Tag: careers

Five things to consider for transferring sectors

The COVID-19 pandemic and climate change have caused a shift in job opportunities for chemical engineers, particularly for those in more traditional carbon-based industries.

This may lead some to wonder what opportunities there are to move from these sectors to emerging ones and how to best to utilise and showcase their transferable skills in applications and interviews to make the switch.

In two recent articles for The Chemical Engineer, recruitment consultant James Colley offers his expert opinion. As Director of Consilium Recruit he has worked closely with chemical engineers and recruiters over the years to help find suitable matches and recognises the wealth of transferable skills chemical engineers can bring to different sectors.

So, here are five of his many tips on switching sectors.

Continue reading Five things to consider for transferring sectors

Why do we need female engineers? #INWED17

Why do we need female engineers? 

It’s a simple, in some ways controversial question, that we put out to IChemE members a couple of weeks ago to mark today’s International Women In Engineering Day.

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We received a fantastic response from chemical engineers working all over the world – take a look at them below and stay tuned on Twitter where we will be sharing them throughout the day.

How will you or your organisation be celebrating gender diversity today?

Continue reading Why do we need female engineers? #INWED17

KBR are #RaisingProfiles for International Women in Engineering Day

INWED LogoTomorrow is International Women In Engineering Day (INWED), and it’s been great to see an overwhelmingly positive response from our community in the form of events and activities.

The INWED website has some fantastic ideas for organisations to improve their diversity agenda, from organising networking events to completing an equal pay audit. It isn’t too late for your company to get involved, visit the website for more ideas.

Global engineering services provider KBR, a Gold Corporate Partner with the IChemE, is already ahead of the curve. Aspire, an employee-driven resources group committed to female engineers and promoting gender parity, was launched in Houston, US in 2016. In January it was rolled-out across the pond, and Aspire UK was born.

Aspire UK

To celebrate #INWED2017 the Aspire UK team joined with KBR’s graduate network, Impact, to host students from a local school. They attended the KBR Campus in Leatherhead today (Thursday 22 June) and inspired to take a career path in engineering.

The students were immersed in a working engineering environment and given several interactive workshop presentations about engineering, the opportunities the profession presents, and the pathways into an engineering career. They attended a networking lunch where they were able to meet with more engineers from KBR, including the business leaders.

The final activity was a team building game, where the students had to use their problem solving skills to build an Oil Rig Jacket Structure (oil platform) out of paper.

We caught up with the engineers who spoke at the event.

Continue reading KBR are #RaisingProfiles for International Women in Engineering Day

10 steps to get Chartered

engineersAwarding Chartered Chemical Engineer status is just one of the ways we aim to be the organisation of choice for chemical engineers. We do it because we think hard-working, competent, professional chemical engineers should be recognised and provided with a mark of trust.

Yesterday we gave you ‘10 reasons to get Chartered’. So, now that you’re convinced, we have broken the process up into ten easy steps.

Okay so easy is the wrong word to describe it, because the hard-work you put in as a chemical engineer is what makes you eligible for Chartered status. It carries a lot of weight those letters after your name, they signify that you are an engineer who has the technical knowledge, practical experience, and training to be a trustworthy professional.

But trust us, the process to get there is actually pretty straight-forward. First, watch the below video, then read the 10 steps for a bit more detail – and let us know what you think in the comments.

Continue reading 10 steps to get Chartered

Guest blog: #WorldWaterDay

IChemE’s Special Interest Groups (SIGs) are an essential way for our members to share knowledge and collaborate on initiatives, which are of significance to their sector.

drop on water

Today is World Water Day, and our Water SIG is a hugely important part of providing expert advice and consultation to the innovations that could change our world. Water is essential to life, it must be sustainable or we cannot survive. Chemical engineers are an important part of making sure water provision is sufficient, clean, economical, and environmentally-friendly.

Chris Short, Chair of the IChemE Water SIG, explores in more detail the current challenges for the water sector in today’s blog post. Read on to hear his thoughts, and feel free to join the conversation on Twitter using #WorldWaterDay or by leaving a comment below:

chris-short

Name: Chris Short
Job: Consultant and Chartered Chemical Engineer
Company: Chris Short Water Quality (previously Yorkshire Water)
Special Interest Group: Water, Chairman

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Today is World Water Day, and I’ll be attending a conference in Leeds, UK, on Innovations in Wastewater Treatment. The focus will be on the recovery of value from wastewater and I expect to hear how leading-edge technologies are performing and what new processes are being evaluated by researchers.

This is exciting stuff.

Continue reading Guest blog: #WorldWaterDay

Why join IChemE?

