This is helpful for teenagers who are looking to do chemical engineering as a degree. 

  

  My Questions

  Interviewee’s answers

    Q1 – what is engineering about? 

    “Engineering in general is about design of things, using knowledge from Maths and Science. There are SO many different types of engineering for example Mechanical, Chemical, Aerospace, Software and a lot more. 

Basically, everything you see around you is designed by an engineer so it is very diverse and it means you can always find something that is for YOU” 

    Q2- What is chemical engineering about? 

    “Chemical Engineering is about converting chemicals into something useful. For example: Household products like detergents, pharmaceuticals, fuel, clean water, and a lot more. It is very diverse and it’s something I like about it.  Chemical Engineering is about big scale (making loads of something) unlike chemistry which is small scale (lab work and research).” 

    Q3 – why did you choose this? 

    “I really liked Maths and Science, so I wanted to do something STEM related. However, I was also unsure about what career I wanted to pursue, so I decided to do something in Engineering to keep my options open. So of course, with my liking of chemistry, I went with chemical engineering.”

    Q4- what requirements do you need to study engineering? 

    “Maths and science A level.” 

    Q5-What is your Favorite part of learning about chemical engineering? and why? 

    “There are some nice experiments which are really fun, I also like the maths-y parts as well as designing aspects” 

    Q6- What part of Chemical Engineering do you dislike? and why? 

    “It is very time consuming, because it requires a LOT of hard work” 

    Q7- In your opinion is Chemical Engineering hard? 

    “In general, yes, it is hard. However, it also depends on what you are good at. For example, I know that I would probably find essay-based subjects like law even harder than engineering which is more Maths based.” 

    Q8 -If you could do any other type of engineering what engineering would you do? and why? 

    “Software engineering. I like coding, computers and technology so this would have been great.”   

    Q9-Do you recommend engineering to teenagers who are choosing what they want to do in university? 

    “100%. There are many reasons why I would recommend it. The obvious one being that it opens many doors for you, meaning you can go into many different careers, even ones not related to engineering for example finance. As I mentioned before, the fact that engineering is very diverse means you can always find something within engineering that interests you! Another reason is that it is all about design and inventions. All the cool things in our lives all were designed by engineers. Your creations and design can have a real impact in the world.”  

    Q10- Do you have any tips or advice for the teenagers who are considering an engineering degree? 

    “Because there are a lot of different types of Engineering, it is important to research carefully which one to do.”  

    “Also put effort into your maths and science subjects. Don’t get discouraged from engineering if you are finding them challenging – it requires lots of hard work.” 

    Q11-What is one thing you would change if you went back in time to when you were considering Chemical Engineering as your university degree? 

    “I would say research more about it.”  

    Q12- Are you excited for the upcoming opportunities that Chemical engineering will offer?  For example, jobs 

    “I am still not sure exactly what part of chemical engineering I want to do, but it is exciting that there are lots of different opportunities available.” 

By Kamila, Year 9 Student at Harris Girls’ Academy Bromley