When it comes to chemical engineering majors, the first reaction of many high school students and parents is factories, oil, and pollution, believing that the employment prospects are bleak and the way out is narrow.
However, with the development of the economy and industrial upgrading, chemical engineering majors are ushering in two rare employment opportunities. As long as we grasp the three popular directions - cold chain logistics, environmental protection, and new material research and development, the employment situation of chemical engineering graduates will be greatly improved.
The cold chain logistics industry is booming and there is an urgent need for chemical talentsWith the improvement of people's living standards, the demand for fresh agricultural products and medicines and vaccines has surged. However, most of these products are perishable and need to be stored at strict low temperatures, so there is a huge demand for cold chain logistics.
In the past "Double 11" period alone, major e-commerce platforms have generated hundreds of millions of express packages. The warehousing and transportation system required behind these parcels can be said to be a "practical exercise" in the construction of cold chain logistics.
For example, a recent graduate of Northwestern Polytechnical University majoring in chemical engineering and technology. Soon after the end of Double 11, he received an offer from JD Logistics' China headquarters to work in JD's vaccine-specific cold chain warehouse, responsible for the low-temperature storage and transportation of vaccines. This is undoubtedly a good start for a college student who has just entered the society.
Chemical engineering students are favored because they already have specialized knowledge such as refrigeration principles, insulation materials, thermal insulation design, etc., and can get started quickly. In contrast, students majoring in mechanical or electronics have also studied refrigeration technology, but the focus is different, and they need to undergo special training before they can work in cold chain logistics.
Therefore, the cold chain logistics industry is bound to absorb a large number of fresh graduates majoring in chemical engineering in the next few years. They can not only work in the front line of warehousing and transportation, but also embark on the direction of cold chain system optimization or management through further education. This also provides a reliable outlet for those students who like chemical engineering but are worried about employment.
The demand for environmental protection is increasing, and new chemical processes are promisingIn addition to cold chain logistics, with China's increasing attention to green environmental protection, environmental governance will also be another development direction for chemical engineering students. Whether it is industrial waste gas emissions, sewage treatment, or household waste treatment, new processes need to be developed to solve the problem.
Taking an environmental treatment research institute as an example, they proposed a new absorbent compound process route for industrial flue gas desulfurization, which has the advantages of high treatment efficiency and small footprint compared with the traditional limestone method.
The core technical personnel of the project are all from chemical engineering majors, and they have applied the professional knowledge they have learned in school to develop a new desulfurization process that is more environmentally friendly. There are many similar cases, and Shandong Province alone has added hundreds of projects related to environmental governance.
It can be seen that with the improvement of governance requirements, chemical enterprises must also develop greener and environmentally friendly new processes.
Graduates majoring in chemical engineering have the same bright prospects if they choose to enter the environmental protection industry. They can be engaged in the research and development of new pollution treatment technologies in environmental protection departments or research institutes, or directly participate in environmental remediation and engineering projects, and contribute their professional expertise.
The research and development of new materials and the strength of chemical industry can be affirmedIn addition to the first two directions, the research and development of new materials is also an opportunity for chemical engineering students. The chip materials of electronic products in our lives, various polymer materials in automobiles, and even every kind of carbon fiber in sports shoes are all research objects of chemical engineering. In recent years, the state has given strong support to the research and development of new materials.
Dr. Zhang from the Institute of Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences is a typical representative. Using his background in chemical engineering, he has successfully developed a new electronic material with twice the thermal conductivity of known materials, which is expected to solve the problem of heat generation in electronic chips.
Dr. Zhang said that the chemical engineering major has cultivated his sensitivity to the composition and structure of various materials, and also exercised his ability to predict the properties of different materials, which has laid the foundation for his research work.
It can be seen that the chemical engineering major provides students with a solid theoretical foundation and experimental skills, so that they can solve problems in the design and development of new materials.
Therefore, if you choose to enter the field of new materials, chemical engineering graduates are also promising. Inorganic, non-metallic, and polymer materials can become a stage for them to shine.
To sum up, cold chain logistics, environmental protection and new material research and development are the three popular employment directions for chemical engineering students at present and in the future.
By grasping the opportunities of emerging industries and finding their own professional direction, the majority of students in the chemical engineering class can still give full play to their expertise in the society and realize their self-worth.