Petrochemical Engineering Degree: Schools, Salary, Cost

Earning a petrochemical engineering degree is a rewarding path that offers very good compensation and interesting work. In addition, petrochemical engineering is suitable for a wide range of people with different interests and talents.

To become a petrochemical engineer, though, is somewhat challenging. You must attain the proper educational requirements, gain certain experience, and commit yourself to a job search.

However, Becoming a petrochemical engineer requires intense instruction from a formal postsecondary program. There are multiple levels of education available to petrochemical engineers, both at the graduate and undergraduate levels.

This article is intended to give a detailed overview of the petrochemical engineering degree, as well as the schools available, what students can expect from each one and it’s cost. Job outlook, salary.

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What Is Petrochemical Engineering?

Petroleum engineering is the field of engineering science that involves locating and accessing reserves of natural gas.

The course includes subjects like Reaction Engineering, Heat Transfer, Mass Transfer, Fluid Dynamics, Thermodynamics, Transport Phenomena are bridged with special subjects like Petrochemical Processes, Refinery operations with due weight-age on Numerical Computation Process Control, Modeling & Simulation.

What Are The Job Role And Responsibilities Of A Petrochemical Engineer?

Some roles and responsibilities of a petrochemical engineer include:

What Is The Working Condition Of A Petrochemical Engineer?

Petrochemical engineers work in the Chemistry industry, which produces chemicals using oil and natural gas as its raw materials. Petrochemicals are manufactured into thousands of industrial and consumer products including rubber, plastics, detergents, textiles, and food preservatives.

Life in the industry can be pressurized and may mean working long or unsociable hours, particularly in large multinational organizations with tight production targets and teams scattered around the world. Around 40 percent of petrochemical engineers worked more than 40 hours per week in 2016.

What Are The Educational Requirements Needed To Be A Petrochemical Engineer?

If you’re thinking about a career in petrochemical engineering, start by getting as many math, physics, chemistry, and biology credits as you can – these subjects are essential to enter a petrochemical engineering program.

You’ll need at least a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering, and some employers require a master’s or doctoral degree for advanced positions. You rarely need to be licensed to work as a petrochemical engineer, but obtaining state licensure can improve job prospects.

While states differ in their requirements, you’ll generally need to complete a minimum of four years of work experience, pass a state examination and hold a degree from an accredited engineering program.

What Are The Skills Required To Be A Petrochemical Engineer?

Schools That Offer Petrochemical Engineering

The following schools offer petrochemical engineering.

They include:

1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology

It was founded in 1861, MIT was initially a small community of problem-solvers and science lovers eager to bring their knowledge to bear on the world. Today, MIT has evolved into an educational monster, with some 1,000 faculty members and more than 11,000 undergraduate and graduate students. 

MIT is now an independent, coeducational, privately endowed university organized into five schools (architecture and planning; engineering; humanities, arts, and social sciences; management; science).

Visit the school’s website for more information on the admission requirements and tuition.

2. University of Cambridge

The university consists of numerous listed buildings and is divided into 31 autonomous colleges, with many of the older ones situated on the famous river Cam. Applications are made directly to the individual colleges, rather than to the university overall.  

Cambridge is widely acknowledged as a vibrant place to be a student. On the academic side, the university is home to over 100 libraries, which hold more than 15 million books in total. There are also nine world-renowned arts, scientific and cultural museums such as Kettle’s Yard and the Fitzwilliam Museum, which are open to the public throughout the year.

Visit the school’s website for more information on the admission requirements and tuition.

3. Standford University

Stanford University was founded in 1885 by California senator Leland Stanford and his wife, Jane, to “promote the public welfare by exercising an influence on behalf of humanity and civilization”. From the start the university was non-sectarian, co-educational, and affordable, teaching both the traditional liberal arts and the technology and engineering that was shaping the new America at the time.  

Sport is popular, with students, faculty, and staff enjoying state-of-the-art recreational facilities and wellness programs. Stanford students compete in 36 varsity and 32 club sports, including baseball, football, basketball, and squash.

Visit the school’s website for more information on the admission requirements and tuition.

4. University of California, Berkeley

Founded in 1868, the University of California, Berkeley (UCB) are a public research university and the flagship institution of the ten research universities affiliated with the University of California system. 

Berkeley is one of the 14 founding members of the Association of American Universities and is home to some world-renowned research institutes, including the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute and the Space Sciences Laboratory. 

Three-quarters of its 40,000 students are undergraduates, giving life on campus a youthful feel in vibrant, urban surroundings.

Visit the school’s website for more information on the admission requirements and tuition.

5. University of Oxford

It’s located in and around the medieval city center of Oxford by the 19th-century poet Matthew Arnold and comprises 44 colleges and halls as well as the largest library system in the UK. 

There are 22,000 students at Oxford in total, around half of whom are undergraduates, while 40 percent are international students. A quarter of the city of Oxford’s residents is students, giving the city the youngest population in the UK. 