We hope you have been keeping up with our ChemEngProfiles video blogs. Over the last few weeks, we have shared the stories of twenty chemical engineers – at various stages in their careers, and working for some of the biggest companies in the world.

Last week we gave you ‘Five powerful reasons to be a chemical engineer at Shell’, following the success of our previous posts – ‘Five sweet reasons to be a chemical engineer at Mondelez’, ‘Five great reasons to be a chemical engineer at BP’, and ‘Five great reasons to be a chemical engineer at Syngenta’. So what’s next?

The thing that our interviewees had in common was that they are all IChemE members, and they view membership as an important addition to their CV.

IChemE_10mm_RGBIn today’s post we’ve turned the spotlight on ourselves – IChemE, the global professional membership organisation for chemical, biochemical and process engineers.

Continue reading Why join IChemE?

The life of a Brewer (Day 350)

I was so impressed with today’s guest blogger’s recent webinar (arranged by IChemE’s Food and Drink SIG) I got in touch with him to ask about his work and why he became a chemical engineer. Thomas Brewer works in the food industry for SABMiller as an engineering consultant.

He has had an interesting career path, so I’ll let him explain it in more detail:

Tom BrewerName: Thomas Brewer
Job: Engineering Consultant
Course: Chemical engineering (MEng), University of Cambridge
Graduated: 1998
Employer: SABMiller

 

Quote startI am perhaps unusual amongst our profession as I knew from a very early age that I wanted to be a chemical engineer. At about the age of 11, I was becoming more aware of the world around me and noted the science articles about Brazil, the oil crisis and biofuels in newspapers. I decided chemical engineering would help me be a part of the solution and give me an opportunity to make an impact.

If asked what today’s big challenges are, I would say we already recognise the issues around water and energy and we are going to have to deal with protein. Every day our society downgrades or throws away protein, we need to get better at valuing it for what it is.

Continue reading The life of a Brewer (Day 350)

The accidental biochemical engineer (Day 260)

As you can guess from the title of this blog, this entry isn’t about me. Today’s guest blog is by a fellow panellist at last year’s Chemical Engineers and the Media event, Dr. Tarit Mukhopadhyay, a lecturer at the department of biochemical engineering at University College London (UCL).

So enough from me, I’ll let Tarit explain his route into the world of biochemical engineering.

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TaritName: Dr. Tarit Mukhopadhyay
Job: Lecturer
Course: MEng, biochemical engineering, University College London
Graduated: 2002
Employer: Department of Biochemical Engineering, UCL

 

I didQuote startn’t originally plan on becoming a biochemical engineer. The main bulk of my applications through UCAS were to study medicine – my dad was a GP and perhaps it was an expected route for me to take.

But one of my applications was to study biochemical engineering and to be honest, at that time, I didn’t really know what it was. I chose biochemical over chemical engineering because I was more interested in the pharmaceutical aspect of the discipline.

At my UCAS interview, I felt as if I was being recruited. I don’t recall being asked a lot of questions, but instead being drawn into a world of ‘what if’. What if experimental procedures such as gene therapy or biofuels were successful? And how could I, as a biochemical engineer, be part of the solution?

Continue reading The accidental biochemical engineer (Day 260)

Best blogs of 2014: What made you become a chemical engineer? (Day 218)

PotteryHello everyone. During the seasonal holidays, I am re-posting some of the most popular blogs from the past six months.

Here’s one of my early blogs that talked about how my own career was shaped by my childhood. It would be great to hear some of your stories about how you became interested in this great profession of ours.

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I was born in Stoke-on-Trent in the 1940s where my father worked for Podmore and Sons, which made and processed raw materials like clays and glazes for the pottery industry.

My father’s connection to Podmore and Sons opened a door to some summer vacation work and it became my first exposure to both industrial chemistry and engineering. The rest is history.

Today, many people are undoubtedly attracted by the excellent pay, travel and simple job satisfaction from working in some of the fascinating and important industries which form the building blocks of the modern world.

Continue reading Best blogs of 2014: What made you become a chemical engineer? (Day 218)

Best blogs of 2014: Ten reasons to become a chemical engineer (Day 215)

NumbersHello everyone. During the seasonal holidays, I am re-posting some of the most popular blogs from the past six months.

In June 2014, I suggested ten reasons why you should consider becoming a chemical engineer.

In fact there are many more reasons, but I hope you find the ten that made our list helpful, especially if you are at school or in the early stages of your career.

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The media (and generally readers) love lists of things. Easily digestible and readable, they are a great way to start debate and communicate in a few words. A quick Google will show you just how many top ten lists there.

