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Is chemical engineering a career for me?

I love problem solving, and as an individual being challenged is simply a great thing in my mind. If I ever run into issues, I will try and reach out to both my individual mind and my peers in order to be able to further advance with a concept. As a high school student, I loved my chemistry class (Basically all my science classes though) and I had always been interested in science even as a child. I detailed in another question that I lost a significant amount of weight, and I hope to one day apply what I have learned to change the food industry as we know it. There are so many recipes for foods that can be done alternatively that net the same exact result as very unhealthy junky food, yet at the moment due to me not knowing specific food interactions I cannot optimize certain substitutes when it comes to food. In America, the new generation is becoming increasingly obese, and I can understand why. A change in our food is necessary, and I want to bring about these changes, can chemical engineering guide me to be able to do this?
#chemical-engineering #engineering #business #chemistry #weight-loss #rightjob #right-career

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Ken’s Answer

Congratulations on being interested in becoming a chemical engineer. It takes a special person to enter this field and meet the demands which this career area presents. The first step is to get to know yourself to see if you share the personality traits which make chemical engineers successful. The next step is doing networking to meet and talk to and possibly shadow chemical engineers to see if this is something that you really want to do, as a career area could look much different on the inside than it looks from the outside.  

Ken recommends the following next steps:

The first step is to take an interest and aptitude test and have it interpreted by your school counselor to see if you share the personality traits necessary to enter the field. You might want to do this again upon entry into college, as the interpretation might differ slightly due to the course offering of the school. However, do not wait until entering college, as the information from the test will help to determine the courses that you take in high school. Too many students, due to poor planning, end up paying for courses in college which they could have taken for free in high school.
Next, when you have the results of the testing, talk to the person at your high school and college who tracks and works with graduates to arrange to talk to, visit, and possibly shadow people doing what you think that you might want to do, so that you can get know what they are doing and how they got there. Here are some tips: ## http://www.wikihow.com/Network ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/nonawkward-ways-to-start-and-end-networking-conversations ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/4-questions-to-ask-your-network-besides-can-you-get-me-a-job?ref=carousel-slide-1 ##
Locate and attend meetings of professional associations to which people who are doing what you think that you want to do belong, so that you can get their advice. These associations may offer or know of intern, coop, shadowing, and scholarship opportunities. These associations are the means whereby the professionals keep abreast of their career area following college and advance in their career. You can locate them by asking your school academic advisor, favorite teachers, and the reference librarian at your local library. Here are some tips: ## https://www.careeronestop.org/BusinessCenter/Toolkit/find-professional-associations.aspx?&frd=true ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/9-tips-for-navigating-your-first-networking-event ##
It is very important to express your appreciation to those who help you along the way to be able to continue to receive helpful information and to create important networking contacts along the way. Here are some good tips: ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/the-informational-interview-thank-you-note-smart-people-know-to-send?ref=recently-published-2 ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/3-tips-for-writing-a-thank-you-note-thatll-make-you-look-like-the-best-candidate-alive?bsft_eid=7e230cba-a92f-4ec7-8ca3-2f50c8fc9c3c&bsft_pid=d08b95c2-bc8f-4eae-8618-d0826841a284&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily_20171020&utm_source=blueshift&utm_content=daily_20171020&bsft_clkid=edfe52ae-9e40-4d90-8e6a-e0bb76116570&bsft_uid=54658fa1-0090-41fd-b88c-20a86c513a6c&bsft_mid=214115cb-cca2-4aec-aa86-92a31d371185&bsft_pp=2 ##
Here are some interesting links that will allow you to learn more about chemical engineering and engineering in general: ## https://www.engineergirl.org/ ## ## http://www.futureengineers.org/ ## ## https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43zVcmTJSKM ## ## http://stemtosteam.org/ ## ## https://www.asme.org/career-education/articles/undergraduate-students/engineering-still-needs-more-women ##
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Katie’s Answer

Have you considered studying food science?

According to the Institute of Food Technologists, food science is the study of the physical, biological, and chemical makeup of food; and the concepts underlying food processing. Source-- http://www.ift.org/knowledge-center/learn-about-food-science.aspx
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Srujana’s Answer

Hi Antonio,


Chemical engineering could be a career for you, but if you know exactly what kind of job you want to do you might be better off researching university that offer specific degrees in food science/food chemistry. The advantage of joining a specific food science program is that 1) they'll be able to help you land internships with food/beverage companies while you're working on your degree and 2) you'll also learn about other parts of the food manufacturing/distribution process which will make you a more valuable asset to your employer in the future. I would advise searching online for degree plans for food science and chemical engineering programs and seeing which classes you're more interested in.


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