Want to climb a 200 ft distillation column? How about being on the production floor of a beverage factory? Maybe you want to help create a new energy source to help save the world. This is what chemical engineering is all about.
The first question you might ask is “What is the difference is between Chemical Engineering and Chemistry?”. In short, Chemistry is the science of developing theories behind the production of individual compounds. Chemical Engineering is focused on taking that understanding and using it to design and maintain large-scale chemical processes for mass-production. The analogy I have heard is that a chemist is someone who will isolate a revolutionary compound. It will be the chemical engineer who finds a way to make lots of it in a cost-effective way.
In the first few years of your program, your courses will build on your math, physics, and chemistry knowledge that you learned in high school, and extending it to real world applications. You will also have three concepts courses (CHE 100, 101, 200). In these courses, you will learn how to solve simple processes without having to worry about the details (i.e. reactants -> “magic” -> products). As you get to third year, your courses will focus on understanding the “magic,” and using computers to solve real-world problems.
Not everything about chemical engineering could be covered in this article. Your best source of information would be to talk to leaders about their school and co-op experiences, and hopefully, you Enjoy Chem Eng.
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