chemistry degree

You can only go into research with chemistry or end up being a teacher or do something completely irrelevant than chemistry. Why not do chemical engineering ?


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You can only go into research with chemistry or end up being a teacher or do something completely irrelevant than chemistry. Why not do chemical engineering ?


Posted from TSR Mobile

I have applied to do a chemistry degree and i'm worried ill find it too difficult and I won't understand anything, has anyone here done and a degree in chemistry and can calm me down? thanks

Not true. I know people in my year who want to go on and do a PhD, others who want to teach, do investment banking, become an Airline Pilot...


lol as I said completely irrelevant to chemistry.



Posted from TSR Mobile

Not true. I know people in my year who want to go on and do a PhD, others who want to teach, do investment banking, become an Airline Pilot...



The first term (semester) is very much getting everyone up to the same level, as you'll have people who did different exam boards for chemistry in the UK, which don't all assess the same things, and there will be people from outside the UK/EU in your year. My german friend had never done any spectroscopy, before she came to uni, whilst I know with A level, there's quite a bit in there!

They're not horrible enough to throw you in at the deep end with 'Particle in a box' in your first lecture, despite appearances, they do want you to do well. There will be lectures where you come out and you'll be like 'well, I have absolutely NO idea what I was taking notes on for the last 50 minutes, it was all words and squiggles'. But that's nothing that a night in with a large mug of coffee, the internet and the textbook will not fix. If that gets you nowhere, then you ask people on your course (there will be that guy/ girl who genuinely seems to know more about a topic than the lecturer does - become friends with them). Then you ask the lecturer who does that module if all else fails.

You may well find that you get problem sheets to do every week which you then discuss as a group of say, 6, with a lecturer/ postdoc and this is a massive help. I didn't have A level maths, or Physics, missed my conditional offer for Sheffield by a mile, and they STILL accepted me, and I passed first year with a 2:1.

How did you find thermodynamics? Any tips? Just wondering as I'll be doing it in my chem eng degree.

And I am a chemist swapping to a chemical engineering. I think chem eng takes a lot more maths to succeed, but chemistry is more conceptual. But I know that often modules overlap at various unis; perhaps .snowflake. can advise.

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Thermo? NIGHTMARE. I hate Carnot cycles, because they just don't make any sense. As a chemist I'll assume you've got/ are aware of Atkin's Physical Chemistry? If not, get it. This will be your bible.
Make flashcards of your formulae, go to all of the lectures, despite how much you may hate the lecturer/ not get what's going on. Cry (lots). Engineering definitely seems to have a lot more maths than chemistry - chemistry has enough maths already tyvm, why would I want to add more?

I think some of the modules I do and the chem eng lot do, do overlap, but it's only the 'Chemical Eng with chemistry lot that are in my organic lectures - I think that's because the lecture theatres within the chemistry aren't big enough, and because we do a tonne of synthetic stuff that they don't cover.
We had a maths module with some of the engineers last year. Apparently you could tell really easily who did what subject. Female - almost certainly a chemist. White, definitely a chemist. Asian, definitely an engineer.

Thanks for the info! Trying to get my head around adiabats and such like. Hoping there aren't many more new concepts or my head WILL explode.

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Oh, there's tonnes.

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With chemical engineering, if OP isn't passionate about it, they'll hate the degree, and probably end up dropping out. The chem eng. lot at Sheffield do a hell of a lot of organic chemistry, and not an awful lot in terms of physical/inorganic by the sounds of it. But couldn't the same be said about an undergraduate masters in Chemical engineering? That you either go on to be a chemical engineer, or do something completely unrelated.

With chemical engineering, if OP isn't passionate about it, they'll hate the degree, and probably end up dropping out. The chem eng. lot at Sheffield do a hell of a lot of organic chemistry, and not an awful lot in terms of physical/inorganic by the sounds of it. But couldn't the same be said about an undergraduate masters in Chemical engineering? That you either go on to be a chemical engineer, or do something completely unrelated.