← All careers

Engineering

Chemical Engineers

Design chemical plant equipment and devise processes for manufacturing chemicals and products, such as gasoline, synthetic rubber, plastics, detergents, cement, paper, and pulp, by applying principles and technology of chemistry, physics, and engineering.

Median salary (BLS)

$125,040

10th–90th percentile (BLS)

$79k – $183k

Job outlook

+3% (about average)

AI exposure

Early-career check: graduates of the matching programs below typically earn $99,000 ten years after starting college — an early-career figure, vs. the all-experience BLS median above. Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard.

Plan a path to Chemical Engineers

Qualification costsStack incomeBest cities/statesSchool ROIJob-posting fitTailored resume

Education

Typical entry: Bachelor's degree

Plan my path to this →

Typical progression

  1. Chemical Engineers Intern

    Internship

    $39,710

    ~4 mos to advance

  2. Junior Chemical Engineers

    Entry / Junior

    $79,420

    ~2 yrs to advance

  3. Chemical Engineers

    Established

    $125,040

    ~3 yrs to advance

  4. Senior Chemical Engineers

    Senior

    $153,960

Internships are a common on-ramp here — they speed up landing that first role and improve your odds, which is why the Safe and High-ceiling plans build one in.

Key skills

A typical day

  • •Develop safety procedures to be employed by workers operating equipment or working in close proximity to ongoing chemical reactions.
  • •Troubleshoot problems with chemical manufacturing processes.
  • •Monitor and analyze data from processes and experiments.
  • •Evaluate chemical equipment and processes to identify ways to optimize performance or to ensure compliance with safety and environmental regulations.
  • •Design and plan layout of equipment.

Fields of study

Any field

Top colleges for Engineering

Explore all

Reputation-based selection; stats shown are outcome data per school.