Chemical Engineering: Reality vs Expectations

inSTEM interviews chemical engineers Abi and Dami who take us on their chemical engineering journey. How do their industry experience compare with University?

Damilola Fari-Arole and Abisola Ajani both studied Chemical Engineering. Dami currently works as a Reliability Engineer for Network Rail

and Abi works as a Process Engineer for Archer Daniels Midland Company.

"I realised the necessity to keep learning and updating my knowledge in order to be effective in my role"

Let’s start with what led you to into studying chemical engineering. Can you shed a bit of light on this?

Abi: I fell into Chemical Engineering really.. I went through different phases with my career choice. At first, I wanted to become a Pilot and after that, I took an interest in Fashion to which my very typical Nigerian mum made it clear that “none of her children would become a tailor”. But it was really my interest in subjects like Chemistry, Biology, and Maths, a recommendation of engineering from my dad and some research on engineering that led me towards the Chemical Engineering path. I realised that almost everything I came in contact with every day had gone through a process designed by a Chemical Engineer. I remember thinking "Wow! Chemical Engineers are the Doctors of the world"

Dami: For me, I didn’t really fall into it, I enjoyed the foundational subjects - Maths, Chemistry, Physics. So from that, Engineering was an obvious direction I could take but it was my internship experience with an oil and as firm which sealed the choice of chemical engineering for me.

"engineering is a foundation to go into many different exciting careers"

You have both been working in industry for sometime - how have the expectations you had at university compared to the reality of industry?

Abi: I started out as a placement student and I am now working as a qualified engineer. One key thing I found from both experiences is that the decisions you make as an engineer could impact lives. I don't think I fully understood this at uni!

During my placement, I worked as a Project Engineer for Chevron and in this role, I began to see what my life as an engineer would be like. One of the projects I worked on involved the design of an offshore accommodation platform, I saw how our actions and decisions could affect others’ lives. This challenged me, but in a positive way and it also made me realise that I wanted to pursue a career in chemical engineering.

I returned to industry after my Masters and my idea of life as an engineer changed. I was no longer seen as a student, I was now being held accountable for decisions, making the wrong decisions could cost the company money or even lives. I realised the necessity to keep learning and updating my knowledge in order to be effective in my role, and the idea that learning stopped at university was quickly discarded

Dami: I’ll just carry on with what Abi said, my thoughts were that after university, learning would mainly stop but being in industry has shown me that as an engineer, you need to keep updating your knowledge. I also do not work in a traditional chemical engineering industry so from that perspective, my expectations are different to my experience - my take on it is that engineering is a foundation for me to go into many different exciting careers

"the decisions you make as an engineer could impact lives"

You both talked about updating your knowledge in industry. How have you gone about doing this?

Dami: Lots of reading! I recently discovered IET's library (there is a digital option too!) and have found it to be a key resource. Attending events helps a great deal too, you learn quickly. Research papers and webinars are also useful!

Abi: I use my company’s resources, they’re free and readily available to all employees. I also often refer to books from University, for example; Perry’s!

"chemical engineers are the Doctors of the world"

Would you say that University fully informed you of the different career routes you could take?

Dami: Erm, I’d say yes, there are lots of information available online. I did some research and found out about different industries. Although, I wouldn’t say that it was complete, for example I didn’t think that I would be able to work in the railway industry but since being exposed to this industry I have come across others from similar disciplines and understood better the kinds of roles chemical engineers can play in this industry. I do feel that for the benefit of the ones coming after us, we need to speak more openly about the kind of roles available, the information online can be challenging to engage with at times

Abi: No! (*laughs*). I feel that when you start university, you’re not really sold the opportunities available for a chemical engineer - you go through most of your degree thinking that you can only work as a chemical or process engineer, you get a sense that you can only do something chemical related. I did an MSc rather than an MEng and this showed me that I didn’t have to specialise in chemical engineering but this was knowledge I got after I diversified! I do feel like there is more information these days but not at your finger tip - you have to look for it

Do you think your degree/university experience prepared you enough for Industry?

Abi: Yes, Uni prepared me for work, I am actually really thankful for the uni I attended, I feel that because they were not so high up the league table at the time, they compensated for this by introducing us to the relevant practical aspects of engineering right from the get go. For example, we started using HYSYS in our first year. The approach the uni took gave me some idea about work and I am really grateful. The thing about the theory you gain from uni is that you apply it daily even though it may not seem that way. It’s the foundation upon which the situations you encounter at work are understood

Dami: I’d say no. Touching on what was mentioned earlier around getting the theoretical knowledge from uni, I feel like I didn’t have the opportunity to apply the theoretical knowledge to a great extent university which I sometimes feel put me at a disadvantage going into industry as I find in a lot of what I have to do, I still have that theoretical mindset and I have to break out of it sometimes in certain scenarios but as Abi said, it is second to none, it gives you a good foundation.

inSTEM would like to say huge thank you to Abi and Dami for their very insightful interview! We enjoyed hearing about their interesting experiences and seeing the different directions their Chem Eng degree has taken them!

Can you relate?

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