Advice on uni major?

[CocoaPuffs]

At the moment, I'm considering entering university with a major in either chemical engineering, accounting, or finance. I do not have a particularly strong interest in one area, so I'm just going to make my decision from a career POV.

I plan on staying in the GTA or move to Vancouver, but depending on the circumstances, I may move to other places. I don't think that's a particularly important concern if I can find a job that I like.

What are the job prospects like in chemical engineering, particularly in the GTA and Vancouver? I have been told that the demand for chemical engineers is not too high (except Alberta). Besides oil/gas where the money is, I am quite interested in biotech/pharma/medical device, but is there a demand in those areas? How is the compensation in oil/gas and biotech/pharma/medical devices?

How about the job prospects in accounting and finance? I know it's going to move with the economy, but is demand still strong? How is the compensation?

I know you may be thinking that I'm just a high school student, I'm overthinking this, and that I should just major what I like most. However, I would also like to take my prospective careers into consideration. You may say that nobody can really predict what the future job prospects are like, but at least I would like to know what they are like in the past and present so I have a rough idea of what it's like out there.

Thanks guys.

[faken]

well here's my advice. Don't worry if you are going to get a job with that degree or not. Those options that you've mentioned, i'm pretty sure within the next 5-7 years, a lot of baby boomers will be retiring. You're definately thinking way too far ahead. My advice would be to take what you ENJOY most and would like to learn. Trust me, it makes university a lot easier you if are studying something you love, oppose to something you hate with a passion. This is just my two cents. DO WHAT YOU LOVE.

edit: shouldn't this be moved into the student section..

[FlintBlade]

Chemical Engineers are in demand, you won't have any trouble finding a job. Plus they make a nice salary.

Accounting and Finance

Well, they make extremely good money. You are looking at an easy 50k a year as an accountant starting. After 4-5years of experience you will be up to 80k++ a year and as much as 200k if you are in a partnership. Also, it depends on where you work. You will make more depending on where you work, obviously. CFO's make 200-300k and some make millions and even billions. It all depends on where you work, but the lowest salary you can possibly make is 50k starting and up to 100k after some years of experience. Plus you get benefits.

Also, if you become a CA, you can easily make well over 100k a year. The downside is, I know 14 people that go to my highschool that all plan on becoming accountants. But I only have one friend and myself that plan on going into engineering. My friend wants to go into Aerospace engineering, I was thinking of doing Accounting or Chemical Engineering myself.

The reason I feel Engineering is such a good career to go into is because of it's difficulty. When you think about it, becoming an Accountant would be a heck of a lot easier then being an Engineer and they make roughly the same. So less people go into Engineering because they can do less work in University and make the same salary each year. But I would say either Accounting or Engineering are both good. Great salary, great benefits and they will always be in demand. You will never find yourself looking for a job if you go into business or engineering.

[phucyall]

At the moment, I'm considering entering university with a major in either chemical engineering, accounting, or finance.

Chem Eng. demand is not that huge. Even with all the oil/gas companies, the craze in Alberta is starting to die down. The majority of the positions have already been staffed.

Accounting means that most likely when you start you will be working crazy hours doing a lot of silly work. You also have to really love numbers and paperwork because that will be pretty much all your work. Accounting is not exactly glamorous or exciting work.

Finance seems like there is also not too many open positions. It does seem like it has potential to be some fun, but when you start out it will also be a lot of work.

[FlintBlade]

Chem Eng. demand is not that huge. Even with all the oil/gas companies, the craze in Alberta is starting to die down. The majority of the positions have already been staffed.

It's not like he's going into petroleum engineering. Chemical engineering doesn't pertain to oil/gas. They do a wide variety of things, but essentially dealing with chemicals. He could come out with the next new air freshener that cripples Lysol/febreze and become a millionaire!

[pitz]

Engineering is enormously cyclical -- at any given time, employment prospects tend to be fairly poor for a certain discipline of engineers, versus other disciplines.

Right now, Electrical/Computer Engineering suffers from relatively poor job prospects for grads, while Chemical/Petroleum/Mechanical/Civil Engineering is fairly hot. 10 years ago, most civil engineering graduates couldn't find jobs.

If 'everyone' goes into accounting, then eventually accounting salaries will be depressed. And banking and finance, as industries, in North America, are now in the process of shrinking.

So basically, find something that interests you, and go with it. I suspect the need to deal with 'peak oil' (the peaking of liquid hydrocarbon production) will create far higher wage growth in the long term for engineers across all disciplines, than it will for accountants, but I could be wrong.

[pitz]

It's not like he's going into petroleum engineering.


Chem Eng and petroleum engineering are very related.


Chemical engineering doesn't pertain to oil/gas.


Ummmmm. I don't think so. :(


They do a wide variety of things, but essentially dealing with chemicals. He could come out with the next new air freshener that cripples Lysol/febreze and become a millionaire!

That's generally the sort of job a research chemist would perform; chemical engineers are mainly concerned with the actual mechanics of chemical manufacturing. Process engineering is a heavily emphasized component of the academic program. The amount of chemistry that a ChemEng student takes in school isn't really that much -- Intro Chem, Physical Chem, Organic Chem, and Analytical Chemistry.

[CocoaPuffs]

Thank you all for the responses so far.

As I've said before, since I do not have a particular preference (ie. I find all three areas somewhat interesting, but then again, I'm not really in a position to make such conclusions), I do not think this is the best approach, otherwise I wouldn't have this problem in the first place.

