Studying Chemical Engineering

All that surrounds us, right from sugar to plastics has been extracted from natural sources. Sugar, for example, began its life as the sweet sap in the stems of sugar cane plants. The sugar cane is then crushed to extract the juice, which is in turn processed in factories resulting in production of sugar as we know it.

Chemical engineering is the branch of engineering which devises ways to convert raw materials into useful materials. It is a far-reaching discipline cutting across chemistry, biology, economics and other branches of engineering. Chemical engineering finds applications in all industries from food to mining to plastics because almost all industries need chemicals to either produce goods or deliver services.

Some of the most popular universities in the United States that offer programmes in chemical engineering include:

• New Jersey Institute of Technology
• University Of Nebraska-Lincoln
• Maryland University

Salary and Career Prospects

Chemical engineers are employed by food and beverage companies, transport companies, electricity and power companies, utilities, mining and manufacturing companies, the government and academia.

Some of the roles graduates take up are Chemical Engineer, Chemical Process Engineer, Quality Assurance Officer and Inspection Engineer.

Salaries vary depending on qualifications, job role, location and experience. As a guide, chemical engineering professionals earn around an average of $100,000 a year (70 lakhs INR).

Why study in USA?

The United States of America is the most popular destination for international students. Its universities are widely regarded as being among the best in the world for teaching, learning and research. In fact, American universities consistently outrank non-American universities in QS World Rankings every year.

The US economy is the world’s largest. The country is the birthplace of conglomerates like Amazon, Dell, Microsoft, Citi Group, Ford and Walmart. American companies operate in pretty much every sector or industry, ranging from IT and technology to pharmaceutical to retail, transport, and hospitality. Different regions of the United States are known for excelling in different industries. California, for example is a world-leading IT and technology hub and New York is a major business, banking and finance hub. In addition to this, several international agencies like the United Nations, World Bank are headquartered in USA.

The country is a popular tourist destination, with millions of tourists drawn to its vibrant cities, breathtakingly beautiful national parks and landscapes, excellent dining, hospitality and leisure options and historic buildings, museums and art galleries. New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Seattle are among the biggest cities.

There is no language barrier because English is the de facto official language. However, USA is a multicultural country and several hundred languages are spoken at community level.

International graduates are able to apply for a post-study work permit, or optional practical training (OPT) as it is called in the States for a period of up to 36 months.