first off what do you do? I heard there isn't a lot of chemistry! If not chemistry what is in it? What types of assignemnts are there? what type of homework? problem sets? how are the tests??
I like some math, and chemistry.

What do you think the future holds for chemical engineers? will there be enough jobs after i graduate from mcmaster? will I be able to make 80k plus? Or do i have do P.Eng and then Masters for that.

Do you think i should finish off my studies as chemical engineering? cuz i heard there arent many jobs in ON...you would have to move to like alberta.

Lots of assignments. Lots of book reading. Chemistry stops in 3rd year after you finish taking organic chemistry. Most of it is focused on the thermo dynamics/heat transfer/mass transfer etc.
Tests can vary. Most are fair. Some are ridiculous (prof dependent)

I'm in this stream and don't know much about it. Apparently there is a high demand/constant flow and people say they make a high base salary. But like all engineers, you will eventually need a P.Eng. Masters and anything more would probably boost your salary abit.

In Ontario for industry specific, there prob are some but not in places where you want to. Prob in the smaller towns etc. Alberta is definetly the largest for chem/materials as of now. Mind you can also land a business type job in an Eng degree, don't have to stay if it isn't your kinda work

Originally Posted by superman208

first off what do you do? I heard there isn't a lot of chemistry! If not chemistry what is in it? What types of assignemnts are there? what type of homework? problem sets? how are the tests??
I like some math, and chemistry.

What do you think the future holds for chemical engineers? will there be enough jobs after i graduate from mcmaster? will I be able to make 80k plus? Or do i have do P.Eng and then Masters for that.

Do you think i should finish off my studies as chemical engineering? cuz i heard there arent many jobs in ON...you would have to move to like alberta.

Ya, there isn't a lot of chemistry. From what I hear, chemical engineering is more about designing chemical processing plants. You're trying to find the most efficient/cost effective way to produce a chemical/material from a set of other chemicals. As for test/homework/problem set details - I'll let someone in the program answer that.

My parents are friends with a chemical engineer, and according to her the job prospects are pretty good... but you have to be willing to travel abroad for extended periods of time. She spends a lot of time travelling to China and helping setup new plants. China is the leader in manufacturing right now, so it makes sense they would be opening a lot of chemical factories. She doesn't like it much because they don't follow pretty much any of the safety rules and guidelines (lol China), and has to stay there for up to 3 months at a time. Apparently there is work in the UK too.

It's hard to say if there will be jobs for after you graduate. The most I can say is it will likely be stable, as there isn't a lot of overseas competition building out East like there are for other engineering streams like electrical as far as I know.

I doubt you'll need a masters, but you'll definitely need a P.Eng if you plan on working in Ontario. 80k is easily attainable a few years into the job.

I am not in Chem Eng, but i did hear that it doesn't involve a lot of chemistry. Chemical engineering is about processing, like what goes in and out of the reactor and everything in between. If you go for Process Systems Engineering in 4th year you only have to take 2/3 chemistry courses in total (i think the same is for Polymer Materials and Manufacturing, not sure).

I think chemical engineering has a very bright future. It seems that your confusing Chem Eng with petroleum engineering. If you do chemical engineering you don't need to move to Alberta, there are a lot of job opportunities here in Ontario. You can even work in the food production industry and the pharmaceutical industry. Chemical engineering here at McMaster has two specializations in 4th year:

Process Systems Engineering (PSE):
http://chemeng.mcmaster.ca/undergraduate/pse.htm

Polymer Materials and Manufacturing (PMM):
http://chemeng.mcmaster.ca/undergraduate/pmm.htm

Forget about the money, if you don't like chem eng, then you are gonna have a hard time understanding the material. Study something you like and don't worry about the money!

Chemical Engineering at McMaster University:
http://chemeng.mcmaster.ca/undergraduate/ChemEng.htm

Some courses in Chem Eng:
http://chemeng.mcmaster.ca/ug_courses.html

I actually think chem eng. will replace materials. Same way as it was with metallurgical engineering.

Originally Posted by superman208

What do you think the future holds for chemical engineers? will there be enough jobs after i graduate from mcmaster? will I be able to make 80k plus? Or do i have do P.Eng and then Masters for that.

Do you think i should finish off my studies as chemical engineering? cuz i heard there arent many jobs in ON...you would have to move to like alberta.

Other than your questions about the Chem Eng program, I don't think anyone can give a definitive answer about the job prospects.

Personally, I don't see any major changes happening in the next few years. Just do a quick google search for the chemical engineering jobs in Ontario right now, and that will give you a pretty good idea of what's available. I don't think you'll need to move to Alberta, unless you're looking for a specific type of work. For example, I'm currently working in the water treatment industry where all engineering disciplines are required, including chemical engineers.

You shouldn't be asking if there will be enough jobs when you graduate. The question you should ask yourself is, are you good enough for someone to hire you over your peers. Further, no one can tell you if you're going to be able to make 80k plus. Again, the question you should be asking yourself is, are you good enough for someone to pay you 80K plus, are you actually worth that? (Yes, there are possibly some professions where you can be a complete idiot and be paid a very high minimum salary...I wouldn't consider engineering one them).