An interesting note I found about engineering is the relatively slow increase in wage and the glass ceiling. I know someone who worked as a chemical engineer in the GTA and he tells me to stay away from it (he has gone into law after a couple of years due to low salary and uninteresting work). I know I won't be happy if I only chase after the money, but if day-to-day tasks become mundane, perhaps the salary boost and recognition that comes with a promotion may be the sole motivator that drives me (similar to what high school marks do for me when I find the classes too easy).

I was originally interested in chemical engineering, but due to the many negative comments regarding the field (and the news of oversupply of engineering grads), this got me interested in accounting and finance as an alternative. One area that got me particularly interested in financial engineering, which is advertised as having challenging and interesting work using mathematical analysis, yet still provides the financial reward that comes with the rigour of the work involved.

These are the thoughts going through my mind at the moment, and additional comments are certainly welcome.

[FlintBlade]

Chem Eng and petroleum engineering are very related.



Ummmmm. I don't think so. :(



That's generally the sort of job a research chemist would perform; chemical engineers are mainly concerned with the actual mechanics of chemical manufacturing. Process engineering is a heavily emphasized component of the academic program. The amount of chemistry that a ChemEng student takes in school isn't really that much -- Intro Chem, Physical Chem, Organic Chem, and Analytical Chemistry.

+1

Thanks for the informative analysis of my post. This has encouraged me to do a lot more research on Engineering careers eheh.

[pitz]

Well.... What comments can I add -- Engineering should be an excellent profession to be in for the next 20-30+ years as the world undergoes a structural transformation from an era of cheap and abundant energy, to an era of increasingly expensive and scarce energy.

The energy systems of North America, for instance, are mostly on the verge of collapse. Oil pipelines are rusting away, refineries are being pushed to the brink, electrical grids are so overloaded that the loss of a single line can cascade into massive blackouts. If/when domestic manufacturing starts growing again to supply exports to pay the national debt, we'll be in very severe and deep trouble supplying the energy to sustain those industries. Which means that there should be almost endless work for engineers in general dealing with all these problems.

[CocoaPuffs]

I would have to agree with you, but the problems you speak of are generally in the domain of alternative and sustainable energy, which is mostly in the domain of R&D. Now, when these alternative forms of energy become commercialized, it will certainly help the engineers who work in the area. For now, however, I am uncertain about whether alternative energy R&D will produce lucrative jobs.

[pitz]

I would have to agree with you, but the problems you speak of are generally in the domain of alternative and sustainable energy, which is mostly in the domain of R&D.

Ummm. No. I'm talking about the dire need for upgrading/replacement of most of the infrastructure concerning conventional energy systems.

Spare capacity in these systems is virtually non-existent, and most are wearing out fast.



Now, when these alternative forms of energy become commercialized, it will certainly help the engineers who work in the area. For now, however, I am uncertain about whether alternative energy R&D will produce lucrative jobs.

Well we're sleepwalking into a conventional energy crisis. Only poor economic growth and contraction in manufacturing has saved our bacon in the past few years -- but the returns from offshoring in manufacturing are diminishing.

[Engi-Nir]

If you are into chemical engineering...go to a good school (uoft,etc), and then do their internship program, and then you should with a bit of hardwork,etc get a job upon graduation...salary wise you are pretty good off if you get into the right industries...when you graduate automotive would have picked up in 4yrs+...here chemical engineering would be required in fuel cells development, automotive paint, material divisions,etc...plus other industries...salaries is pending how far you are willing to take yourself in the working world, that comes with your jobs and how you progress in the corporate world...
if you were able to maintain B+/A average, you can do masters, which uoft pays for.

business..everyone wants to be a CA, hence very tough, competition is very highm and the hours are crazy....

engineering...u get into eng school...u get a degree, u r an engineer :cheesygri

[kaiblu]

There are too many accounting/finance students, in my opinion. An engineering degree of any sort will set you apart from all of your fellow grads, even if it is tremendously harder.

[alysomji]

If you're interested in business as well as engineering, I strongly recommend pursuing an engineering degree, trying to obtain a position in a management consulting firm (they often hire engineering grads), and then obtaining an MBA after five years from the best b-school you can get into.

You'll likely outdo many of your peers in business if all goes well. The technical skills that come with an engineering degree combined with the soft skills obtainable from an MBA can take you far into the business world.

What's important is that you already have good presentation skills - or that you develop them very soon. That way, getting your foot in the door at a management consulting or other business services firm, despite being an engineering student, won't be overly difficult.

[good_deal]

IMO they are all great professions. I cannot tell you about the other ones but for chem eng. I was taking it at uoft and after a year I switch to Neuro. I'm personally into theoretical science rather than practical science (as it contains a lot of math and physical science). I have friends who are taking it right now and they still don't know what to do with their degrees. However, I have some friends in eng sci that already started working for an engineering firm. So engineering doesn't always give you the upper hand in getting jobs.

My point is do what you like!!! because doing something you don't like is making your 4 year in uni horrible, and if you manage to make it through it gets worse when you work. Do something you like be good at it, you will be find a job. If you have any questions pertaining to chem eng you are welcome to PM me. Good Luck in making your decision.

[T3NSION]

If you're interested in business as well as engineering, I strongly recommend pursuing an engineering degree, trying to obtain a position in a management consulting firm (they often hire engineering grads), and then obtaining an MBA after five years from the best b-school you can get into.

You'll likely outdo many of your peers in business if all goes well. The technical skills that come with an engineering degree combined with the soft skills obtainable from an MBA can take you far into the business world.

What's important is that you already have good presentation skills - or that you develop them very soon. That way, getting your foot in the door at a management consulting or other business services firm, despite being an engineering student, won't be overly difficult.

+1. Good advice.