Career prospects for recent chemical engineering graduates

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Author: Drifter 　　　 More and more college graduates are emerging. Some families spend almost everything they have to send their children to college. Yet, it is difficult to find a job after graduation, and the salary offered is low – sometimes even lower than that of migrant workers. As a result, these graduates cannot even hold their heads high in front of their neighbors. What is the future for these recent college graduates? Since I majored in chemical engineering, I will mainly share my own experiences and suggestions regarding career choices for recent chemical engineering graduates for everyone’s reference. 　　 　　Company to choose 　　　　 The first job one gets after entering society is extremely important; it can even determine one’s entire life. Based on my personal experience, I have analyzed the advantages and disadvantages of working at the companies listed below. 　　 　　 First: Work in small and medium-sized enterprises. There are not many professionals in such companies, so you have more opportunities to utilize your specialized skills. Due to the limited number of experts, you can work as a technician in the workshop, and you also get the chance to work in the laboratory, where you can become familiar with various product manufacturing processes and formulas, which will help prepare you for future development. 　　 　　 Second: Work in large enterprises. It’s easier to get ahead in such companies if you have connections there; unless you are good at flattering your superiors, or if you know someone in the company’s leadership, or if you work for a large state-owned enterprise in industries like petrochemicals, it is advised that you avoid working in large enterprises. The working conditions in such companies are mediocre; there are graduates from top universities, postgraduates, and even doctors working there, so there’s no room for personal development at all. You might end up spending your entire career simply turning switches, and after decades of working that way, you won’t have earned much money. If the company goes bankrupt, you won’t have learned anything, and it will be very difficult to find another job – by then you’re done for. 　　 　　 Third: Enterprises that produce formulated products. Among chemical products, those with the highest profits and a longest competitive lifespan are formulated products, as these products are usually made up of several ingredients, resulting in low costs. Ordinary competitors do not know what the components are, making it difficult to analyze them and thus hard to replicate similar products. I personally think it’s better to work in such companies. Once you’ve learned the basics, and given that the cost of these products is low and the production equipment is simple, you can start your own business after changing jobs, or partner with others to produce similar products of your own design. 　　 　　 Fourth: Companies that produce organic synthesis products. The products manufactured by these companies are of the type resulting from simple organic synthesis, and their competitive lifespan is very short. Since there are many intelligent people these days, once they know the molecular structure of a product, they can synthesize it right away, which leads to a rapid decline in the profits associated with such products. Organic synthesis generally requires significant investment and involves lengthy production processes, which is why such companies tend to go bankrupt quickly. 　　 　　 I used to work at a factory that produced intermediates for amoxicillin. According to reports in some newspapers at that time, on average one new company started producing this product each month in China. At the beginning of the factory’s operation, demand for the products exceeded supply; the market price was 250,000 yuan per ton. A year and a half later, by the time we had succeeded in conducting pilot tests but had not yet started full-scale production, the market price dropped to 70,000 yuan per ton. The company was on the verge of closing down, and salaries could not be paid on time, so I had no choice but to change jobs. 　　 　　 Working in such companies requires frequent job changes in order to acquire more knowledge in organic synthesis and build expertise for synthesizing other products in the future. Otherwise, if you stay at one company for a long time, you will only be able to synthesize a limited number of products; and since the lifespan of these products is short, the skills you gain are of little use when looking for a new job later on. 　　 　　 Fifth: New companies versus established companies. It’s better to work for a new company, ideally one that has been established for just one or one and a half years; at such times, the company needs many talents, offering broad opportunities for growth. In contrast, the talents in established companies have been selected over several years; their products are already well-established, and there is relatively little room for development. It’s difficult to be given important responsibilities at such companies, which hinders personal growth. 　　 　　 