What are the Top 3 Differences Between a Chemist and a Chemical Engineer?
Chemists are known for working with chemicals and materials on a smaller scale relative to chemical engineers who are about scaling up and mass production. This may help shed some light on why we associate the act of wearing laboratory coats with chemists and that of wearing hard hats with chemical engineers. Let’s dive deeper than that with the following three points to help us differentiate the two fields:
- Education
Chemists are trained to potentially become scientists while chemical engineers are trained to become engineers. Therefore, chemists explore further our understanding of chemistry while engineers apply scientific knowledge to engineer (design) practical tools. Both can train to become researchers, thereby pursuing graduate studies.
Chemists, like all future scientists, are trained to conduct the scientific method. To achieve that, they will need to acquire a solid foundation in chemistry by taking classes such as organic and inorganic chemistry; analytical chemistry; physical chemistry; biochemistry, etc. They can then apply that knowledge in running laboratory experiments. An accumulation of laboratory experience with an aspiration for discovery can eventually lead to groundbreaking findings.
Chemical engineers are trained to engineer things that can be used in real life and practically help society. To that effect, engineers use principles of science and apply them to topics such as thermodynamics; heat transfer; fluid mechanics; transport phenomena; plant design; bioengineering, etc. While learning how to apply science in an engineering context, chemical engineers can ultimately design chemical unit processes and devices that serve society at large.
2. Work responsibilities and environment
Both chemists and chemical engineers can be found working in offices (i.e., administrative, and managerial tasks); educational institutions (i.e., teaching, conducting research); and laboratories (research and development). These workplaces and be privately owned or government-based.
Fieldwork settings and forensic sceneries are sometimes associated with chemists. Meanwhile, chemical engineers are popular in the processing and manufacturing sectors (food, pharmaceutical, materials, petrochemicals, etc.) as they often work in industrial process plants. Chemists and chemical engineers have positively contributed to our environment (e.g., pollution reduction, climate change, sustainability) and at the intersection of science and technology (e.g., biotechnology, nanotechnology, etc.).
Both careers like many other careers may offer traveling opportunities and occasions to work oversea depending on the company.
3. Salary and gender
In general, chemical engineers earn more than chemists. It has been reported that the annual wage for chemical engineers exceeds the wage of chemists by $27,000. It is nevertheless true that some chemists earn more than the average chemical engineer depending on factors such as the work locations (e.g., field of specialization, country), qualifications (i.e., work experience, education level); and various career opportunities.
There are fewer women than men in the two fields and in many instances, the salaries of men are significantly high relative to the salaries of women. However, with the rise of equal pay for equal work movement and the surge of more women in STEM education, the gender pay gap has been slowly shrinking and increasingly more women are occupying career positions in science and engineering.
Conclusion
Despite being different, chemistry and chemical engineering complement each other nicely. Even though chemists and chemical engineers may share the same work environment and perform similar tasks, these two fields are completely different. Chemistry and engineering students may share the same lower-division classes, but they also take completely different courses to equip them with the skills required for their respective careers. Consequently, the work they do is different even though it all stems from fundamental principles of science. The work in chemistry often entails conducting experiments to investigate further scientific theories (e.g., synthesis of novel molecules, demystifying quantum chemistry, analyzing the properties of chemicals, etc.). With chemical engineering, the work often involves using engineering knowledge to optimize societal activities (e.g., large-scale production of food, drugs, paper and pulp, crude oil and natural gas; etc.).