The University of Oxford does not have a main campus, its buildings and facilities instead of being scattered around the medieval city center. Its colleges each have a distinctive character and traditions often dating back centuries.

There are four academic divisions within Oxford University: Humanities, Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences; Medical Sciences; and Social Sciences.

Visit the school’s website for more information on the admission requirements and tuition.

6. University of Texas at Austin

The University of Texas at Austin is one of the schools offering petrochemical engineering. The US university is particularly strong in communication and media, for which it’s ranked sixth in the world in the QS World University Rankings by Subject.

Visit the school’s website for more information on the admission requirements and tuition.

7. Technical University of Denmark

Technical University of Denmark (DTU) was founded in 1829 by the father of electromagnetism, H. C. Orsted, whose vision was to create a polytechnical institution that would benefit society through natural and technical sciences.

Furthermore, this vision has since established DTU as an internationally renowned institution among the top technical universities in Europe and the world when it comes to collaborating business and industry.

The Technical University of Denmark educates engineers from bachelor’s, to master’s all the way through to Ph.D. level, specializing in engineering and science. All teaching, supervision, and course development at the university are carried out by more than 2,000 professors and lecturers who are themselves, active researchers. 

Visit the school’s website for more information on the admission requirements and tuition.

8. Imperial College London

Imperial is based in South Kensington in London, in an area known as ‘Alberto polis’, Prince Albert, and Sir Henry Cole’s 19th-century vision for an area where science and the arts would come together.

One of the most distinctive elements of an Imperial education is that students join a community of world-class researchers. The cutting-edge and globally influential nature of this research is what Imperial is best known for.

It’s the focus on the practical application of their research – particularly in addressing global challenges – and the high level of interdisciplinary collaboration that makes their research so effective.

Visit the school’s website for more information on the admission requirements and tuition.

9. Colorado School of Mines

It was established in 1859 and served as a supply center for miners and settlers in the area. By 1866, Bishop George M. Randall arrived in the territory and, seeing a need for higher education facilities in the area, began planning for a university that would include a school of mines.

Courses offered to students during the early years of Colorado School of Mines including chemistry, metallurgy, mineralogy, mining engineering, geology, botany, math, and drawing. The focus of the early academic programs was on gold and silver, and the assaying of those minerals.

As the institution grew, its mission expanded to focus specifically on understanding the Earth, harnessing energy, and sustaining the environment.

Visit the school’s website for more information on the admission requirements and tuition.

10. Aalborg University

Aalborg University is a Danish university located mainly in Aalborg, Denmark, with campuses in Aalborg, Esbjerg, and Copenhagen. It offers 76 undergraduate educations and 112 postgraduate educations, and several of those are conducted in English. The university is divided into five faculties:

• The Faculty of Humanities
• The Technical Faculty of IT and Design
• The Faculty of Social Sciences
• The Faculty of Engineering and Science
• The Faculty of Medicine

When it comes to engineering, Aalborg University is very focused on developing engineers with experience from working with real companies in their semester projects. Also, the focus is put on working in a team environment that develops interpersonal skills, as well as team-working skills.

Visit the school’s website for more information on the admission requirements and tuition.

What Is A Petrochemical Engineer’s Salary?

 Petrochemical engineers earn slightly more at $104,610 annually. The top 10 percent tier of petrochemical engineers earned more than $158,800 in 2016.

Job Outlook

The number of jobs for petrochemical engineers is projected to increase by 8 percent by 2026, which is about as fast as the average for all occupations. Since the industry is relatively small, this represents the addition of 2,500 jobs.

The primary growth driver will be meeting the need for alternative “green” fuels and production processes to meet increasing petrochemical demands in a sustainable way. Petrochemical engineers who continuously update their skills in order to keep up with technological advances in the industry are likely to have the best job prospects.

Career Specialization

Some of the major Career Specialization of Petrochemical engineering are:

Conclusion

In conclusion,  Petroleum engineering is the field of engineering science that involves locating and accessing reserves of natural gas.

To become a petrochemical engineer, though, is somewhat challenging. You must attain the proper educational requirements, gain certain experience, and commit yourself to a job search.

Petrochemical Engineering Degree FAQs

Petroleum engineering is the field of engineering science that involves locating and accessing reserves of natural gas.

Petrochemical engineers work in the Chemistry industry, which produces chemicals using oil and natural gas as its raw materials. Petrochemicals are manufactured into thousands of industrial and consumer products including rubber, plastics, detergents, textiles, and food preservatives.

If you’re thinking about a career in petrochemical engineering, start by getting as many math, physics, chemistry, and biology credits as you can – these subjects are essential to enter a petrochemical engineering program.
You’ll need at least a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering, and some employers require a master’s or doctoral degree for advanced positions. You rarely need to be licensed to work as a petrochemical engineer, but obtaining state licensure can improve job prospects.

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