Anyway, throughout my presidency I thought I’d use this handy technique in my blogs to get your views and comments – beginning with ten reasons to become a chemical engineer. In no particular order, my top ten are:

Continue reading Best blogs of 2014: Ten reasons to become a chemical engineer (Day 215)

Best blogs of 2014: Ten future careers of chemical engineers (Day 214)

Looking to the futureHello everyone. During the seasonal holidays, I am re-posting some of the most popular blogs from the past six months.

Today’s blog has been the most popular yet and has been read nearly 8,000 times.

It’s a bit of futurism and if you’re still around in 50 years – and blogging still exists –  it might be useful to look ‘back to the future’ and see just how close I was. Thanks for reading.

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Hello and welcome to Day 100 of my presidency.

Normally, ‘presidents’ cast their eye over their achievements for this mini milestone. But to break the tradition, I am going to look forward to speculate how careers in chemical engineering might evolve.

I find that newspapers often produce articles hypothesising about what possible careers we will be performing in the future. The majority of the time these future careers all involve an aspect of chemical engineering.

I know from working as a chemical engineer that we can be hard to identify as we are rarely called ‘chemical engineers’. We can be process engineers, safety engineers, bioproduct engineers, design engineers, environmental engineers… and some of us aren’t even called engineers!

Reading through the online literature I came across a variety of future professions and roles, some more fanciful than others, that I think will be well suited to the skills of tomorrow’s chemical engineers and some that are already being done by today’s chemical engineers.

Here are ten (possible!) future careers of chemical engineers:

Continue reading Best blogs of 2014: Ten future careers of chemical engineers (Day 214)

Best blogs of 2014: Ten job titles of chemical engineers… and what they actually mean (Day 213)

Great jobHappy ‘Boxing Day’ to you all! 

During the seasonal holidays, I am re-posting some of the most popular blogs from the past six months.

In October, I highlighted how invisible our profession can be. 

I guesstimate that there might be at least half a million chemical engineers dotted around the planet, yet we are hardly household names. Hopefully, today’s blog explains some of the reasons why.

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Chemical engineers can be hard to identify, not just because most people aren’t clear about what chemical engineering actually is, but because chemical engineers rarely can be identified by the job title – chemical engineer!

To help dispel this confusion I have compiled a list of ten job titles that chemical engineers typically fill:

Continue reading Best blogs of 2014: Ten job titles of chemical engineers… and what they actually mean (Day 213)

Starting a chemical engineering career in academia (Day 190)

Research is an important part of chemical engineering, and chemical engineers going on to further study and completing a PhD make up part of that picture. The importance of chemical engineering research in being at the forefront of tackling many of the world’s tough challenges is also emphasised in IChemE’s technical strategy, Chemical Engineering Matters.

Graduate destinations data from Higher Educations Statistics Agency
Graduate destinations data from Higher Educations Statistics Agency

In the UK, it is encouraging to see that more graduates are going on to further study within chemical engineering (see graph) than the other engineering disciplines.

So, what is is like to go into further study and start a career in academia nowadays?

I can certainly tell you what it was like back in the 1970s when I started, but I think that it’s probably for the best that I hand the reigns over to a chemical engineer completing their PhD in the present day for today’s guest blog.

Continue reading Starting a chemical engineering career in academia (Day 190)

Five ways to have a successful research career (Day 169)

SuccessWhen I meet with up and coming chemical engineers – and via this blog – I often get asked for advice on what career route they should take.

My guidance is always to look at all the options; do your research; talk to family and friends; gain work experience if possible; and analyse your own strengths and weaknesses. In some cases you may even seek professional careers advice.

But, importantly, the decision must be yours, especially as it may prove to be the most dominant and consistent feature of your life for 50 years or more.

However, one of the options is a career in academia and I hope you find this information useful background to any decision you make.

Relatively few chemical engineering graduates continue on into further study; for example in the UK, 33.1 per cent of chemistry graduates carry out postgraduate study compared with 16.5 per cent of chemical engineering graduates.

Continue reading Five ways to have a successful research career (Day 169)

Ten job titles of chemical engineers… and what they actually mean (Day 129)

Great JobChemical engineers can be hard to identify, not just because most people aren’t clear about what chemical engineering actually is, but because chemical engineers rarely can be identified by the job title – chemical engineer!

To help dispel this confusion I have compiled a list of ten job titles that chemical engineers typically fill:

 

1. Process engineer

When I met up with chemical engineering colleagues they often describe themselves as process engineers. Process engineering occurs across the wide range of chemical engineering sectors, but a process engineer will typically work to design engineering packages, develop new ideas and processes, and monitor and maintain plant systems.

Continue reading Ten job titles of chemical engineers… and what they actually mean (Day 129)

Ten future careers of chemical engineers (Day 100)

Young Executive looking to the futureHello and welcome to Day 100 of my presidency.

