Mechanical Engineering or Chemical Engineering?

I do mechanical and it provides you with excellent career prospects. As do all the core engineering disciplines.

Mechanical isn't like general; it's its own specific discipline, although it is perhaps the broadest.

Okay, but many Universities offer Mechanical Engineering with an option to specialise in the 4th year... So is it an unreasonable thing for me to put in my Personal Statement (as mentioned in Original Post)???

I'm afraid I don't know much about personal statements.

Okay, but many Universities offer Mechanical Engineering with an option to specialise in the 4th year... So is it an unreasonable thing for me to put in my Personal Statement (as mentioned in Original Post)???

With chemical engineering, the fields you can go into are limited when compared to mechanical engineering.. There may be 4 times more mechanical engineers graduating every year, but the number of jobs available for mechanical engineers is much higher than chemical engineers (graduate jobs), there is a need for mechanical engineers in almost any industry, and the demand for mechanical engineers is high, so as a result the supply is high too.. With a mechanical engineering degree you can go into most of the fields covered by a chemical engineering degree, such as oil&gas, and you can easily reach six figures if you secure an offshore job etc..

http://www.whynotchemeng.com/information/benefits%20and%20salary%20information.aspx

On average, the graduate salary is £4,000 more for someone who did ChemEng over MechEng

Well, that is because chemical engineers usually get jobs in energy, and oil and gas, which are the highest paying ones (although some of them go for other industries in which they are needed), whereas mechanical engineers go for almost all industries, including oil and gas, and the salary varies a lot. The average might be higher in Chem. eng, but just like with any engineering it's really up to you if you want to get a well paying - high stress job, or go into a more sophisticated less paying field, such as alternative energy ..

PS : I'm also a mech. eng. student, and I'm seeking a job in oil and gas (actually I have an internship) I might be a little biased towards my degree, but I'm also well informed on this And east & south asian studies better paying then engineering??? WTF

With chemical engineering, the fields you can go into are limited when compared to mechanical engineering.. There may be 4 times more mechanical engineers graduating every year, but the number of jobs available for mechanical engineers is much higher than chemical engineers (graduate jobs), there is a need for mechanical engineers in almost any industry, and the demand for mechanical engineers is high, so as a result the supply is high too.. With a mechanical engineering degree you can go into most of the fields covered by a chemical engineering degree, such as oil&gas, and you can easily reach six figures if you secure an offshore job etc..

How does a mech eng go into the Energy sector IYO? Also how does a Mech eng go into the oil and gas sector? I didn't know that was possible?

I'm a mechanical engineering student and have done two placements in the oil industry, in two different roles, and I will explain how a mechanical engineer fits into the oil industry.

They fit in just about everywhere. From drilling to well engineering to subsea to facilities to decommissioning to downstream.

Oil rigs are essentially processing plants out at sea. So all of the valves, piping, pressure vessels (e.g. separators), pumps, HVAC, rotating equipment etc. is all done by mechanical engineers. Then beneath the surface of the sea, all of the risers (vertical pipelines), wellheads, flowlines, manifolds and other subsea architecture is all done by mechanical engineers.

Then at the drilling side it is, again, largely dominated by mechanical engineering graduates and apprentices (I got offered a job as a drilling engineer with my mechanical degree, and as far as I am aware they only accepted applications from mechanical students).

Mechanical engineering graduates are likely by far the most common in the industry, followed by electrical and electronics graduates who do all of the power systems, controls, instrumentation etc.

How does a mech eng go into the Energy sector IYO? Also how does a Mech eng go into the oil and gas sector? I didn't know that was possible?



This is interesting, on another thread I started people were saying that pretty much the only offshore stuff which is paid a lot of money is being on an oil rig, what other offshore jobs would give such a high salary for engineering? Surely only oil related jobs would give such a high income?

I'm a mechanical engineering student and have done two placements in the oil industry, in two different roles, and I will explain how a mechanical engineer fits into the oil industry.

They fit in just about everywhere. From drilling to well engineering to subsea to facilities to decommissioning to downstream.

Oil rigs are essentially processing plants out at sea. So all of the valves, piping, pressure vessels (e.g. separators), pumps, HVAC, rotating equipment etc. is all done by mechanical engineers. Then beneath the surface of the sea, all of the risers (vertical pipelines), wellheads, flowlines, manifolds and other subsea architecture is all done by mechanical engineers.

Then at the drilling side it is, again, largely dominated by mechanical engineering graduates and apprentices (I got offered a job as a drilling engineer with my mechanical degree, and as far as I am aware they only accepted applications from mechanical students).

Mechanical engineering graduates are likely by far the most common in the industry, followed by electrical and electronics graduates who do all of the power systems, controls, instrumentation etc.

I guess Smack explained the energy stuff pretty well.. Offshore jobs are mostly on oil rigs although there is an increasing investment on offshore wind farms (US plans to build massive ones on the Mexican gulf, and Holland is going crazy about it too ) If you want a high salary, you might want to stay out of the field, and go for the office of the same company (because oil& gas is where the big money is), and work for marketing, risk assessment or project management departments, where your engineering background (and your analytical skills) will be needed..