You certainly don't need a Master's to make 80K plus. Assuming you don't want to take on a managerial/business type role, it just make take you 5 - 10 years to get to that salary. A P.Eng license might not be required either, however its such an easy designation to obtain that it's not even worth contemplating. All you need is a few years experience, and write a 'law and ethics' exam which barely changes from year to year, so past exams are very easy to find.

Hey, thanks to all of you guys! really appreciated.

Just one more question, I heard the physics you do is "different" from highschool. And im not THAT good at physics. but I like math/chem. Will I be fine? :$

Im choosing between pharmacy/ chemical engineering since both have chem/math/ somewhat bio.
But i don't want to regret going into chemical engineering! its not bad right?
I love both!

Thank you guys

Originally Posted by superman208

Hey, thanks to all of you guys! really appreciated.

Just one more question, I heard the physics you do is "different" from highschool. And im not THAT good at physics. but I like math/chem. Will I be fine? :$

Im choosing between pharmacy/ chemical engineering since both have chem/math/ somewhat bio.
But i don't want to regret going into chemical engineering! its not bad right?
I love both!

Thank you guys

Pharmacy and chemical engineering are very very different. I don't think chem eng has much bio...but even so, there's really no comparing the two.
If you're interested in chem eng, you should give it a try...you need to do at least a couple of years of university before pharmacy, and you can do that in any program as long as you can take the prerequisite courses. Then if you like chem eng you can stick with it, and if not, decide from there. You don't have to pick one just yet

Originally Posted by superman208

Just one more question, I heard the physics you do is "different" from highschool. And im not THAT good at physics. but I like math/chem. Will I be fine? :$

Well the physics is different because you're primarily dealing with thermodynamics, which is about heat transfer. In highschool you do kinematics, which is about movement (projectile motion. etc) and some basic electrical as far as I remember.

Fundamentally, they're still the same in the sense that they both run on differential equations. Maybe conceptually you'll find thermodynamics harder to understand, since it isn't something you deal with in everyday life like kinematics.

From a mathematical standpoint, if you're good at one you're also good at the other.

Originally Posted by superman208

Hey, thanks to all of you guys! really appreciated.

Just one more question, I heard the physics you do is "different" from highschool. And im not THAT good at physics. but I like math/chem. Will I be fine? :$

Im choosing between pharmacy/ chemical engineering since both have chem/math/ somewhat bio.
But i don't want to regret going into chemical engineering! its not bad right?
I love both!

Thank you guys

Have you heard of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering? This program is a combination of chemical engineering and biological sciences, so you will take some biology courses along with the core chem eng courses.

Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering:
http://chemeng.mcmaster.ca/undergraduate/BioEng.htm

Courses:
http://chemeng.mcmaster.ca/undergrad...Eng-CrsSeq.htm

The regular chemical engineering program doesn't have biology in it, only if you take the bioeng specialization within chem eng.

I can't comment on the physics they do, but i know that they take fluid mechanics, thermodynamics and other courses that have some elements of physics in it. To be honest, the physics in chemical engineering is different than the physics that you do in high school, like kinematics and dynamics. Fluid mechanics is like what goes in and out of a tank and the physics behind it. It is not complicated physics. If you put in the effort and try to understand the concept behind it you should be fine. I feel like fluid mechanics is more math oriented than physics :p

Thanks again, Lets say i want to give the PCAT, can I take some bio cources as an elective? or would that be too much of a course load? it would be right.

lol, my mom wants me to go to pharmacy because she think they are "better" in all aspects.
she thinks she doesnt "see" and chemical engineers around. haha

Originally Posted by superman208

Thanks again, Lets say i want to give the PCAT, can I take some bio cources as an elective? or would that be too much of a course load? it would be right.

lol, my mom wants me to go to pharmacy because she think they are "better" in all aspects.
she thinks she doesnt "see" and chemical engineers around. haha

You don't need any specific courses to write the PCAT (just the knowledge ), but different schools have different prereqs. You should be able to fit the courses in (especially if you take summer school, it will help reduce the courseload during the year)...the only thing I'm not sure about is whether or not all of those courses will count towards your degree, because engineers have a specific list of electives.
You would have calculus, first-year chem, organic chem and thermodynamics as part of your degree, and maybe stats? So it's really just the two first-year bio courses and a biochem course. Some schools also require microbio, but not all.

Anyways, don't do pharmacy just because your mom wants you to If you don't like it, it's not worth being miserable for the next 40+ years. It's not like engineering is a dead-end field, either!

As far as I know, if bio courses aren't in your program they don't count as electives in engineering. If you really want to take bio courses, then Chem and Bio Engineering is really the best option if you really want to go from engineering to pharmacy.
I've heard that Materials engineering has more chemistry involved in it, but it is very different than your regular high school chemistry.
Try talking to pharmacists and chemical engineers that you know to get an idea of what you would be doing in the workplace. Try imagining yourself in one of these positions and get an idea of what would be more interesting for you.
I remember being pressured to go to pharmacy as well but I always thought that it would be really boring to just give patients medicine all day. I would much rather being involved in the design process of drug delivery techniques for example, but that's just me. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_XbVHh2oq4

Also, there are plenty of chemical engineers around, they're just harder to find since they don't work at your local shoppers drug mart.