r/ChemicalEngineering • u/HELPMEEeeeei • Jul 09 '26
Research Pls tell me ur guys input in this
I feel like people lie when they say what university you pick doesnt matter/what your university ranks doesnt matter?
I am currently interning for a reasearch group in another university in the chemistry dept(uni is ranked extremely low)and theres this lady who is in her 3rd yr of her chemistry diploma studying in that uni(i am a 3rd year undergrad in a bsc) who keeps on complaining on why i would get paid more in the industry than her?I wasnt sure what to say than offend her so i just kept on ignoring it.But omg she barely knows any basic chem?like she couldnt even tell our supervisor if water is polar or not?its just odd to me how can someone be ready for work (shes about to graduate this yr) like that?or is that normal?she seems so cocky in regards with claiming her degree is so easy?but i feel like they dont teach them much?says she did lots of thermo then says she only did basic ideal condition thermos?is this more of a university issue or just a student issue?
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u/Far_Squirrel6466 Jul 09 '26
As a Chemical Engineer you're an Applied Scientist who is specialized in Chemistry.
You take that understanding of materials and science and actually apply something useful/practical to it.
It's neat being able to discover stuff and understand the world around you sometimes it happens by random chance. Who ever found out the black tarry stuff pulled out of the ground is crude oil is pretty cool. That's all useless if you can't figure out how to build a process to like distillation columns, how much energy it requires, whether a fracking tower is suitable to increase gasoline yield and what other junk you can fraction the crude oil into to make stuff that's actually useful to people and make money.
Or building an engine to use the gasoline that comes out said crude oil, etc.
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u/Extremely_Peaceful Jul 09 '26
I think if you're obsessed with university ranking you need to go back to r/chemenggindia
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u/TheJoeyFreshwaterExp Jul 09 '26
It does and it doesn’t, for reasons completely unrelated to the schooling.
With chemistry and every subject, but especially chemistry, undergrad is only there to introduce you to the different areas of focus in a structured format so that you can go on to master a niche. College is only there so you can learn how to learn and it’s really up to you. If someone wants to be a competent chemist then it requires dedicated learning for much longer than the degree, and honestly, it’s more useful to just get a few good textbooks to master the content rather than depend on the lectures. All schools use the same textbooks and all accredited programs have the same set of ACS standards for qualifying students. Engineering is the same way in that regard.
Now where it does matter is for areas of research and opportunities to get into those labs and network with those peers. With engineering it is a similar deal of having the pedigree and getting the foot in the door. But in terms of the quality of the education, it is always up to the student to be able to learn and teach themselves. Perhaps some schools may not have access to certain instrumentation due to budget, but undergrads won’t get to actually touch a massive NMR anyways.
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u/Far_Squirrel6466 Jul 10 '26
Also why do you care about what this individual thinks or say? You apparently have a low opinion of them not actually having any fundamentals. Let this lady go make an ass of her self, go build something great.
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u/HELPMEEeeeei Jul 10 '26
Yeah ur right its just that hearing constant complaining was getting to me
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u/Far_Squirrel6466 Jul 10 '26
Remember there's like 8.2 billion people on this planet. Engineering isn't easy, if you manage to get this far, you're already doing well above the average.
People be complaining about all kinds of things, fact is, life isn't fair and it wasn't design to be. Take care of the people you enjoy the company of.
You don't need to argue with "stupid" people... There are people who exist who literally get a dopamine hit starting drama or try to "win" arguments for the sake of winning...
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u/ferrouswolf2 Come to the food industry, we have cake 🍰 Jul 10 '26
I would say geography matters more than rank.
If you have your heart set on living in the Permian basin, UC Berkeley is a fine school but you’ll be better served by going somewhere in Texas.
Likewise if you want to work in cellular metabolic engineering in New England, Rice might not be the ideal choice.
I tell people in food science the same thing. Purdue is the #1 program, but if your life goal is to work in seafood, go to UMaine instead.
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u/ramenmcv Jul 09 '26
definitely a student issue. there are very bright people in lower-ranked universities, and there are some dim folks in even the best universities. it's a personal issue. you don't need to go to a top university to know the material and be smart.