Normally, ‘presidents’ cast their eye over their achievements for this mini milestone. But to break the tradition, I am going to look forward to speculate how careers in chemical engineering might evolve.

I find that newspapers often produce articles hypothesising about what possible careers we will be performing in the future. The majority of the time these future careers all involve an aspect of chemical engineering.

I know from working as a chemical engineer that we can be hard to identify as we are rarely called ‘chemical engineers’. We can be process engineers, safety engineers, bioproduct engineers, design engineers, environmental engineers… and some of us aren’t even called engineers!

Reading through the online literature I came across a variety of future professions and roles, some more fanciful than others, that I think will be well suited to the skills of tomorrow’s chemical engineers and some that are already being done by today’s chemical engineers.

Here are ten (possible!) future careers of chemical engineers:

Continue reading Ten future careers of chemical engineers (Day 100)

Gender’s not the only issue (Day 97)

Career keyhole
35 per cent of IChemE’s students across the world are women.

Like most of the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines, the chemical engineering profession can suffer from a lack of diversity.

The most common diversity angle is the gender balance issue. While there is plenty of room for improvement, we can be proud of the fact that around 35 per cent of IChemE’s global student members are women.

A closer look at IChemE’s membership data shows how the chemical engineering profession is thriving, from a gender perspective, in some countries.

Malaysia tops the list with women accounting for 49 per cent of chemical engineering student members. New Zealand (40 per cent), Australia (35 per cent) and Singapore (31 per cent) also post strong performances for gender balance.

Continue reading Gender’s not the only issue (Day 97)

Sometimes making people smile is enough (Day 76)

Fracture - Abhi Lokesh and Alex Theodre
Fracture – Abhi Lokesh and Alex Theodre (right)

Every now and again on ChemEng365, we venture away from the many ‘game-changing’ developments and achievements in chemical engineering that help to change the engineering landscape.

Today, we are digressing into the world of business start-ups, entrepreneurship and digital printing.

Our story centres on Abhi Lokesh and Alex Theodore, who co-founded Fracture – a small digital print business with a difference.

Continue reading Sometimes making people smile is enough (Day 76)

Ten differences between chemistry and chemical engineering (Day 66)

Element cubesWhen I talk about my work I find the common problem that people do not understand the difference between chemists and chemical engineers.

Both fields are becoming increasingly important and deserve greater public recognition, but they are distinct.

Although I now work as a chemical engineer I originally studied chemistry, and so feel I should be well placed to highlight the key differences and dispel common misconceptions.

However, this list is in no way definitive and there are huge overlaps in the work of chemists and chemical engineers.

Here are ten differences between chemists and chemical engineers:

Continue reading Ten differences between chemistry and chemical engineering (Day 66)

A postcard from China (Day 50)

China StampLife is full of little milestones and today marks 50 days since I took the office of IChemE president. Thank you to everyone for your generous messages of support so far.

Today’s blog reflects the truly global nature of the chemical engineering profession. There’s around 200 countries in the world and you’ll find IChemE members in around 60 per cent of them (120) – very impressive.

Last week I received an email from a member living and working in China – Kenny McDonald, a formulation technology and commissioning manager, for BASF Crop Protection (Jiangsu).

Continue reading A postcard from China (Day 50)

Ten reasons to become a chemical engineer (Day 24)

NumbersThe media (and generally readers) love lists of things. Easily digestible and readable, they are a great way to start debate and communicate in a few words. A quick Google will show you just how many top ten lists there.

Anyway, throughout my presidency I thought I’d use this handy technique in my blogs to get your views and comments – beginning with ten reasons to become a chemical engineer. In no particular order, my top ten are:

Continue reading Ten reasons to become a chemical engineer (Day 24)

Where are you now? (Day 19)

MembraneI’m sure, like me, you meet and work with a great deal of people. But time never stands still and rarely do people. However, writing my blog over these first few weeks has made me realise the power of social media to connect and re-connect with people.

It’s also a chance to find out how organisations like IChemE have influenced the life and careers of its members, and many other people we try to help.

Continue reading Where are you now? (Day 19)

What made you become a chemical engineer? (Day 11)

PotteryI was born in Stoke-on-Trent in the 1940s where my father worked for Podmore and Sons, which made and processed raw materials like clays and glazes for the pottery industry.

My father’s connection to Podmore and Sons opened a door to some summer vacation work and it became my first exposure to both industrial chemistry and engineering. The rest is history.

Today, many people are undoubtedly attracted by the excellent pay, travel and simple job satisfaction from working in some of the fascinating and important industries which form the building blocks of the modern world.

Continue reading What made you become a chemical engineer? (Day 11)