Benefits and salaries
Chemical engineering is a degree that is well respected in industry and commerce.
A chemical engineering degree will equip you with skills that are easily transferable and graduates invariably take on considerable responsibility within a few years of graduation.
For this reason job prospects are excellent and often involve the chance to reach senior managerial positions at a young age.
A career in chemical or biochemical engineering includes:
- Excellent job prospects
- Competitive starting salaries in the region of £28,000/y*
- High earning potential throughout your career - salaries for Chartered Chemical Engineers rival those of doctors, lawyers and accountants
- Opportunities to travel
- Plenty of variety, exciting challenges and real responsibility
- The potential to help in creating a sustainable planet
*Source: Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) Salary Survey 2011
The table below shows chemical engineering as the third highest-paid profession behind dentistry and medicine:
Profession |
Graduate Salary |
| Dentistry |
£29,805 |
| Medicine |
£28,913 |
| Chemical engineering |
£28,415 |
| Economics |
£25,726 |
| General engineering |
£25,455 |
| Veterinary medicine |
£25,206 |
| East & South Asian studies |
£24,769 |
| Building |
£24,755 |
| Civil engineering |
£24,473 |
| Mechanical engineering |
£24,446 |
*Source: published in The Times newspaper on Thursday May 27th 2010