Chemical Engineering

Hi guys,

I just completed my degree in Chemical Engineering at Teesside. Anyone interested in learning about the course and other stuff let me know


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Is there any books or work experience that i can do which will help me with my personal statement?
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What's the best way to prepare for an engineering degree and is there anything you wish someone told you before you started?

I would say to brush up on your mathematics before you start. The first year of any chemical engineering course is more like a foundation year because you study engineering mathematics which is very similar to GCSE to A-level maths principles. Also you will learn new subjects compared that u have never done but u got through the basics and then it gets harder so first year isn't very difficult and is the easiest year of the course even though there are some difficult subjects.

I would say even if you get good grades in A-level from the way you study at the moment, do not automatically think that the same method of studying will allow to get the same type of grades at university. A lot of students that started the course with high grades (A's etc) tried to use the same study method and ended up achieving 50% or 40%. This also happened to be but I first did the extended chemical engineering course which is a foundation year so when I went to first year I had developed a studying method for myself. At university you need to put in way more hours then when at sixth form or college, the reason u get one or two days off during the week in your timetable is for you to study what u didn't have time to study during the week. So try an obtain a good study habit from the beginning.

I would also say one thing I knew in general but I know now is, that just because your doing a chemical engineering degree doesn't mean u need to apply to a graduate chemical engineering job. That's the first thing that a lot of students do but after competing my last placement last year, I found that not to be the case. You can apply to many other engineering graduate positions such as project engineer, process engineer (of course), engineering leadership, control and optimisation etc. all depends on what ur interested and what you want to do

Any tips and tricks to cope with the stress of it all

Loool I understand don't worry.
Take each thing a step at a time. Like I said develop a studying method that will suit you but also make sure to do some extra curricular activities. As long as you can develop a good work life balance you will be fine with regards to stress but, if you find that it's becoming too difficult or your too stressed make sure to speak to the lecturers. The difference with teachers in sixth form and uni is that in uni ur lecturers treat u like an adult so they r not there to tell u off but to give you a lot of advise develop a good relationship with them. Whenever I was too stressed I would literally go into the office of some of my lecturers and would tell 'look i need to chat am super stressed at the moment' we would always end up having a long conversation but I would always leave there much better since they most of the time have been through the same thing themselves.

What's the job market like for chemical engineers at the moment?

Very competitive!
While your at uni keep on eye out on the current news. At the moment with the oil and gas crisis a lot of companies are not hiring not just chemical engineers but engineers in general (they can't afford too). Lots of students to read up on the news so when it comes to applying for jobs they get demotivated when rejected however, how can you only apply to an industry that is currently in a crisis?

Get a lot of experience while at uni, do summer internships and if you can do a year placement. Having experience will increase your chances of standing out and will enhance your CV. It will also increase your chances of obtaining a graduate position once you finish. I had done 3 summer placements and a year placement. Doing this opened a lot of doors for me and also helped me to understand what I was more interested in and what I wanted to do in the future. So as well as getting the grades (2:1 or 1st) make sure to get experience

I don't believe there's any books that you can read during Alevels that will help you with your personal statement. I think having an understanding of chemical engineering and the different industries that you can go into is very important. Read up on the current issues industries are facing from the news like the oil and gas crisis and the steel crisis, a lot of students don't read the news and so have no understanding of how the industries are currently doing and how it can effect them i.e. Energy wise and getting a job later on.
Some companies (like Bp) offer summer internships or 'experience days' which are around 3 days long. I know some of my classmates had done a year placement or 3 day long placement before starting the course. Unfortunately I didn't so I can't recommend companies that I personally know about apart from Bp. I did my GCSE work experience at UCL that's how I got an understanding of the chemical engineering.
What will help you the most in your personal statement will be for you to show a keen interest in the subject in general.

