Why I became a Chem E

This post will be a little bit different than my other ones. I've spent several weeks now talking about many different kinds of things that chemical engineers do in the world. I've talked about the theories they study, the jobs they take, and the many different roles they can take. Today, I want to talk to you about why I became a Chemical Engineer (Chem E is what we call ourselves). I started this blog with the idea of giving a basic insight into chemical engineering. As I said in my very first post, I have many friends of family stat still don't understand what exactly I do. I'll be graduating next spring and I still don't think my parents really know what I study. Hopefully this blog has helped make that a little bit clearer for some. I think by giving my reasoning for pursuing this degree might help others decide if the field is right for them, and beyond that, I hope this post gives some insight into how to pick a major that's right for you.

Now back to the big question? Why did I do it? My answer isn't some big philosophical quandary. It's really actually kind of simple. When i first started college I planned on going to med school. I wanted to be a biochemical engineer (I had no idea what that meant but it sounded cool) and upon enrollment day for my school, I learned we did not offer such a program so I was put down as a chemical engineer with the biotech option. Now my school is actually offering a biochemical engineering program that will start taking students next semester, but it's a little late for me. I stayed in chem E for a semester and then jumped ship for biochemistry, but then almost immediately came back when I learned I would need to take 18 hours of a language in biochemistry and I needed 0 for engineering. Ultimately, I picked chemical engineering because I didn't want to take a language. That's the simple reason how I made my original decision. Now probably the more important question to ask is: "Why did I stay?" Chemical Engineering is an extremely difficult major. You'll work harder than many of your friends in other majors and you'll never be quite sure if the rewards will be worth it in the end. It's a hard field to study. The material is tough, but the pay is generally quite high if you complete the degree. I stayed mostly because I didn't want to be in college for five years and I would have to make up too many classes if I jumped ship late in the game. By first semester, Sophomore year, I was there to stay. It's been a rough ride and I'll be done with it all very soon now. I can't say I've enjoyed all of it or even most of it, but it's been very useful and informative. I've learned many, many skills that I can apply to any job I face. One of the most practical things being a Chem E has done for me is that it's made a master at Excel and VBA. I can make all sorts of advanced spreadsheet and I can write my own functions and macros for those sheets when I have to. I've learned plenty of advanced technical stuff as well and most of it has actually be pretty interesting to me. Looking back on it all, it's really hard to say if I would have done it again. There's safer fields to pick, sure, but if you really like chemistry, but don't want to go into academia or get a PHD just to work in the industry, Chem E is great for you. The material is tough - I really can't stretch that enough, but it's all very useful stuff. You'll definitely feel read for the real world when you get there if you choose Chem E.

That's basically it. I picked it because I didn't want to take a language and I stayed because while it was extremely difficult, the material really resonated with me. I hope that's given you some insight into what it's like to study chemical engineering. I hope it helps!