Chemical Engineering Profession

What is a Chemical Engineer?

Chemical engineers are not only the lab coat wearing scientists who stand over beakers, mixing formulas in laboratories. They also work in the field, putting into practice the knowledge gained in laboratories, as well as their own brand of chemistry that applies the physical sciences and the life sciences.

They use mathematics and economics to create processes for converting raw materials or chemicals into forms that are more useful. Today's chemical engineers are involved with biomedical engineering, nanotechnology, and fuel cells, to name a very few of their specialties!

Chemical process engineers focus on the design, manufacture, and operation of industrial plants, their equipment, and the related chemical processes. Chemical product engineers develop new or modified substances for consumables ranging from pharmaceuticals and face wipes to furniture polish, foods, and far beyond.

Chemical engineers may do research at industrial or university levels, designing better pollution control, resource conservation, and safety measures. They can be involved in the design and construction of plants as project engineers, using their knowledge to select equipment, optimize production, minimize costs and increase profitability.

Can I Get a Masters of Chemical Engineering or a Doctorate?

Beyond receiving a B.S. in chemical engineering, students can pursue other graduate degrees. The master's degree (M.Sc.) for chemical engineering is the next level, and generally requires 5 quarters of study. Typically, a university will allow no more than 3 years for the completion of this degree, and a grade point average of 3.00 is required.

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) studies prepare graduates to take active parts in the ever-changing field of chemical engineering. A Ph.D. can access all levels of industrial and research organizations such as national laboratories or university teaching.

Can I Get a Chemical Engineering Degree Online?

There are too many lab and field study requirements to make online study suitable for a conventional B.S. in chemical engineering, but it is possible to earn a master of science degree in chemical engineering (MSCHE) online, through some sources. These opportunities are designed for outstanding students who already have engineering degrees. Qualifications and prerequisites are stringent.

What Kinds of Jobs Can I Get with a Chemical Engineering Degree?

Through chemical processes, chemical engineers find new and creative ways of making those things that improve our lives. Their work ranges from developing better skin-care products to finding materials that are more fire-resistant. Chemical engineers can be part of an innovative team at a manufacturing facility or working in cutting-edge research.
As a chemical engineer, you might be a quality control specialist for a corporation that manufactures cleaning products or jet airplanes. You might be discovering less destructive and more sustainable ways to extract and use natural resources. You might be designing or discovering the latest sensation in the eye care industry, better aerosol propellants, more durable paints, and ways to preserve foods and medicines longer. The sky is not the limit; it is just another avenue for what you might discover.

What is the Average Salary of a Chemical Engineer?

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows the median annual wage of chemical engineer job employees was $90,300 in May of 2020.

Highest paid engineering jobs

Coparison of starting and mid-career median pay by occupation.
                                               Starting     Mid-career       
                                                       median pay     median pay
    Petroleum Engineering         $93,000        $157,000
    Aerospace Engineering         $59,400        $108,000
    Chemical Engineering         $64,800        $108,000
    Electrical Engineering        $60,800        $104,000
    Nuclear Engineering            $63,900        $104,000
    Applied Mathematics         $56,400        $101,000
    Biomedical Engineering         $54,800        $101,000
    Physics                     $50,700        $99,600
    Computer Engineering        $61,200        $99,500
    Economics                    $48,800        $97,800
Source: Engineering Employment and Earnings Outlook  By Ilya Leybovich, February 15, 2011

In generally how much do engineers make, From the same source, the expected employment growth in engineering in US through 2018 is 11%, from a base of 1.57 million as of 2008. The estimated growth by area is as follows:
Biomedical engineers: 72%
Environmental engineers: 31%
Civil engineers: 24%
Petroleum engineers: 18%
Mining and geological engineers: 15%
Industrial engineers: 14%
Agricultural engineers: 12%
Nuclear engineers: 11%
Aerospace engineers: 10%
Health and safety engineers: 10%
Materials engineers: 9%

From an updated report we could see some of top paying engineering jobs:
OCCUPATION   2020  MEDIAN PAY      
Petroleum Engineers   $130,280     
Nuclear Engineers   $104,270     
Aerospace Engineers   $103,720     
Computer Hardware Engineers   $100,920     
Chemical Engineers   $94,350     
Electrical and Electronics Engineers   $89,630     
Marine Engineers and Naval Architects   $88,100     
Biomedical Engineers   $86,960     
Materials Engineers   $85,150     
Mining and Geological Engineers   $84,320     
Environmental Engineers   $80,890
Mechanical Engineers   $80,580     
Civil Engineers   $79,340     
Industrial Engineers   $78,860     
Health and Safety Engineers   $76,830     
Agricultural Engineers   $74,000     
Architects   $73,090
Landscape Architects   $64,180
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2014-15 Edition, Petroleum Engineers, on the Internet at U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (visited June 13, 2015).

