A Breakdown of Key Elements

in Choosing a Career in
Chemical Engineering

By

Raelene Hollie
ENGL 2210

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Raelene Hollie
Albuquerque, NM 87108

December 10, 2023

Professor J. Fisher
San Juan College
Farmington, NM 87402

Greetings Professor Fisher,

Here, I present my data figure report on some things for a person to consider when thinking
about a career in chemical engineering.
You will see data from various articles. I will give information on profession salary, artificial
intelligence contributions, and job growth outlook.
I hope you will find the report informative.

Sincerely,

Raelene Hollie

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 A BREAKDOWN OF KEY ELEMENTS IN CHOOSING A CAREER IN CHEMICAL
ENGINEERING

submitted to
Professor Jonathan Fisher
San Juan College
Farmington, NM

October 5, 2023

by
Raelene Hollie

This report examines three different elements of choosing a career in chemical engineering. It
will cover salary potential, AI involvement, and job position growth outlook. Ultimately, it is
meant to be used as an informative piece of writing for a student to consider to start thinking
about in choosing a career in chemical engineering.

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

List of Figures ……………...

………………………………………………………………………………………… 5

1. Introduction
………………………………………………………………………………………………
……… 6
1.1 Purpose
1.2 Background
1.3 Scope

2. Salary Information
…………………………………………………………………………………….……….
7
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Summary
2.3 Interpretation

3. Artificial Intelligence
……………………………………………………………………………….………… 8
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Summary
3.3 Interpretation

4. Job Growth Outlook

…………………………………………………………………………………………. 9
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Summary
4.3 Interpretation

5. Conclusion
………………………………………………………………………………………………
……… 10

6. References
………………………………………………………………………………………………
……… 11

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 LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1. Median Salary by Year

…………………………………………………………………………………... 7
Figure 2. Publication trends of AI in specific research areas from 2000 to 2020 ………..... 8
Figure 3. Projected Percent Growth by Engineering Occupation ……………………..…………..
9

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1.0 Introduction

This report will present data figures from three different sources covering aspects of a career in
chemical engineering.

1.1 Purpose

The purpose of this report is to provide information for a student who may be considering a path
toward a degree in chemical engineering. Data to be covered will include the following: salary,
artificial intelligence involvement, and projected job growth.

1.2 Background

The report was created to be a persuasive information resource for any student who may want to
visualize bridging the gap between being a student to being a professional.

Note: Although, the topic covered is chemical engineering, there is no highly technical jargon
used in this report. The information presented is in very general terms.

1.3 Scope

This report only grazes the surface of the possibilities of a career in chemical engineering. It is
meant to provide information to draw students in to further explore the path as an option for the
future.

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 Figure 1: “Median Salary by Year” AIChE. https://www.aiche.org/chenected/2021/06/2021-aiche-
salary-survey

2.0 Introduction

This first piece of data comes from the AIChE website. AIChE is a place for chemical engineers
to learn about each other, connect, and share information. “AIChE is the world’s leading
organization for chemical engineering professionals, with more than 60,000 members from more
than 110 countries. AIChE has the breadth of resources and expertise you need whether you are
in core process industries or emerging areas, such as translational medicine (“About AIChE”).
The data comes from the results of a biennial survey conducted by the organization.

2.1 Summary

The data shows an upward trend in salary growth from 2002 through 2021. The graph also
depicts growth through COVID-19, something most other professions likely did not experience.

2.2 Interpretation

The graph shows promising benefits to those who may choose a career in chemical engineering.
Although, the graph displays increasing salary numbers, it should be noted that this is only a
simplified snippet of the entire salary survey. Initial growth in salary numbers could also be
attributed to the expansion of the organization in the early 2000s.

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 Figure 2: “Publication trends of AI in specific research areas from 2000 to 2020: (A) journal
publications and (B) patent publications” ACS Publications.
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.jcim.1c00619

3.0 Introduction

Data presented here comes from ACS Publications, which is a division of the American
Chemical Society. “The Publications Division of the ACS shall provide to its members and the
worldwide scientific community a comprehensive collection, in any medium, of high-quality
information products and services that advance the practice of the chemical and related sciences
and shall generate, in the aggregate, an annual net contribution from operations to support the
Society's overall mission of advancing the broader chemistry enterprise and its practitioners for
the benefit of Earth and its people (“About ACS Publications”). The graphs represent the
growing involvement of artificial intelligence (AI) in the field of chemical engineering.

3.1 Summary

The first graph shows percentage growth of AI use in publications from years 2000 to 2020. The
second graphs depicts percentage growth in the number of patents using AI from years 2000 to
2020. Both graphs divide the chemical engineering field into twelve subcategories. Both graphs
show gradual growth for the most part. However, with the advancement of AI technology in
recent years, the graphs make an almost exponential jump in growth from around 2017 and
forward.

3.2 Interpretation

With the continuing development of AI, its use will absolutely be an ongoing resource in all
areas of chemical engineering.

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 Figure 3: “Projected Percent Growth by Engineering Occupation” Connections Newsletter - March
2019. https://connections.createsend1.com/t/y-e-kuilhrk-l-yd


o



4.0 Introduction

This data set comes from a 2019 issue of Connections, a newsletter sent out by the American
Society for Engineering Education (ASEE). The data points are the ASEE’s interpretation and
review of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projected job growth in various engineering fields.
The data represents the years 2016 to a projected 2026.

4.1 Summary

Overall, the graph shows growth in all fields of engineering, with the biggest leaps in petroleum,
marine and naval, civil, and industrial engineering. Chemical engineering falls within the middle
portion of job growth, with a steady 7-8% growth.

4.2 Interpretation

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Although chemical engineering is listed in the mid-range for percent job growth, chemistry is an
aspect with applications in virtually every other listed engineering category.

Conclusion 5.0
In summary of the data presented in this report, the three aspects analyzed reflect a promising
future to those students who are interested in pursuing a career in engineering, particularly in the
chemical engineering or closely related fields. There are several other areas to examine that may
draw interest from students. The student’s love and affinity for science, problem solving, and
lifelong learning should also be considered in these professions.

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 References

Sharma, N. (2021, June 22). 2021 aiche salary survey. AIChE.

https://www.aiche.org/chenected/2021/06/2021-aiche-salary-survey

Baum, Z. J., Zhou, Q., Watkins, S. P., Zhao, Y., Ayala, P. Y., & Yu, X. (2021, July 15).
Artificial Intelligence in chemistry: Current trends and future ... ACS Publications.
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.jcim.1c00619

Grose, T. (Ed.). (2019, March). Projected Engineering Job Growth; first-year interventions.
Connections Newsletter - March 2019. https://connections.createsend1.com/t/y-e-kuilhrk-l-
yd/

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