Chemical Engineering?

[arguably]

Hi. My daughter is interested in chemical engineering. Predicted grades will probably be AAA in chemistry, maths and physics. We can look up league tables online, but if anyone has any particular thoughts on good departments I'd be interested do hear them.

Also, she's considering apprenticeships, so if anyone can give us names of companies that employ chemical engineers which might offer apprenticeships (or work experience) that would be great.

Several industries hire chemical engineers @arguably what kind of industry is she veering towards? What is around you that would be easy to get to or would she have to travel?

We're in SW London..She hasn't thought about a specific industry.

This is the apprenticeship standard if you wanted to search for providers/employers
https://www.instituteforapprenticeships.org/apprenticeship-standards/science-industry-process-and-plant-engineer-degree-v1-0

Chemical engineers work in a vast array of industries and sectors - pharma, food and drink, materials, energy, biotech, electronics, environmental etc, plus they tend to be very numerate which makes them attractive to more business / finance type employers too.

I’d recommend the 4 yr (5 in Scotland) integrated masters if you can as you need the masters qualification to get chartered, and it’s cheaper and easier to do it as the undergrad MEng degree.

You can now use UCAS to search courses at each uni for 25/26 entry with your predicted grades and it will tell you the range of and typical grades of students with offers and how likely you are to get an offer.

Nottingham might fit the bill?

@arguably

It's probably quite difficult to define a poor department! If you want a research led department, then the CUG will help narrow those down into some sort of hierarchy . Look at links with industry and breadth of the courses. I suggest MEng of 4 years is better in many ways than 5 years. There's no advantage in 5. It's more advantageous to start working!

One of my DC was interested in ChemEng and found these sources useful:

Propects.ac.uk gives helpful descriptions of roles and careers; there is also a pdf report on the site called 'What Graduates Do' which gives stats on ongoing destinations.

Gradcracker is a site aimed at students looking for placements and jobs; this can be helpful in identifying the kinds of businesses involved in the sector; at this time of year, many advertised jobs have been filled so your DD will need to monitor over the next year to get a more complete picture.

Engineering Development Trust runs virtual and in-person courses, typically in the summer; state educated students are eligible and some are female only. My DC found these particularly helpful in finessing understanding and crystallising aspirations.

The only ChemEng apprenticeship I am aware of is via Unilever at Port Sunlight and in Leeds. There may be others but they are unlikely to be thick on the ground and I suspect are BEng rather than MEng.

More generally, whilst sectors like financial services and tech are concentrated on your SW London doorstep, chemical engineering opportunities (work experience, placements, jobs) are more likely to be dispersed around the country, particularly on the industrial side, so bear that in mind. Hope that helps.

Thank you for the Engineering Development Trust info @PerpetualOptimist . I've made a note for my DS for next year.

Also look at the IChemE web site. They are the professional Institute and has info for prospective engineers and has access to their magazine which gives all sorts of insights. There's info on their web site from tea drying to nuclear research at Leeds university.

Is @Chemenger still around? Maybe a blast from the past!

I think chemenger may have taught my DC - she was gave very helpful advice when we were going through applications.