Chemical Engineers
Architecture and Engineering
Plans the equipment and processes used to make chemicals and products such as gasoline, plastics, detergents, and paper. Daily work includes watching process data, testing how well temperature, pressure, and other variables stay under control, and troubleshooting when a process goes wrong. Safety procedures for people working near reactions are part of the job, as is checking that equipment meets environmental rules. There is also cost estimating, layout of plant equipment, and research into better manufacturing methods. A good fit if you prefer scientific problem-solving, close attention to process data, and decisions that affect both output and safety.
Typical education: Bachelor’s Degree (4-year)
Annual Median Wage in Field (2025)
$125'040
Median Wage Market Position
$125'040
What you might do
- Design plant equipment and process layouts
- Troubleshoot problems in chemical manufacturing
- Monitor temperature, pressure, and other process data
- Write safety procedures for plant workers
- Check processes against environmental and safety rules
- Research better methods for making chemicals
Skills that matter
- Troubleshooting chemical manufacturing problems
- Reading process and experiment data
- Designing plant equipment layouts
- Evaluating process safety and performance
- Deciding how to meet environmental rules
- Researching improved production methods
AI & the future of this role
Process modeling and plant design calculations are increasingly easy for software to accelerate or draft. Scale-up decisions, hazardous operations, and regulatory liability still need experienced engineers, though more routine analysis may shift.
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Includes O*NET® 30.3 Database information by USDOL/ETA under CC BY 4.0; modified by LostInCareer. Wage/outlook from BLS. Attribution details