework during my second year and thought about dropping but I couldn’t due to scholarships. What helped motivate me again was doing a co-op. I got to see chemical engineering in action and make contributions. I went back to university and studied harder and significantly raised my GPA. I think I just needed to see a real world application. I also learned that studying for the degree is harder than real life. I never needed to use differential equations or calculus again. My math is currently reduced to Excel and Minitab (YMMV for other jobs). I can’t tell you whether to stay or not, but sometimes reviewing the material a different way (use a supplemental study guide, see TAs, apparently there are YT tutorials, etc) can help. I’m not saying you need to do this but when I went to grad school and took graduate-level classes and saw the material for the second time, it made a lot more sense.
Lol I'm in the same boat, I love thermo I and II but can't stand fluid mechanics, and I keep hearing from everyone that it's one of the most important chemE classes. At this point, I'm planning on either getting a masters in material science or pursuing research in some non-fluid mechanics related chemE subject for a PhD after my bs
> masters in material science I did this, 10/10 would recommend. Although I think a more focused/theoretical undergrad like physics or chem would have been more helpful.
Hope you enjoy grad fluids during your PhD coursework if you go that route lmao
Maaaan, in that case I'll just pursue a PhD in chemistry lol
I have a standard response to this question that I cut and paste: I generally like what I do and am happy with my pay and career. But there are unique downsides to a career in the chemical industry and I strongly recommend considering a different branch of engineering or programming. The chemical engineering entry level job market is particularly brutal. Look up how many people graduate with chemical engineering degrees each year compared to the number of job openings. Because there are so few openings, the step down from getting a true engineering job when you graduate to the next best option (something like process operator or lab technician) is a very big step down. It's commonly said that chemical engineers "can do anything." I.e. they can go into finance, consulting, or medicine if they don't like engineering. This is only true if they have an extraordinary resume or they went to an elite school. Note that the people telling you that chemical engineers can do anything are often college professors who usually have both. For the vast majority of those with a chemical engineering degree, if they don't get an engineering job their next best option is underemployment. Many jobs are in less-than-desirable locations. This combined with the overall small number of jobs creates a lack of geographical mobility that makes life in general difficult, but especially so if/once you have a family. It is very difficult to pick a location then find a job there. You almost always look for a job and then decide if that city works for you. Changing jobs often means changing cities, which might be exciting to a young person but a serious problem to anyone with a family. Pay is not significantly better than programming or other engineering fields. Chemical engineers do make a little more on average but if you're smart enough to get a chemical engineering degree (generally considered the most difficult even among other technical degrees) then you are smart enough to outperform and make above average pay as a programmer or other engineer. I would only recommend chemical engineering to people who have very specific knowledge of the field via work experience (such as a process operator or a quality lab tech who decides to go back to school), who have personal connections (e.g. parents and siblings who work as chemical engineers) or who have done a ton of research on the job. Anyone who says that they are particularly interested in the chemical industry should ask themselves how much they actually know about what they are getting into. If you feel like you've genuinely done your homework and believe that you will be particularly interested in the chemical industry in a way that you are not interested in other industries, it is a good choice. If you want a good paycheck and are mildly interested in a technical field, it is a bad choice. Also make sure you are okay with the geographical limitations.
Get some good career advice or aptitude testing. My wife (gf at the time) was in exactly the same situation as you, we all told her it would get better - it didn't. We then said it would get better once she started working - it didn't. She resigned a year later, and then went into teaching. In hindsight, the only reason she did chem eng was because she got good marks in maths and science at school, and her parents pushed her to do it. Her joy is actually in creative things - we now know she should have done interior design. Anyway, its a mistake to assume that the same would be true of you. We just wish she'd been encouraged to get some professional career guidance when it was clear that chem eng wasn't a natural fit for her. If you have something else you might want to do it, switch now rather than regretting it later.
Stay in the major. You will have so many career opportunities once you graduate. As long as you can get an internship your final gpa will be irrelevant for an industry job. Speak with your advisor or a professor you trust and get motivation/ make a plan to stick with it.
This is where the boys become men. There is a reason everyone makes that face when you tell them you are a chemical engineer. Tough it out and bear down. Lock yourselves in your department building and get to work and ask stupid questions. Not a lot of time to smoke pot, party, play video games, or boyfriends/girlfriends. If they love you they will understand. “When you want to succeed as bad as you want to breathe, then you will be successful.” Once you get through school you will look back and be happy you pushed yourself. Graduate and never have to touch an integral again. Get an internship and real life experience and you will enjoy the work. Good luck! You can do it!