Process Engineer VS Team Leader
Thread Content
I just started working at a refinery belonging to Sinopec. The shift workers there said that process engineers and equipment technicians don’t really understand the operations of the plants, yet they are still considered leaders. Team leaders know much more than process engineers, but they are still supervised by those process engineers.
Audiences unaware of the truth watch intently.
There are those who understand things earlier and those who understand them later; there are also specialties in different fields of work. Those experienced workers in factories might not know the answers to questions related to chemical engineering principles. But with decades of experience, they know from practical experience what operating coefficients are required; it’s impossible not to admire them
Young man, I wish you success in developing the operational skills of a team leader as well as the theoretical knowledge of a technician!
It’s completely normal. It’s just that the team leader is certainly better at performing the tasks related to his own position, but he must lack comprehensive technical skills; otherwise, what’s the point of having technicians?
Hands-on operation is something different from theoretical knowledge. But generally, process engineers should be quite familiar with on-site operations, except for some individuals.
This statement is unreasonable; process engineers must understand processes and equipment, while equipment specialists must know how to maintain and understand the structure of equipment. Otherwise, how can they oversee production or manage team leaders? This was probably a problem in state-owned companies in the past – is it still an issue today?
It is necessary to view this issue from a different perspective. Production operations require a lot of experience, and it’s worth learning them thoroughly*. In technology work, it is necessary to look beyond the surface to understand the essence; therefore, process engineers also need to combine practice with theory.
How can one become a process engineer without being a team leader?
This shows that there is still a gap between theoretical knowledge and practice. Team leaders and process engineers each have their own advantages; otherwise, why hire process engineers or equipment technicians at all?
It’s all a matter of staffing; such problems don’t exist in private companies