Deciding between mech eng, and chem eng

I went up for a chemical engineering applicant day and i absolutely loved it there!
The city itself is really nice for students, and the union is like the best everrr

The chem eng dept and labs were really well equipped, so i assume it's the same for Mech eng too

Hope you enjoy your open day there- ask lots of questions! :-)

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Hey! Have you already finished your Chem eng, application for sheffield?

Btw How was the mech. eng dept.

Ps. I'm trying to decide between mech eng, and chem eng.

Hi there! Apologies for the late reply.

I applied in 2012 (for a 2013 entry), and I'm currently at the University of Surrey studying Chemical Engineering.

When I looked around Sheffield I didn't see the Mech Eng dept at all because it was in a different area. If you live close by, then phone the University up and ask for a guided tour- I'm sure they will be more than pleased to show you around

I also considered either Mech Eng or Chem Eng.. but the huge variety of jobs available to Chem Eng graduates is simply massive, and that won me over. I also like the prospect of combining lots of other engineering aspects into one job. (Chem Eng isn't just about chemicals: the name is deceiving! A more accurate term for the course is Process Engineering, and this is being used more and more now)

For the Chem Eng course here at Surrey, out of the 5 modules we have in Semester 1 (1st Half of the Year), 3 of these modules are also taken by: Mech Eng, Aero Eng, Civ Eng, and Med Eng. The modules being: Fluid Mechanics/Thermodynamics, Maths, and Engineering Materials (I know, sounds like riveting stuff!! :P )

This set up will probably be the same in most other Universities because these Engineering courses have very similar foundations, and then veer off in their respective directions after that.


If there is anything else you want to know about the Chemical Engineering course, don't hesitate to message me!

I absolutely agree with you about the variety of different subjects you learn in chemical eng which is why I love it. But regarding job prospects, doesn't mech eng have more job prospects than chem eng??? and are you doing a Beng degree chem eng or Meng?? I heard a Beng is enough to register for a chartered engineer title is that true?

I'm not sure about sheer number of jobs available comparing the two, but the variety of jobs for Chem Eng is definitely much greater.

Examples are:
sitting in an office designing a new plug-flow reactor for the mass production of polyester
or overseeing and improving the efficiency of produced-water removal from the crude oil mixture on an oil platform in the middle of the North Sea
or developing proton radiation therapy to treat cancer patients (it's a fact that killing cells in a bio-reactor during sterilization is not dissimilar to killing cancer cells in a tumor)
or even with a bit of training we have been told that we could become accountants.. (since nearly all Chemical Engineering courses include modules of Economics, finance and management)

I'm currently on a MEng course. What are you thinking of taking?

For Chemical Engineering, the organization that awards the Chartered status is called IChemE (and I believe the equivalent for Mech Eng is called IMechE). They say that if you take the BEng course at a recognized University (such as Sheffield), then you will need to take further qualifications and exams and gain further experience (~5 years) before you can be considered.
However, if you take and finish the MEng course, you do not need to do any further qualifications: you only then require the experience (if you take a placement year after Year 2 or Year 3, this counts towards that experience).
Then the organization will award you will a CEng.

What A-Levels/IB subjects are you taking ?

I wish I could be a Meng but I have to do Beng cuz of our sponsors obligations -.- anywayyy I will most likely be in the Oil/gas industry in my home country. I did the Math and chemistry advanced placement last year in school... full mark in each but I needed physics :'( so yeah now im doing foundation in sheffield college nxt year I'll then go to sheffield uni 1st year

Oh okay, well even after you finish the BEng course, you can always go back to Sheffield (or indeed, any Uni) and do a postgraduate MEng course
So will you be doing Chemical or Mechanical? Because Mechanical Engineers are also needed in the oil/gas industry!

Yes, there will be a lot of physics involved in all Engineering courses, but since you did extremely well in Maths, you shouldn't have a problem picking up new concepts!!
The hardest parts so far is definitely to do with advanced integration covered in Fluid Mechanics, but if you like Maths then you should sail through! And I'm sure your foundation course will cover all the basics you need to know

So what country do you call home? And why the Oil/Gas industry? (It's a good choice, because that's where the money is at the moment!, but I'm sure there are other reasons than that? )

Oh okay, well even after you finish the BEng course, you can always go back to Sheffield (or indeed, any Uni) and do a postgraduate MEng course
So will you be doing Chemical or Mechanical? Because Mechanical Engineers are also needed in the oil/gas industry!

Yes, there will be a lot of physics involved in all Engineering courses, but since you did extremely well in Maths, you shouldn't have a problem picking up new concepts!!
The hardest parts so far is definitely to do with advanced integration covered in Fluid Mechanics, but if you like Maths then you should sail through! And I'm sure your foundation course will cover all the basics you need to know

So what country do you call home? And why the Oil/Gas industry? (It's a good choice, because that's where the money is at the moment!, but I'm sure there are other reasons than that? )

I see, that sounds good! The 1 year masters is a Msc of Chem eng though, not a Meng??
1 more thing ....is leeds better than sheffield for chem eng? Yeah I have a strong opinion about chem eng unlike mech eng cuz I dnt want to miss the applications of chemistry in Engineering xD but mech eng seems to be in all the job descriptions for oil and gas jobs I see v. Few chem eng .... home country Oman if u knw where thag is

http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Articles/2013/11/05/North-Dakota-Oil-Jobs-10-Highest-Paying-Positions


Crazzzyy $$ but is chem eng involved in any?? seems more like a mech eng thing. But anywayy doesn't matter as long as one gets a good GPA

Haha those are the highest paying on an Oil project. There are in fact hundreds of people working on a single project in Oil/Gas (could be extraction, processing, or production), and to be the top paid contractor you'd have to be best of the best!!

Haha those are the highest paying on an Oil project. There are in fact hundreds of people working on a single project in Oil/Gas (could be extraction, processing, or production), and to be the top paid contractor you'd have to be best of the best!!

Thanks for all the advice and everything! ! appreciate it alot mate!