What skills should a chemical or process engineer have? 1

[Fanman72]

To become employable?

Other than the Ch E degree.....anything specifically like AutoCad, knowing some programming languages, Six Sigma, etc? I feel as if my degree taught me a lot about theory but few specific skills

 

[ctopher]

I think lab experience would be a plus.

Chris
SolidWorks 09, CATIA V5
ctopher's home
SolidWorks Legion

 

[IRstuff]

So? How is that different than any other discipline? Your engineering degree is not a trade school certificate. You're expected to have BRAIN skills. You're expected to understand problems and find solutions. You're expected to learn and understand the ramifications of process changes, the physics, chemistry, and mechanics of your discipline, economic realities, etc.

Lots of things can be plusses, but, as a new graduate, not that many MEs have CNC experience, either. Nor do EEs PCB fabrication experience.

The other side of the coin is that I made PCBs in junior high, but have not come close to doing anything related since my first 2 jobs after college, and the last of them was over 22 yrs ago.

The main skills you should cultivate are being flexible and quick on your feet. CAD and analysis programs come and go. Understanding the BIG picture may get you farther.

TTFN

FAQ731-376

 

[tickle]

Or how long is a piece of string?

You are correct in feeling that your degree taught you nothing. As IRstuff says, your degree has taught you how to learn. When you start you will be lucky if you know anything, but you will quickly become an expert in one area, and then the next.

I guess the skills that are most handy to everyone are the transferable skills - document writing, presentation, communication, managing your manager etc.

 

[Twoballcane]

Your degree is your base and resource for engineering knowledge. Your company would not have hired you if you did not have this type of knowledge. CAD, Six Sigma, ISO, New Fangled Management Tool (NFMT)…etc are company / industry specific. You learn these as you progress in your career and will find out that most are just fads. What you learned in college are facts and have been used 30 years ago and will be used again for the next 30 years. I can tell you that in my 15 years of experienced that tools like Six Sigma and Cost as the lowest Variable have bitten me at the end, however, it was my equations and theory that got me out of the jams.

Tobalcane
"If you avoid failure, you also avoid success."

 

[SNORGY]

The best skill you can have is the ability to work in the following way.

Suppose you are called upon to do a calculation. Let's say it is a simple one involving pressure drop in a pipe from A to B so you can fill in some data on a Line List. You do the calculation and end up with something like 25 psi; somewhere on the order of 50 ft of head (fluid somewhat less dense than water, SG=0.88). You read the P&ID stick file and see the equipment descriptor for the centrifugal pump:

200 USGPM @ 40 ft dH, Eff.=0.7, Motor 2.0 bhp 480/3/60, SF=1.15.

Not only do you fill in the data on the Line List, but you mark up the stick file and send a polite email to the Mechanical Engineer and the Electrical Engineer suggesting that a 3.0 bhp motor should be considered.

In other words, there is no question that your university degree has given you the technical skill to perform the calculation correctly. Now you are making the leap of saying, "OK, if that is true, then this must happen and these people need to be aware of ____ ."

I think you will find that work is just a transition from "getting the answer" to "applying the answer". What will set you apart is understanding how things that you calculate affect others and drawing their attention to its significance in a timely manner.

Regards,

SNORGY.

 

[SNORGY]

Of course, having stated the above, you would probably be a GREAT process engineer if you actually sized the pump for the correct revised head at the given conditions, and realized that 5.0 bhp would be a better answer.

My apologies. I never made it as a good process engineer.

Regards,

SNORGY.

 

[ggordil]

I am a chemical engineer that graduated 3 years ago. My number 1 advice, it to get work in a plant or refinery. Unless, it is a matter of survival, I suggest that you not go into consulting.

I have been in consulting for 3 years now, and my experience is that every employer is looking for people with plant experience. They will hire people that have only worked consulting but only as a last resort.

What skills do you need to be successful? The most important one...listening. It is the best way to learn from more experienced people and to make others feel like you are intelligent.

CAD, Six Sigma, etc., are too specific to certain workplaces. I suggest that you, if you are still in school, get your GPA as high as humanly possible. It makes a huge difference. If you are finished with school start networking. That is how most jobs are filled, and therefore, it is an invaluable skill.

The rest you pick up with time and experience.

 

[Japher]

Know that, understand that, and see that EVERYTHING is a process. Even spec'ing a pump; what do they want, how do they want it, what do I need to know in order to give it to them, and who the hell are they? If you've done it right once, then it can be a procedure and be made to happen quicker and with less errors and by anyone... monkey proofing and knowledge management are just as important as skills related to troubleshooting and debottlenecking. Critical chain theory is great and can help you with time management as well as anything else. Listen to those who know the process best; the operators. Listen to those who know the equipment best; the mechanics. Realize that you are the glue between the two. Blame no one, blame doesn't fix anything. Meetings should have an agenda, produce an action plan, and have assigned accountability. Steel-toed boots are awesome, but make sure they can breath too.