Hello. I’m starting my first term of college this fall and I am sort of confused on what I should aim for. I have two pretty strong interests and abilities in math and in chemistry. I had always thought that I would either major in one or the other, but I am now certain I would be able to get a double major for them both. However, is a Math/Chemistry Major any use? I could see individual uses of each, but would it be a foolish combination? Should I just scrap the whole thing and work towards a chemical engineering degree? Which major has more of a job market(meaning Math/Chem or Chem Eng.), and what sort of jobs could you find with either of those majors? What’s the differance between a job you’d recieve with a Chemistry degree as compared to a Chemical Engineering one? I asked and asked my advisors for my university but their help was very minimal. Thanks in advance.
This is really very simple, IMO, as an engineer for 8+ years who works with many ChemE’s.
A Chem Eng. with 4 years of school can expect a relatively easy path to a job, which will start him or her at between $40k to $60k.
With a Chemistry degree, just a BS, your job choices and options are much more limited than as a Chem Eng. Typically, you will be required to get a higher-level degree, such as an MS or PhD, to be able to compete in the job market with a Chem Eng. with a BS.
I do not know exactly how a joint Math/Chem degree would help you especially, unless you were deep into research chemistry perhaps…
As a Chem Eng, you will likely be doing design of equipment and processes that use chemicals, combustion analysis, analysis of chemical processes in industry, some economic analysis, report writing, public presentation, etc. In the UK, many coal quality specialists are actually Chem Engs. You may be involved in the petroleum industry, although the job market there is not quite as good as elsewhere.
You may also be involved in environmental issues, pollution control technologies, etc. If you have or gain some legal experience, you may be involved heavily in environmental permitting and regulation analysis.
In general, engineers use technology and the fruits of basic research to do things. Chemists come up with that technology and basic research. I know that is an over-generalization, but I think it gets the point across better.
Well, I can’t speak to the job prospects of a chemistry or chemical engineering major, but as I’m a math major just about to enter my senior year, I can say that the job prospects are pretty good. I’m pretty sure, although I won’t swear to it, that chem-e and chem are both majors of high employability.
I can’t think of anything that would require skills in both chemistry and math, but it’s also hard for me to imagine that having a broad skill base could hurt you.
I have a friend who dropped out of a chem-e program because there was very little actual chemistry in it. Maybe that won’t bother you; I think the best thing you could do is ask to speak to somebody from each of those three departments.
And don’t forget to take classes in departments that are radically different from either of those. You may find something incredibly interesting that you had never even heard of until you got to college.
One other piece of advice: If you’re trying to decide between math and science/engineering, ask yourself whether you really liked geometry. Advanced math classes tend to be more like that than any other high school math class.
They don’t have any specific information on math/chemistry dual majors, but you may want to check out the Department of Labor Employment Outlook Handbook for information about average salary, working conditions, and required schooling:
Chemical Engineers
Chemists
Mathematicians
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A Google search for "double major in chemistry and math (or variations on that) turns up reference to several people with such a dual major. It seems the majority of them went on to grad school to study chemistry. One went on to medical school and one works in an actuarial office.
As a mathematician, I can tell you that you won’t be using your degree in chemistry if you decide to become a mathematician. You’ll probably need at least a master’s degree in math to become a mathematician, incidentally. (There’s nothing wrong with getting a degree in something you won’t use professionally, but you should be aware that that’s what you’re doing.)
Your replies were pretty helpful. Right now I’m thinking of dropping the Math major completely (maybe keep it as a minor, but we’ll see). Do you think there would be any use in a BS of Chemistry combined with a Chemical Engineeering Degree?
In truth…no. IMO, most any Chem Eng job would not really care much about the Chem degree. And most any Chem job would not care that much about the Chem Eng degree. In all honesty, I think you will have a choice between:
Masters or PhD in Chemistry
Bachelor’s in Chem Eng.
if you want to find a good job quickly and easily. But opinions will vary, I am sure.
You’ll never have any hot chicks in your classes if you take math or science. Just thought I would let you know.
While you may get an equal shot of getting hired with a Chemistry/Math vs a Chem Eng, the engineering degree has the potential to be significantly higher in salary. ABET accreditation comes with an engineering degree and most large companies pay a higher scale than to those without accreditaion.
Trust me, I have a BS in Physics and am making about 20 percent less than my peers with engineering degrees for doing equal work.
University advisors are crap when it comes to career planning, they’ve spent their careers in academia after all. Go to an industry job fair in your local big city and talk face-to-face with someone who is actually earning a paycheck in the professional field.
Adding my two cent’s worth…
I actually considered getting my degree in math and chemistry before winding up with chemistry and physics instead, and the one place I can think of that such a thing might be useful is in quantum chemistry. Basically, the field deals with using quantum mechanics to understand chemistry, and of course, as such, there does get to be a goodish bit of math involved (not, as an aside, so much math that a full fledged major is required).
On the other hand, for the most part people who do this kind of thing are in academia, so it’s not as financially rewarding as chemical engineering.
Assuming that you’re starting your freshman year, I wouldn’t worry too much yet about what your major course of study will be. You’ve narrowed it down to two fields that will probably require a lot of the same lower division course work, anyway, so for now I’d just take the classes that are common to both, and just enjoy college. You’d be surprised at how often people change majors, and frequently to a completely unrelated field.
I know whereof I speak: I started in a bioengineering program. After two years, I thought, “I can do this, but I HATE it!”. I ended up with a degree in Rhetoric, and a minor in Political Science.
So…you want fries with that?