chemical engineering vs chemistry career outlooks

[spectastic]

I've been communicating with a professor about joining his group for a masters. I'll pay for it my first year, but he's confident he'll be able to get me some TA work that will pay for most of my schooling, and give me a pretty sweet stipend too. I'm ready to work my ass off, but the MSE department (which is what I'm applying to) has a rule that says all students must receive commitment for support, either from fellowship, company, or professor, but it cannot come from the student; I've already asked why... didn't get a very clear answer. The professor wants to try to pull some strings and see if I can get into chem eng, which is the department he's in, or chemistry. In both scenarios, I'll be doing research under him, with the only differences being a few classes. I've been advised by professor that chemical engineering will yield better job opportunities, and having seen some job descriptions and qualifications in industry, I'm inclined to agree. The flip side argument of this is that there are many people in the engineering department who hold science degrees such as chemistry, physics, etc., which is to say that the degree matters less than actual experience, although this is a rather magnified view into one department within academia.. Looking for some input on how the names of the two degrees will affect one's career outlook, even though the two are practically the same experience wise.

Edited March 18, 2016 by spectastic

[chemgirl2013]

As a chemist undergrad who spent the last 2 years switching to applied science (MSE) via a masters, it matters. PhD chemical engineers make 6 figures, or really close. Plain and simple. PhD chemists (if you can find a job) make 25% less. Visit the ACS website, they always publish this data comparing Chem vs. ChemE each year. Chemical engineers have no problems finding positions in industry after graduation, whereas chemists typically postdoc when they can't find a job (some for as many as 5-6 years, ChemE postdoc is only 2 max) to become competitive for jobs in the field, or have a shot at academia. I decided that I didn't want to risk having zero job prospects, so I decided to turn myself into somewhat of an engineer by doing a master's to get the classes out of the way. While there's absolutely no difference in the research that I do, I have so much peace of mind now. 

The straw that broke the camel's back was when I graduated with a Bachelor's degree and got a job as an analytical chemist (Ivy league, and yet I got paid $12.50/hr). My ChemE friends (and we were in the same undergraduate research lab), all earned $40/hr and worked at impressive chemical companies.

Ask any chemist doing their PhD. There is absolutely no comparison. Become an engineer and save yourself the stress in 5 years. 

[spectastic]

22 hours ago, chemgirl2013 said:

As a chemist undergrad who spent the last 2 years switching to applied science (MSE) via a masters, it matters. PhD chemical engineers make 6 figures, or really close. Plain and simple. PhD chemists (if you can find a job) make 25% less. Visit the ACS website, they always publish this data comparing Chem vs. ChemE each year. Chemical engineers have no problems finding positions in industry after graduation, whereas chemists typically postdoc when they can't find a job (some for as many as 5-6 years, ChemE postdoc is only 2 max) to become competitive for jobs in the field, or have a shot at academia. I decided that I didn't want to risk having zero job prospects, so I decided to turn myself into somewhat of an engineer by doing a master's to get the classes out of the way. While there's absolutely no difference in the research that I do, I have so much peace of mind now. 

The straw that broke the camel's back was when I graduated with a Bachelor's degree and got a job as an analytical chemist (Ivy league, and yet I got paid $12.50/hr). My ChemE friends (and we were in the same undergraduate research lab), all earned $40/hr and worked at impressive chemical companies.

Ask any chemist doing their PhD. There is absolutely no comparison. Become an engineer and save yourself the stress in 5 years. 

Noted, so your observation is that the disparity between Chem and Cheme also bleeds into the graduate level. What type if lab jobs were your Chem e friends doing?

[chemgirl2013]

I'm not entirely sure what their work capacities were in industry, but I essentially worked at a coatings company (a subsidiary of a major chemical company) where all I was qualified to do was analytical chemistry. HPLC, NMR, MS, ICP, K-F titration. I did work with chemical engineers, who worked in process design. I have no idea what ChemE's do in industry so I don't want to say anything wrong. Check out the ACS C&EN news sections on industry placement/salary I mentioned earlier. They have up-to-date statistics comparing degree levels and also Chem E vs. Chem. Of course, there's always exceptions to every rule, but if you want the safer bet-- I'd try to go ChemE, especially if you're interested in MSE industry.