Chemical engineering or chemistry?

Question

I am 18 and don't know what to study. Is chemical engineering a good option or chemistry is a better one?

Answer 1

Hmmm.  Well as the person before me said it depends on your interest.  BUT being a chemist I can tell you there are times when I wished I was a Chem.E.  ChemE's are used everywhere, where as chem is used mostly in the lab.  I have worked with a lot of ChemE's too.  The many difference is that they study engineering.  (What does that mean, I know that one shouldn't define a word withe same word, but...)  Eng, to me, means the hardware behind the science.  For example, If I want to grow cells to make a new drug how do I do it?  What type of vessel should I use?  Does this vessel need a lot or a little mixing?  What is the best temperature for the reaction?  What kind of volumes do I need to make 100 Kg?  Is it possible to clean everything with steam or NaOH?

This is one small example, but it kind of shows you the thinking of the ChemE.  

Whereas the Chem person might think about the amounts of Fe or other trace elements needed for the cells.  How do you test for the new drug?  Is there some chemical reaction that is used to test purity?  Where would I go to find the actual molecular weight of my product.  How do separate my drug from the other junk?  Does my drug react with things in the liquid to cause the drug to be less potent.

If I were to do it over I might go for ChemE, but that is just me.

Hope that Helps.

Answer 2

It depends on your interest.