Thanks:-). I just meant to ask, i know the degree involves maths, but is it heavly based on maths or does it also incorporate a lot of chemistry too?
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Loool it's engineering so it's super maths based in about 90-95% of the modules. The chemistry is incorporated into some of the modules but it's not the same as core chemistry eg one module is focused on designing reactors based on the components going in and out. I would prob say that the course had more physics then chemistry as the chemistry part is more incorporating properties of chemicals into the design of plants and equipments. Hope that makes sense. You do have one core chemistry module each year out of like 6-7 modules that u study


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Haha from that "Loool" i knew it was mostly maths. Well atleast is the content interesting because if it is not then maybe i should do mechanical engineering bexause it seems quite interesting. Also, is the maths way beyond A level?


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Hi guys,

I just completed my degree in Chemical Engineering at Teesside. Anyone interested in learning about the course and other stuff let me know


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Hi! I currently have an offer for a four year MEng course at Teesside for chem eng. I just wanted to ask, how are you mostly assessed? Any essay work?

Hey congratulations ,

It all depends on the modules that ur taught during each year. Some modules are part assignments part exams while others are only exams.
In the first year you study:
Thermodynamics and heat transfer: only exams
Chemical thermodynamics: only exams
Properties of materials: assignments only
Engineering mathematics: only exam
Advanced fluid mechanics: assignments only
Mass and energy balance: part exam, part assignment
Chemical principles: part exam, part assignment
Professional skills: assignment only

As the years go by u will do more assignments especially in 3rd and final year.


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Thank you! This is so helpful. Do you know if there's any way I could prepare for the start of my course over the summer?

Hi guys,

I just completed my degree in Chemical Engineering at Teesside. Anyone interested in learning about the course and other stuff let me know


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Hey, which subjects did you do at A level and what grades did you get? (if you don't mind me asking )
And also, would I struggle at chem eng if I didn't do A level physics? (I'm doing maths+stats, chemistry, biology, and psychology)

I did chemistry, maths, physics, sociology, portuguese and English lit

Chemistry: A
Maths: A
Physics: B
Sociology: B
English lit: B
Portuguese: A*

It's a lot I know but some of them were outside school like maths and portuguese. Some of my classmates hadn't done physics so I don't think it will be an issue there might be something's u won't understand but like I mentioned before the first year is like a foundation year u go over basic principles and then it gets harder throughout the course.



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Thanks! I thought I would need physics so this is quite reassuring
I'm also doing an EPQ project, so which topics related to chem eng would be good to research?

Hi guys,

I just completed my degree in Chemical Engineering at Teesside. Anyone interested in learning about the course and other stuff let me know


Posted from TSR Mobile

Hi guys,

I just completed my degree in Chemical Engineering at Teesside. Anyone interested in learning about the course and other stuff let me know


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I just read the handbook for chem eng at Teesside and I have a few questions if you wouldn't mind answering

How much harder is 3rd year compared to 2nd?

- much harder! Some students like to say that 2nd year is harder but, I would say (and a lot of people would agree) 2nd year may seem harder because u have more lessons and a lot of the topics are completely new compared to first year. However, 3rd year is harder not in regards to the topics because they are just the advanced versions of 2nd years topics but harder in that you have a lot more work do to and less time to study topics that u have exams on.

I think most unis have a big design project in the last year, how hard was it? Any tips?

- yep, in teesside we have a big design project every year. The final one is the biggest and it's quite difficult. The other years are more group work and the final year is an individual project where you design a specific unit in extreme detail chemical and mechanical design, including costing of the unit, sizing, location etc. this starts from the beginning of the year up until the end before final year exams.
Make sure to do background research on different designs for that unit using various sources in detail, look at websites such as cheresources.com which is a forum of professional chemical engineers that can help you with any problems you have. Even though you have a supervisor, go to other lecturers with your ideas and get extra advice.

Is it hard to achieve top grades on the coursework?

- depends on how much work and effort ur willing to put in. The more effort and work your willing to put the better you grade. By more effort I mean putting in about 3 to 4 hours a day for you work and completing your work (if you can) a day or two before it's due in to proof read it and make sure ur calculations are correct.

Thanks