Chemical engineers are involved with the process of designing and readjusting the processes associated with the manufacture of medicines, packaged and unpackaged food, oil products like petroleum, LPG, kerosene, and other biological commodities, etc. They are most commonly employed by large-scale manufacturing industries to amplify the production and quality by reducing the cost of manufacture. Chemical engineers have a vast array of branches that correlate to their line of work, helping them branch out to many divisions.

Eligibility Criteria

• Must possess at least 50% aggregate from a recognized institution in 12th, from any board PUC/CBSE/ICSE/ISC, etc. However, the cut-off margin varies with the selection process of different colleges.
• Should procure a valid score in entrance exams such as JEE-Main, KIITEE, SRMJEE, CEE, HITSEE, CET, etc., Different colleges offer their own entrance exams if you don’t have a satisfactory score in JEE or other competitive exams – colleges like NMIMS, Symbiosis International University, XUB, Andhra University, LPU, etc. Every state offers their own entrance exam as well.
• One must earn a degree in B.Sc/B.Tech or a Diploma to become a Chemical Engineer. This is a basic qualification you must require to enroll in this line of work.
• An M.Tech in Chemical Engineering can also prove to be helpful while looking for a higher degree and better learning.

Tasks to perform

• Observe and inspect data from various methods of experimentation.
• Deploy and devise safety measures and protocols to follow while experimenting with hazardous chemicals.
• Formulate different processes to separate different matter, using controlled experimentation.
• Regulating different problems through methods of chemical manufacturing.
• Understand the functionality of equipment and different processes of manufacture with safety guidelines or methods to improve overall performance.

Knowledge required

• Chemical Dexterity – Able to understand the chemical structure and composition of substances available in the environment. Includes the understanding of changes, interactions between different substances, methods of production and safe disposal of toxic substances.
• Apprehension of Physics — Predictive analytics of basic phenomena, laws, their interactions, and fluid, substance, and air mechanics interpretation techniques, and mechanical, electric, atomic and subatomic structures and processes understanding.
• Community Safety and Protection — Understanding the functioning of appropriate equipment, regulations, procedures and techniques to facilitate successful local, state or national network security for the protection of individuals, records, assets and establishments.
• Computer Application — Understanding the prospects and functioning of circuit boards, processing units, circuits, electrical devices, computer equipment, plus applications and programming.
• Science and Innovation — Creation of realistic and analytical development of science & technology. This involves the application of principles, methods, processes and machinery to the fabrication and manufacturing of different products and services.

Skills required

• Distinguishing Colors – Ability to recognize or tell apart different colors and shades.
• Innovation — Ability to develop new and genuine ideas about solving a specific subject or concerns regarding a specific problem.
• Writing Competence — Ability to provide and convey information in the form of writing.
• Mathematical Rationality — Ability to solve mathematical problems or formulas by using properly devised mathematical tools or reasoning.
• Selective Attentiveness — Ability to focus on key tasks that require utmost priority over a period of time without being liable to interruptions or distractions.

Job roles offered

Once you procure the required qualifications for becoming a Chemical Engineer, myriads of options are open to you. There are multiple projects you can undertake throughout this line of work, and there are many other fields you can branch out to as well.

• Process Engineer: A Process Engineer is responsible for developing different methods to configure and optimize processes involved in the industrial grade production, thoroughly from the beginning to the end of the process. They prioritize in conducting an analysis on the process, counter-measures and understanding the data that is being relayed back.
• Thermo-fluid Engineer: Thermo-fluid engineers are mainly involved with the functioning of heat transfer in different kinds of engineering applications. Various systems of thermo-fluids are mainly comprised in developing new and alternative sources to provide energy.
• Bioprocess Engineer: Bioprocess engineers work with scaling all processes to meet the demands of the market or organization. They are most importantly related to agriculture and food, involving in producing chemicals to control diseases, pests, animals, etc., and other chemicals to increase yield production in quality and quantity.
• Technical Chemist: Technical Chemist takes part in complex chemical research projects, manufacturing new products and devising new methods to increase the value of the overall product. They are also involved in providing technical reports of the chemical process comprising the methods used, findings acquired through experimentation, precautions taken. After finalizing, they are handed to scientists, engineers and people associated in the same field.
• Fire & Explosions Engineer: Fire and explosive engineers are involved in the line of producing study, research and experimentation in the production of new explosive materials. They help categorize and understand the development of explosives, the physical properties of the explosive, precautions to be followed while operating on such explosives, the impact of explosives in the environment, etc.

Career opportunities

Chemical engineers can opt for various fields of work in the companies listed below:

• Royal Dutch Shell plc
• Reliance Industries
• Indian Oil Corporation
• Arofine polymers Ltd
• Larsen & Toubro Ltd
• Essar Oil Limited
• Schlumberger
• Reliance Petroleum Limited
• Color-Chem
• Hindustan Unilever
• Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited
• Gujarat Alkalis & Chemicals Ltd

Colleges offering courses

• Indian Institute of Technology, Madras
• Indian Institute of technology, Bombay
• JK Lakshmipat University, Jaipur
• Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore
• Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal
• Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai
• Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay
• Parul University, Vadodara
• Chandigarh University, Chandigarh
• Lovely Professional University, Jalandhar