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Can a chemical engineer work in the pharmaceutical industry?

Can a chemical engineer work in the pharmaceutical industry, where they might create new medicines, synthetic versions of existing medicines, or use cells to help understand diseases, disease pathways, and human responses to drugs?

If so can you please advise on the degree and pathway needed to peruse this career.

career science medicine healthcare chemistry pharmacy chemical-engineering pharmaceuticals
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Anna’s Answer

Absolutely! I’m a pharmacist with two chemical engineer PhD brothers, and a few of their classmates and mine work in the pharmaceutical industry (pharma). With a chemical engineering degree (bachelors or PhD) you have a ton of options in general after graduation. For pharma I’d recommend looking for a lab in undergrad that you can work in to get experience that is researching what you’re interested in or you could look for internships at pharma companies directly. Another good way to get connected to pharma would be to network. This doesn’t have to be in person, you could make a LinkedIn (LI) account and follow posts from pharma companies to keep an eye out for internships and other company info and use it to connect with people who have similar job titles to what you’re looking for and ask about their job experience and the path they took to get there. Don’t be afraid of this last step, networking within pharma is super important and it gets easier as you do it. My pro tip is that sometimes LI makes you use in mail which you have to pay for to message people so to get around this you can send connection requests with short messages. If you come from a place of curiosity people will be happy to chat with you if they have time! Best of luck on your journey, you got this!
Thank you comment icon Thank you for the advice. Diya
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Michael’s Answer

Yes. I had a 35 year career at a major pharmaceutical company and I am still working part time at another major pharmaceutical company in retirement. I have a bachelors degree in chemical engineering and am a licensed professional engineer. Many opportunities for chemical engineering majors.
Thank you comment icon I really appreciate the response. Diya
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Muhammad’s Answer

Absolutely, chemical engineers have the versatility to work in virtually any sector that involves manufacturing and process operations. Their primary responsibility is to enhance and architect processes, which can span across a multitude of industries such as Oil & Gas, petrochemicals, steel, biomedical technologies, semi-conductors, and pharmaceuticals.

In the pharmaceutical field, a chemical engineer's role encompasses refining the manufacturing process of chemicals or medicines. This could mean increasing production efficiency or reducing energy expenditure. Additionally, they can also play a significant role in designing the processes and equipment necessary for the development of new medicines.
Thank you comment icon Thank you, this is amazing! I really needed it. Diya
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Bethany’s Answer

Yes, absolutely! There are many pathways to becoming involved in pharmaceutics without getting a degree in pharmacy specifically. Based on what your interests are, I would personally advise you to look into biomedical engineering. Through a biomedical engineering major, you would have more of a focus in health care and therefore get more laboratory experiences. It is a bit different than chemical engineering, but I think it would better prepare you for a position in the pharmaceutical industry!
Thank you comment icon Your advice was so helpful! Diya
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Aneri’s Answer

Yes! I hold a Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering and currently work in the pharmaceutical industry. I also know many others in this field with the same educational background. A degree in Chemical Engineering can be applied in the industry in both technical/traditional ways (such as working in a lab developing medicines/drugs) and in other ways (such as within business and strategy functions). I find that the analytical, critical, and problem-solving skills we develop as engineers position us as ideal candidates for almost any role within the pharma industry.

As for advice on next steps, I would first suggest researching more about both chemical engineering and the pharmaceutical industry. Learning about both fields will help inform your decision on degree, career path options, and the areas of pharma that are most interesting to you.

I would also suggest getting any experience you can in either field (or better yet, finding opportunities that are relevant to both!). Internships, cooperative education programs, research opportunities, shadowing and part-time jobs are all great ways to expose you first-hand to both Chemical Engineering and the pharmaceutical industry.
Thank you comment icon I am really grateful you took the time to answer this question. Diya
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