Annual Salary
£30,000 to £65,000
Average UK salary in 2023 was £34,963
(source Office for National Statistics)
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Chemical engineers develop ways to turn raw materials into everyday products.
Average UK salary in 2023 was £34,963
(source Office for National Statistics)
You could work: evenings / weekends / bank holidays; on shifts
There will be
2.4% more Chemical engineer jobs in 2027.
If you work in research and development, you could;test new ways to develop products in the lab; use computer models to work out safe and cost-effective production methods; plan how to move from lab tests to pilot production and then large-scale processing; develop methods to deal safely with by-products and waste materials
In manufacturing, you could:
You may need to wear protective clothing.
You could work in a laboratory, in an office or at a manufacturing plant.
Your working environment may be outdoors some of the time.
You can get into this job through:
You'll normally need a degree or postgraduate qualification in:
You may be able to do a postgraduate conversion course if you have a degree in a related area like engineering, chemistry or polymer science.
Some universities offer a foundation year for people without qualifications in maths and science, which allows them to move onto the degree course afterwards.
You could take a postgraduate master's qualification like an MEng. This would include independent research and would give you a greater knowledge and understanding of chemical engineering science. It could also prepare you for further postgraduate study like a PhD.
You'll usually need:
You may be able to do a science industry process engineer degree apprenticeship.
You'll usually need:
You could start as a chemical engineering technician and do training on the job to qualify as an engineer.
You can join the Institution of Chemical Engineers for professional development opportunities.
You can find more details about careers and training in chemical engineering through the Institution of Chemical Engineers.
With experience, you could progress to senior process or design engineer, research and development manager.
You could go on to be a plant manager, or overall operations manager.
You could also move into consultancy work.
You can find more details about careers and training in chemical engineering through the Institution of Chemical Engineers and Whynotchemeng.
You'll need: