Chemical Engineers
On the Job
Chemical Engineers use engineering to design equipment and create ways to manufacture chemicals and products, like gasoline, rubber, plastics, detergent, and related things.
Typical Work Tasks
People who work in this career often:
- Research engineering aspects of biological or chemical processes.
- Research industrial processes or operations.
- Determine causes of operational problems or failures.
- Determine operational methods.
- Monitor the productivity or efficiency of industrial operations.
- Prepare operational reports.
- Design control systems for mechanical or other equipment.
- Design industrial processing systems.
- Estimate operational costs.
- Conduct validation tests of equipment or processes.
Typical Working Conditions
- Using e-mail.
- Working with a group or team.
- Working indoors in environmentally controlled conditions.
- Responsibility for others' health and safety.
- The importance of being accurate or exact.
- Making decisions that impact co-workers or company results.
- Sitting.
- Wearing common protective or safety equipment such as safety shoes, glasses, gloves, hearing protection, hard hats, or life jackets.
This page includes information from the O*NET 24.2 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Source: You can learn about our data sources in the About Us section.