If you are interested how the starting salary has been changing through time, Lynn L. 2011 et al's work could give some info:
Petroleum (B.S.) Engineers Starting Salaries
Year    Starting salary
1997    $43,674
1999    $50,400
2003    $55,987
2005    $61,516
2010    $86,220
Source: Lynn, L., Salzman, H., & Kuehn, D. (2011, September). Dynamics of Engineering Labor Markets: Petroleum Engineering and Responsive Supply. In conference paper presented at “US Engineering in the Global Economy”, sponsored by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and the National Bureau of Economic Research. Petroleum Engineering and Responsive Supply

And if you are interested to know how your salary could be increased with a master or PhD degree, this could help you:
In 1992, nonsupervisory engineers with masters degrees made an average of about $6,000 more per year than engineers at the bachelors degree level. The Ph.D. premium--the salary differential between those engineers holding doctorates and those with masters degrees--was about $10,000. 
Engineers with supervisory responsibilities make an average of about  $20,000 more per year than those without supervisory responsibilities.
Source: Science & Engineering Indicators

If you are a woman and you want to know if there is a salary difference by genere, this is an example:
Estimate and median salary of full-time workers with highest degree in S&E field, by sex and occupation: 2010
Occupation                        Number      Median salary ($)
Total Petroleum Engineers        15,000         117,000   
Female Petroleum Engineers         2,000        115,000       
Male Peroleum Engineers         13,000        117,000

Highest Paying Civil Engineering Jobs in India

Highest Paying Civil Engineering Jobs in India :

1) Engineering Project Managers :

The average salary of engineering project managers is Rs 40-60K. You need to have a civil engineering diploma or degree to be a professional in this field. In this profile you need to plan, direct, organize projects like preparing proposals, handling financial records, product strategy and making sure about the project safety protocols.

2) Senior Civil Engineer :

The average salary of a senior civil engineer is Rs 30-50K. You need to have a bachelor’s degree or civil engineering diploma with relevant experience. Construction or repairing of buildings, highways, bridges and other structures is the job profile of a civil engineer.

3) Engineering Managers :

The average salary of Engineering Managers is Rs 50-70K. It is necessary to have a civil engineering diploma or a degree. In this profile, you need to plan, organize, direct, control, and monitor the work of the engineering department, project or firm.

4) Civil Engineer :

Civil Engineering is one of the top engineering jobsThe average salary of a civil engineer is about Rs35-45K, but if you master one of the software's like you will get raise in pay. It is necessary to have a bachelor’s degree or a diploma in civil engineering with relevant experience. Normally all the structures, buildings are constructed and repaired by a civil engineer.

5) Architect :

The average salary of an architect is about Rs 35000 to 45000k, and salary gets better according to projects too so this is one of highest paying civil engineering jobs in India. It is necessary to have a bachelor’s degree or a diploma from a vocational school. Plans and designs are created by the architect for commercials, institutional and residential buildings.

6) Engineering Inspectors and Regulatory Officers :

The average salary of engineering inspectors and regulatory officers are Rs 35000- 45000. It is necessary to have a civil engineering diploma or a degree. To make a successful career in this profile, Engineering inspectors need to deal with weighing meters, processes and equipment to be sure about the government and industry regulations.

7) Civil Engineering Drafter :

The average salary of a civil engineering drafter is about Rs 20,000 to 40,000. It is necessary to have a civil engineering diploma or degree to make a career in this field. This profile consists of civil drafting technologist and technicians prepare engineering designs and relevant technical information.

8) Civil Engineering Technologist :

The average salary of a civil engineering technologist is about Rs 30,000-50,000. It is necessary to have a civil engineering diploma or a degree to make a career in this field. In this profile, you need to develop engineering drawings and designs from concepts and sketches which is already present.

9) Civil Engineering Technician :

The average salary of Civil Engineering Technician is about Rs 30000 to Rs 40000. The job profile consists of developing engineering drawings, specifications and performing various technical duties etc.

10) Land Surveyor :

The average salary of a land surveyor is about Rs 30000 to 40000. It is important to have a civil engineering diploma or a degree to make a career in this field. As a land surveyor you need to direct, conduct, create, plan official documents.

Duties of Civil Engineers :

These are the responsibilities of a civil engineer:

• Long range plans, reports, maps, and other data to design and plan projects are analyzed
• Government regulations, construction costs, potential environmental hazards need to be considered and other factors in the risk-analysis stages and planning of a project.
• Local, state, and federal agencies are permitted by compiling and submitting them and then you need to check that projects comply with lots of regulations.

