Chemical engineering is a fascinating course and career and provides an extremely wide range of opportunities during and on completion of your studies. Firstly, what is chemical engineering? I had one friend tell me she thought it was designing chemistry laboratories. This is one thing chemical engineers can do, but it is only the tip of the iceberg. Chemical Engineering is learning about the fundamentals of chemistry, but additionally learning the basic scientific and management principals that are the foundation of processes that produce everything from cooked asparagus to clean recycled zoo animal water.

Chemical engineering involves breaking down processes producing a wide range of goods and services into individual steps so to better understand and operate the overall process. The aim is to make processes efficient, profitable, environmentally sound and sustainable. Areas you can work as a chemical engineer are incredibly diverse ranging from process design, fundamental research, process optimisation and management, education and government policy development. Chemical engineers often have leadership roles in various organisations and are leaders of companies and government agencies. In the UK several chemical engineers are in parliament.

The reason I chose chemical engineering is that I loved chemistry and understanding how things are made. I actually completed a year of a science degree before changing to chemical engineering, I was still able to finish the degree in 4 years because there is a lot of common material in different first year science and engineering courses. Chemical engineering fulfilled my passion not only for chemistry, but also understanding how processes work. I found it offered me much more challenge than a science degree could offer. By doing chemical engineering I realised that I would still learn a huge amount of chemistry, but also much more. It really helped me learn how technology works and provided a base and methodology for understanding new technologies. Working as a chemist was still an option, but doing chemical engineering multiplied my options.

Since leaving university I have had the chance to live and work in different parts of Australia and Europe. The type of work I've been involved in has been related to development and management of operating processes and developing a pilot plant to large-scale demonstration stage. Other areas involved developing new technology that could fundamentally change the foundations of an industry and being part of a team to solve a company's major environmental problem. These roles all required a high level of technical expertise, working with a variety of people in teams and high level communication and problem solving skills. These skills are transferable to many different career areas and other areas of life.

There are other branches of engineering that are also extremely exciting, challenging and rewarding. If you have a passion for a particular technology or science then another area of engineering maybe more suitable than chemical engineering, for example electrical engineering if you are really fascinated by electronics. One thing you find though is that engineers end up working in areas they could not even imagine when studying at university. Whatever branch of engineering you study it is often your project management, problem solving and communication skills that are key to having a great career. I believe chemical engineering is the broadest and most exciting branch of engineering with a pretty even split between men and women studying the course. Often our role is to look after an overall project and coordinate between different professionals involved in a project while adding our unique skills as chemical engineers. All this makes for a very diverse and rewarding career.

Finally, an aspect of your future and career that you have to come to terms with is that whatever you do it will involve life-long learning. The job you do in 20 years might be in an industry that does not even exist yet! You have to be flexible and adaptable and have a commitment for learning continuously. Learning continuously obviously does not mean that you study full-time at university your whole life. It involves a careful and planned balance of leaning on the job, training courses and further periods of formal study at university or college. Many engineers complete management qualifications after they have completed their engineering degree to assist them working in different roles and levels in organisations.

One aspect that is really exciting to consider is post-graduate research in chemical engineering. It gives you a unique ability to study and research intensely a field that is at the forefront of technology, often with a scholarship to support you, and it opens up an even broader range of career possibilities on completion of your studies.

If you want to find out more about Chemical Engineering at the University of New South Wales in Australia look up the web on 'http://www.ceic.unsw.edu.au/' or contact the School of Chemical Engineering and Industrial Chemistry at the address below. What ever you do good luck, and think about chemical engineering, it is a great course and leads to a fantastic career.