I will be finishing a Masters in Chemical Engineering with an emphasis in process control in a few months and am trying to understand my future employment options. I may be oversimplifying, but it appears to me that there are two paths, initially, consulting or manufacturing employment. Here in Texas you have AspenTech, Pavilion and many similar companies (on the consulting side) or one of the many petroleum/chemical companies (on the manufacturing side).

I am trying to understand the differences in employment paths in the following areas:

1) Opportunities to learn - Since most of my background is academic, I have tons to learn, so I want a first job that provides the best/most opportunities for learning DCS, multivariate control, etc.

2) Travel - I understand that consulting may require substantial travel, but in a city like Houston, with a lot of resident industry, might that dictate travel more within a 50-100 mile radius (as opposed to across the country)?

3) Compensation - Any differences?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

If I were you I would pursue a career in advanced control with a company like Aspen. Typically they are well paid and get a very marketable skill set.

Wes

 

I would suggest HATCH.

 

First; do not grade me based on my spelling and/or grammar!

I congratulate you on your achievement and your "state of mind".

It is obvious that you are "willing" to learn "beyond your academic background".

I recommend industry. If you are willing to learn from technicians, electricians, mechanics, etc., there resides a "wealth" of information.

You will probably be subjected to ridicule by these "old farts", but you will also be subjected to many years of "how things really work". If you gain the "old farts" confidence, they will give you this "wealth of information".

Meanwhile, low salary and maybe benefits.

Once you have been "educated"; the world of "respectable" consulting begins.

The meaning of "respectable" is being able to walk into a plant, regardless of design, and gain the confidence of the workers (technicians, electricians, mechanics, etc.) immediately!

I have entered TOO MANY plants where management has asked for consultation where the operation and maintenance crews already KNEW the answer to the problem; but were not asked.

A enlightened engineer will make a fortune recommending a solution; that already works; but has only been tested by those who operate and repair the equipment daily.

Be Humble and Listen and your education will take you far!!

Best of Luck,
CTTech

 

I suggest you immediately enroll for graduate work in a real profession: dentistry, medicine, law, accounting, pharmacy.

Take it from one has experienced it all. Engineers are highly educated migrant workers with very, very poor long term job prospects and earnings.

Keep an open mind to my commments. ASK EXPERIENCE ENGINEERS, PARTICULARLY THOSE WHO DO NOT HAVE AN AXE TO GRIND. Most highly talented engineers I have worked with have gotten out of the field. Others are broken, hollow men.

 

A true engineer (not just a degree, but someone who thinks like an engineer) will want to do engineering work because they truly enjoy it. High pay, low pay, no matter. You take what you can get and do the work that you were born to do.

If you are just chasing a high salary and benefits and don't care how you get it, then I agree with the poster.

Bill Sturm

 

Hi Jud,

Sorry my reply is delayed by at least 1 year in terms of digits.

I think you should work with Process licenssor
e.g. U.O.P or others, where you truly design &
understand Process control.

Engineering company talk about man hours/head count & not process control.

I had attended very recently Lecture from Bela
Liptak - author, in my country INDIA.

My conclusion of lecture is as below:

1] Only Process licenssor talk about process control.

2] It is tough path you have chosen for yourself.

I am also process control engineers with similar
background.

Regards,

Jari
[email protected]

 

Thanks for those who replied. I graduated in May and decided to take a job at a chemicals manufacturing facility in Houston.

Several professors and others who had spent time practicing process control in industry suggested that the most effective control engineers understand processes. The advice was that spending all my time in a manufacturing plant would help me best gain this understanding (at least initially). Perhaps later I will spend time consulting.

So far I've been happy with my decision. Just wanted to report back!

 

I've been around manufacturing and power plants almost all of my working life and I agree with CTTech completely. The best engineers I've worked with aren't afraid to go out in the field, and they aren't too egotistical to ask O&M people questions.

The least competent engineers are the desk jockeys. Isolated from the real world, their projects tend to be nightmares for O & M, and their designs invariably end up being "upgraded" down the road. And since they rarely go out to the field and look at their results, they'll faithfully reproduce the same poor designs year after year.

It may take a while, but you'll find out who the go-to guys are--the ones that take their jobs seriously and are willing to help you succeed.