Mechanical Engineering is one of the top engineering jobs

Mechanical Engineering is one of the top engineering jobs, so one can opt for any field that branches out from Mechanical. Since the question concentrates only on government jobs, I shall restrict my answer to those. A graduate mechanical engineer can opt for the following:
1. The Power Sector : This includes the power plants, thermal or hydro (NTPC). Depending on one's choice and vacancies available, one can work either as an electrical engineer or a junior maintenance engineer in a power plant. They usually take people who appear for (Union Public Service Commission) examinations or through GATE, but sometimes direct interviews are also held. One can know about them through the weekly 'The Employment News'.

2. Production Sector : There are many government run or aided factories throughout India. Find out your interest and accordingly apply for these. Again, this sector depends on UPSC examinations when it comes to selecting new candidates, but in case of an emergency or sudden requirement, they do recruit after taking interviews.

3. Research Sector : If you want to go for research, DRDO, ISRO, BARC, etc are what you should aim for. These institutes conduct their own examinations maybe once in 2 or 3 years, depending on their requirements. The examination is tough and interview is tougher. A panel of scientists sit in front of you and ask you the questions, usually as a rapid fire. But, if you are well versed with the basics, you shouldn't have any trouble. Also they pay you the travelling charges to their institute.

4. Defense Sector : You can join Army, Navy or Air Force. There are 2 ways to do it. First is to appear for CDS (Combined Defense Services) examination and opt for Technical Graduate Course. Once you clear the written exam, you will be called for the interview in front of SSB (Service Selection Board), where you will be tested at different levels: Physical, Psychological, Medical etc. If you clear it successfully and make it past the merit list, you will be sent to IMA (if its Army) for one year's training. The second way is to directly appear for SSB, which are conducted every year by the three disciplines of our Defense Forces.

5. Railways: Every year Railway Sector conducts their examination. Look out for the available vacancies and apply, if interested.

6. Miscellaneous: Now that my answer is getting bigger, I will put all others in this category. Your other choices are:
    a. ONGC (Oil & Natural Gas Corporation)
    b. BHEL (Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited)
    c. NALCO (National Aluminium Company)

7. Administrative Services: You can either opt for IAS (Indian Administrative Services) or IES (Indian Engineering Services).

8. Marine Services : If you are interested in Marine field, then every year SCI (Shipping Corporation of India) conducts examination. If selected, you will have to undergo one year training at a government institute.

Highest Paid Engineers

How Much do Engineer make monthly salary including housing, transportation, and other benefits. The Highest Paid  Engineer Salary may differ drastically based on experience, skills, gender, or location. Below you will find detailed details based on various criteria.

The Maximum, The Minimum, and the range

Starting Range

Mechanical Engineer salaries in Italy range between 1,560 EUR per month (minimum salary) to 5,860 EUR per month (maximum salary).

Maximum Salary

The average salary is 3,960 EUR per month, which means that half (50%) people who work as Mechanical Engineers earn less than 3,960 EUR while the other half earn more than 3,960 EUR. Median represents the value of middle salary. In general, you want to be on the right side of the graph with groups earning more than the average salary.

Mechanical Engineer Salary Comparison by Experience

Your level of experience is the most important factor in determining your salary. Naturally the more experience, the higher your wages. We divide the Mechanical Engineer's salary based on level of experience. A Mechanical Engineer with less than two years’ experience earns around 1,800 EUR per month. While someone with an experience level of between two and five years is expected to earn 2,460 EUR per month, 37% higher than someone with less than two years’ experience. Going forward, the level of experience between five and ten years gets a salary of 3,110 EUR per month, 26% higher than people with two to five years’ experience. In addition, Mechanical Engineer (s) whose range of expertise is between ten and fifteen years earning an equivalent salary of 3,750 EUR per month, 21% more than people with five to ten years’ experience. If the experience level is between fifteen and twenty years, then the expected wage is 4,400 EUR per month, 17% more than someone with ten to fifteen years’ experience. Finally, employees with more than twenty years of professional experience get a salary of 5,450 EUR per month, 24% higher than people with fifteen to twenty years’ experience.

We all know that higher education equals a bigger salary, but how much more money can a degree add to your income? We break down the salaries of Mechanical Engineers based on their level of education to make comparisons. When the level of education is High School, the average salary of a Mechanical Engineer is 1,800 EUR per month. While someone with a Certificate or Diploma gets a salary of 2,270 EUR per month, 26% higher than someone with Highschool. A Bachelor's degree earns an average salary of EUR 3,170 per month, 40% higher than someone who has a Certificate or Diploma. Professionals who hold a Masters degree are valued with an average salary of 4,460 EUR per month, 41% higher than someone with a Bachelor Degree. Holders of the title are compensated with wages equivalent to 5,540 EUR per month, 24% higher than someone with a Master's Degree