20 Key Attributes Chemical Engineers Need To Succeed In Their Career

by Noah Smith

Thursday, December 31, 2015

Chemical engineers design chemical plant equipment and devise processes for manufacturing chemicals and products, such as gasoline, synthetic rubber, plastics, detergents, cement, paper, and pulp, by applying principles and technology of chemistry, physics, and engineering.

The core tasks that chemical engineers are likely to carry out include:

Develop safety procedures to be employed by workers operating equipment or working in close proximity to on-going chemical reactions.
Troubleshoot problems with chemical manufacturing processes.
Evaluate chemical equipment and processes to identify ways to optimize performance or to ensure compliance with safety and environmental regulations.
Conduct research to develop new and improved chemical manufacturing processes.
Determine most effective arrangement of operations such as mixing, crushing, heat transfer, distillation, and drying.
Perform tests and monitor performance of processes throughout stages of production to determine degree of control over variables such as temperature, density, specific gravity, and pressure.

In order to successfully forge ahead with their careers, analysts in a survey carried out by U.S. Department of Labor (via O*NET) have marked out the following as important attributes that chemical engineers would need. These attributes have been selected from characteristics and requirements strongly associated with the occupation. They are

Abilities: Enduring attributes of the individual that influence performance
Interests: Preferences for work environments. Occupational Interest Profiles (OIPs) are compatible with Holland's (1985, 1997) model of personality types and work environments. Six interest categories are used to describe the work environment of occupations: Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional. An OIP consists of six numerical scores indicating how descriptive and characteristic each work environment (or interest area) is for an occupation
Knowledge: Organized sets of principles and facts applying in general domains
Skills: These include basic skills, which are developed capacities that facilitate learning or the more rapid acquisition of knowledge. Plus cross-functional skills, which are developed capacities that facilitate performance of activities that occur across jobs
Style: Personal characteristics that can affect how well someone performs a job

We have listed out attributes which were scored 80% or more in terms of importance by the analysts.

Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
Attribute Type: Knowledge Score: 97.6%

Having a strong preference for investigative work environments. Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.
Attribute Type: Interests Score: 95.29%

Analyzing information and using logic to address work-related issues and problems.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 91.2%

Having a strong preference for realistic work environments. Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.
Attribute Type: Interests Score: 90.43%

Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
Attribute Type: Knowledge Score: 90.4%

Being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 89.6%

Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Attribute Type: Knowledge Score: 87.2%

Persistence in the face of obstacles.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 86.4%

Being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 86.4%

Being honest and ethical.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 86.4%

A willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 85.6%

Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
Attribute Type: Skills Score: 85%

Being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 84%

Establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 82.4%

Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub- atomic structures and processes.
Attribute Type: Knowledge Score: 80%

Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Attribute Type: Skills Score: 80%

Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
Attribute Type: Skills Score: 80%

The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
Attribute Type: Abilities Score: 80%

The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
Attribute Type: Abilities Score: 80%

The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.
Attribute Type: Abilities Score: 80%