Sixth: State-owned enterprises and private enterprises. The system in state-owned enterprises is relatively rigid; they are not as flexible as private enterprises. In state-owned enterprises, career advancement depends on seniority, and one faces suppression and exclusion. One’s own work achievements are often stolen by supervisors, making it difficult to progress. In contrast, in private enterprises, those with abilities can rise to prominence quickly. Although the benefits in state-owned enterprises are relatively stable, the competition in the chemical industry is fierce. If one fails to learn more, the collapse of the company means that several years have been wasted, which is not conducive to future career development. 　　 　　 Seventh: Companies that hire frequently versus those that hire rarely. If a company keeps hiring employees on a regular or continuous basis, there must be something wrong with its management – why keep hiring? It’s usually because companies are too picky or engaged in constant political struggles, which leads to employees leaving the company repeatedly; in such a situation, you won’t be able to stay at that company for long either. Companies that hire employees rarely do so unless there are vacant positions. 　　 　　 Eighth: Companies with high salaries versus those with low salaries. I think when fresh graduates look for jobs, they should not choose a company based solely on the salary level. They should think ahead – the key is to determine whether there is room for their development in that company, and whether they can gain more practical experience. If the salary is high but there is no opportunity for growth or no chance to acquire more practical skills, it’s better not to work there, as it will hinder their future development. You can gain practical experience with low pay; once you have more experience, you can choose to change jobs and earn a higher salary. 　　 　　Ways to develop oneself 　　　　　　　　　The title of \"champions of the generation\" increasingly loses its luster for today’s college graduates. In order to make a living, we have to start from scratch when working in a company. The following is a summary of my work over the past few years, outlining the things that recent chemical engineering graduates should keep in mind when starting work. 　　 　　 First: One must first choose to work in the lowest-level workshop. 　　 　　 The path to follow is: “factory worker – technician – R&D specialist” or “factory worker – team leader – production manager”. When you first start working in a company, your initial salary might even be lower than that of the factory workers; team leaders or ordinary workers there will give you orders. You shouldn’t act as if you’re better than everyone else – if a team leader reports you, you’ll be in trouble. You must be humble and willing to endure hardships; you should compete with the workers to do physical labor and operate the equipment yourself. Only in this way can you get along well with the workers and gain more knowledge. Once you feel you have a good grasp of the skills needed in the factory, you can apply to work in the laboratory for R&D tasks. Only when you develop a product and scale it up from a few hundred milliliters in a laboratory flask to reactors of several tons for production will you understand the situation; otherwise, if problems arise during this scaling-up process, you won’t know what’s going on. 　　 　　 When working at the grassroots level, one should try every means to maintain frequent contact with the boss or the technical manager, in order to lay the groundwork for becoming a workshop supervisor or working in a laboratory in the future. 　　 　　 Second: Be humble at all times. Since you have little practical experience, you should learn from others; even if you have developed a few products, don’t be proud. Generally, every factory has engineers with high salaries; they tend to be conservative, so it’s best not to ask them too many direct technical questions. Instead, observe their methods and techniques for developing and producing products. When your skills surpass theirs, do not belittle them; always remember this: people lift others up, while those who belittle others pull them down. You drove them away, thinking that the boss would raise your salary or that it would be the same as theirs. My years of experience have shown that their departure brings you no benefit at all. The boss believes that you have learned everything in his company and that you are a talent developed there; therefore, he won’t raise your salary or will only increase it slightly, while your workload increases significantly and your responsibilities grow even greater. 　　 　　 Third: Increase your visibility among your peers. No matter how skilled you are or how many excellent products you have developed, if your competitors don’t even know of your existence, they won’t try to recruit you with high salaries. You will thus remain in that company, earning a meager salary until the end of your career. If you later switch to another company in the same industry, other companies won’t offer you a high salary either, given that you are an unknown figure. So, one must find ways to increase one’s visibility. 　　 　　 Ways to increase your visibility include building good relationships with sales staff, as it is they who have the most frequent contact with the outside world within a company. When sales staff change jobs, they may bring you along with them. Or, if possible, you can work together with them and become your own boss ； Attend more trade shows, as there are many companies in the same industry there ； Find ways to stay in touch with clients more often; you can use technical support as a starting point. Clients don’t necessarily use only your products, and through them you can establish connections with other companies in the same industry.