Top jobs with a chemical engineering degree
Find out how studying for a degree in chemical engineering at Surrey opens the door to a wide range of jobs and careers.
The jobs market
There is a shortfall of engineers in the UK, with almost half of engineering businesses experiencing difficulties in recruiting people with the right skills (IET Skills Survey 2021). This means that well-qualified engineering graduates are in great demand... and that includes chemical engineers.
Chemical engineers work across a range of sectors in the UK and overseas, and they’re increasingly sought by specialty chemical industries that manufacture high-value-added products. They make a real difference to society by applying science and technology to the challenges we face today such as climate change. Chemical engineers are developing technologies and techniques for energy efficiency, treating emissions and renewable energy sources such as biomass, wind and solar.
Chemical engineers on average earn more than any other engineering discipline: Surrey's chemical engineering graduates earn an average salary of £31,304. The high salaries paid reflect the level of responsibility and the importance that chemical engineering graduates quickly attain.
What Surrey offers
Our BEng degrees in chemical engineering, and chemical and petroleum engineering, consistently produce graduates who secure jobs within the energy, water, pharmaceuticals, fine chemicals and bioprocessing sectors. Having gained skills in systems-level thinking, computer programming and professional skills such as teamwork, they are also in demand in fields like data science, finance and business.
Our degrees are accredited by the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) on behalf of the Engineering Council. This means they fulfil the purposes of fully meeting the academic requirement for registration as an Incorporated Engineer and partially meet the requirement for registration as a Chartered Engineer.
At Surrey, our graduate employment record is excellent, with 94 per cent in work or further study after graduating (Graduate Outcomes 2023, HESA).
Many of our students boost their employability by taking advantage of our exceptional Professional Training placement programme, which enables you to spend a year gaining valuable work experience with a relevant company, and often leads to a job offer on graduation. This is one reason why we were awarded Best University Careers/Employability Service at the National University Employability Awards 2022.
Our graduate success stories
Here are just a few jobs secured by recent graduates:
- Process Engineer at Proctor & Gamble
- Research Engineer at Air Products
- Production Engineer at Jacobs Douwe Egberts
- Process Simulation Product Manager at AVEVA
- Cyber Security Consultant at Accenture
- Analyst at Barclays
- Associate at Pricewaterhouse Coopers
- Capital Projects and Engineering Coordinator at Brenntag UK
- Graduate Chemical Engineer at Honeywell UOP
- Graduate Consulting Engineer at Automation Logic
- Graduate Process Engineer at Atkins
- Graduate Project Controls Engineer at Wood PLC
- Graduate Project Engineer at Oil Search
- Graduate Trainee at Ware GSK
- Junior Proposals Engineer at Hager and Elsasser
- Pharmacy Technical Supervisor at NHS
- Processing Assistant at Future Biogas
- Process Development Engineer at Johnson Matthey
- Process Engineer at Tate & Lyle Sugars
- Production Engineer at AWE
- Risk and Safety Consultant at Amec Foster Wheeler
- Project Manager at Thames Water
- Sales Engineer at Keyence
- Test Analyst at IDBS
- Validation Engineer at Protexin.
Further academic study
Many of our graduates go on to complete a masters degree or undertake PhD research, investigating an area of personal interest.
Discover more about degrees in chemical engineering, our award-winning Professional Training placement scheme and student life at Surrey.