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Chem->ChemEng.

Alright so,

I'm in my second year (MChem) at a pretty good university. Most likely will finish with a 1st, if not definitely a 2:1 in my degree.

My question involves a few sub questions (sorry).
I've read that doing a Msc in Chemical Eng allows you to become a Chemical engineer. I've researched into this but I'm met with many opposing views so I thought I'd ask on here.

1. So if I do my MChem and go on to do a MSC in Chemical engineering, am I qualified to get a job in chemical engineering? If so, am I equally qualified/am I at a disadvantage compared to people with BEng and Meng degrees.

A few Msc i've been looking into are listed below:

http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/postgraduate/courses/taught/chemical-engineering/advanced-chemical-engineering.aspx#CourseDetailsTab
http://www.graduate.study.cam.ac.uk/courses/directory/egcempace
https://www.imperial.ac.uk/study/pg/chemical-engineering/advanced-chemical-engineering/r=site/view&id=913
http://courses.leeds.ac.uk/23733/MSc_Chemical_Engineering
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/prospective-students/graduate/taught/degrees/chemical-process-engineering-msc
http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/courses/depts/wmg/research/phd

I'm quite interested in the courses at UCL/Imperial/Leeds.
All are accredited by IChemE.

2. As they're all accredited by the IChemE, the course adheres to the further learning for CEng status. However since I dont have a BEng, could I get CEng status? Surely I will only have passed the further learning requirement whilst skipping the BEng requirement?

3. I've read that most Msc Chemical eng courses are split into two parts, one where you do an advanced design project or you do a research project. People without a BEng will do the advanced design project where people with a BEng will do a research project. UCL and leeds both operate in this way, I've heard this is a disadvantage as if you do an advanced design project you're simply doing a BEng rather than an Msc. Would love if someone elaborated on this.


In short, is it worth it?
I have interests in both Physical and Organic chemistry. Ideally I want to peruse organic chemistry at PhD level however I want to keep my options open and this would definitely be an interesting career option to explore.

Any people out there who have done a similar "conversion" to this and would want to share there experiences.

Thank you (Sorry for the long thread)
TL;DR: If you do a Msc in chemical eng with a BSC/MChem are you equally as qualified to get a job as a chemical eng and get CEng status.
Look at jobs you may be interested in and see what the entry requirements are. Only the body that awards CEng status can tell you what their requirements are so have a look on their website and if it isn't clear email and ask. You can only do what you're eligible to do in terms of projects and if that does disadvantage you in terms of what jobs you can apply for then you'll need to gain additional experience. Maybe have a look at prospective employers and ask them what they think.
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Original post by alleycat393
Look at jobs you may be interested in and see what the entry requirements are. Only the body that awards CEng status can tell you what their requirements are so have a look on their website and if it isn't clear email and ask. You can only do what you're eligible to do in terms of projects and if that does disadvantage you in terms of what jobs you can apply for then you'll need to gain additional experience. Maybe have a look at prospective employers and ask them what they think.


Yeh, Already tried emailing but the responses were pretty unclear, seems like a generic response.

Just wanted to see if anyone had experience going down this route.
Thanks for the reply :smile:
Original post by Cobalt_
Yeh, Already tried emailing but the responses were pretty unclear, seems like a generic response.

Just wanted to see if anyone had experience going down this route.
Thanks for the reply :smile:


If you're getting a generic response then it doesn't sound like it matters either way so you have your answer there.


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Cobalt_
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Anyone else have any thoughts/experiences involving MChem->ChemEng


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Cobalt_
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Try for a last bump to see if anyone has any experiences on this.
Original post by Cobalt_
Try for a last bump to see if anyone has any experiences on this.


1) You are qualified although possibly at a disadvantage for getting a job, depending on what the job entails. A lot of chemical engineers do very little, if any, chemistry, with their job being far more industrial in nature, e.g. dealing with equipment like valves, pumps, compressors etc.

2) Check with the IChemE but I am sure you can achieve chartered status without a BEng if you have an accredited masters.

3) Never heard this before, but you could also say that a design project might be more relevant when it comes to jobs than a research project. Again, not sure, though.
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Original post by Smack
1) You are qualified although possibly at a disadvantage for getting a job, depending on what the job entails. A lot of chemical engineers do very little, if any, chemistry, with their job being far more industrial in nature, e.g. dealing with equipment like valves, pumps, compressors etc.

2) Check with the IChemE but I am sure you can achieve chartered status without a BEng if you have an accredited masters.

3) Never heard this before, but you could also say that a design project might be more relevant when it comes to jobs than a research project. Again, not sure, though.


Thanks for this!
Appreciate it :smile: very helpful.


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Original post by Cobalt_
Thanks for this!
Appreciate it :smile: very helpful.


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Have you discovered any additional information about your queries in the last couple of months? This is the exact same situation that I'm in at the moment and I found this thread whilst searching for answers.
With regards to the last point about the design project and research project, you've probably heard only doing the design project makes it more like a BEng because the design project is a required component for someone studying a BEng. The research project is then the component studied by someone in the 4th year of an MEng. But, only the design project is required for you to have an accredited qualification, so when you do the masters separately, you have to do the design project, whereas the people with a BEng already have already done this compulsory study, so get to do a research project.

If that makes sense at all...
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Original post by Dusky Mauve
With regards to the last point about the design project and research project, you've probably heard only doing the design project makes it more like a BEng because the design project is a required component for someone studying a BEng. The research project is then the component studied by someone in the 4th year of an MEng. But, only the design project is required for you to have an accredited qualification, so when you do the masters separately, you have to do the design project, whereas the people with a BEng already have already done this compulsory study, so get to do a research project.

If that makes sense at all...


Yeh that makes perfect sense thank you!!
So having a Bsc/Msc rather than an BEng/Msc shouldnt really effect me?
ex-CEng here. Doing project design will help you in engineering design related jobs (EPC company or offshore service). If you prefer doing C.Eng jobs in research centre (e.g R&D in Shell or BP), research experience will benefit you better.

Note: don't do anything you don't like just because they MIGHT BE more financially beneficial in the future




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No it won't matter. Bring out your best grades and you'll be fine. Make sure you create good networks while you're doing projects and/or internships.

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Original post by forbiddenforest
No it won't matter. Bring out your best grades and you'll be fine. Make sure you create good networks while you're doing projects and/or internships.

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Thank you, your comments are extremely helpful.

Yeh ofcourse not, I'm just thinking about ChemEng as a viable option.
I'm not too bothered about finances, rather have a job I love :biggrin:

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