“Qualified to degree level (or equivalent) in chemical engineering or a related discipline.” Sound familiar? You will have come across this type of requirement within many of the adverts that you have looked at if you are seeking a new position as a chemical engineer. Organisations want an indication of your level of competency and your qualification is one of the first things that can provide them with this.
However, universities are coming under increased criticism from employers about how well they equip their students for the workplace. A degree does not always provide sufficient evidence to suggest that a candidate will flourish following graduation. Consider the points below and see if you think they relate to your own experiences. Do you think you have what it takes to impress your new employer? Has university prepared you for this crucial stage in your career? Act now to address anything that university didn’t teach you.
1. Soft skills
Sound theoretical knowledge is only one aspect of what is deemed essential to be a successful chemical engineer. One of the most crucial aspects of the role of any engineer is to be able to communicate ideas successfully, verbally as well as in writing. Communication skills, interpersonal skills and team-working skills are of great importance. How many lectures did you have at university in which the importance of ‘soft skills’ was discussed? What proportion of the discussions that did take place fell into the lecture outline and how many occurred as a result of an informal question from a student?
It is vital that engineers are equipped not only with technical engineering skills, but also with the personal and professional skills to be effective leaders, so by identifying areas in which you excel and then taking measures to address those which require improvement, you could greatly enhance your future employability potential.
2. Breadth of knowledge
It is possible that your university course, while facilitating the development of an in-depth knowledge base about a particular topic area, might not have provided you with the breadth of knowledge required to maximise your success within the workplace.
If, having assessed your own circumstances, there are areas within your knowledge base that you feel could be extended, consider opportunities for further training; enrolling on a project management course, for example.
Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is another way to ensure that your skills and knowledge are improved following graduation. It is important that you view the completion of your course as a starting point, not an end point; a grounding from which you can propel you career, but by no means an end to your learning. By doing this you will have addressed the possibility that university might not have given you the breadth of knowledge required for success within the industry.
3. Equipment costing / cost estimations
Your university course is unlikely to have taught you enough – if anything – about overall plant costs for different process industries and their orders of magnitude in relation to processing volumes. The relative costs of major items (for example, digesters, reverse osmosis plants and dissolved air filtration units in the water industry) are not something that you will have covered as part of your learning, so it is important that you compensate for any deficiencies through continued learning. It is also important that you develop an understanding about sourcing costs from equipment suppliers – where to find them and how to approach them – and consider the major factors that affect cost. Be prepared for a steep learning curve when you enter employment to accustom yourself with such issues.
Developing your level of ability comes from learning from colleagues and working on specific projects. With an experienced team to learn from and to be supported by, the more arduous task of detailed cost calculations as described in textbooks can be reduced to a discussion with colleagues based on past experience.
4. International engineering differences
With the rapid globalisation of the world’s economy, engineers are more frequently in contact with clients, suppliers and peers from a variety of different cultures, so understanding the impact of cross-cultural differences has become increasingly significant. Such differences impact upon the engineering profession as a whole and might not have been specifically addressed as part of your course syllabus.
Think about: differences in communication, including body language and gestures as well as the possibility of different reactions to the same situation; differences between standards and measurement systems; differing approaches to problem solving; and varying ways in which companies are structured (including hierarchy, methods of sharing information and hiring processes). Only when you have acknowledged that such differences exist, can you utilise the advantages of working at an international level.
Of course, your understanding of international differences in engineering will improve as you progress professionally, but you can accelerate the speed at which this is done through conducting your own research online. Have a look at the web sites of different organisations and see how those based within different countries vary. Think about how you can accommodate such differences, maximising the likelihood that they will have a positive affect on your career progression. The ability to demonstrate an awareness of cross-cultural differences could enable you to excel during the early stages of your career.
5. Computer design software
The content of your chemical engineering course may well have included equipment design and computer programming, which is not necessarily something that you will always require within the workplace. Programmes exist to facilitate the design process and determine how plants fit together, so exposure to them throughout university could prove to be more beneficial in terms of relating course material to the working environment. However if, upon embarking upon the first stage in your career, you are able to identify areas in which your skills could be improved it should not be unreasonable to request further training where necessary.
6. Report writing / proposal writing
It is imperative that you are able to communicate your ideas in writing if you are to cultivate a successful engineering career. The importance of adopting a professional report writing style, where your ideas are documented in a succinct, logical format is crucial if you are to be respected within the workplace, but this is not always emphasised at university.
To ensure that you have developed the ability to produce written reports to an admirable standard, review sample copies and take inspiration from what others do. Consider your audience when writing such reports – don’t assume that readers will understand acronyms or other abbreviations; it may be necessary to include a glossary. This kind of preparation will help you to overcome any weaknesses in your skill set.
7. Post-educational support
Most universities will have an undergraduate careers service to offer advice and support in securing employment after the completion of your course. However, post-educational support or guidance that is tailored to the specific industry in which you would like to work is unlikely to be available. Producing technical CVs requires a particular style, which demonstrates evidence of training and experiences and shows that you know what is involved in, for example, office, plant or rig work. It also facilitates better positioning for interviews and pay rises, giving you documented evidence to support your case.
Further into your career, during times when you require assistance with negotiating salaries and benefits packages and networking, help offered by your university will be incredibly limited. This is when utilising the services of your recruitment agency can prove to be highly advantageous. CV writing, interviews, feedback and the negotiation of salaries or rates are all areas in which reputable agencies can offer help, providing you with support throughout your career.
8. Operations and management
The fundamentals of working out shift patterns, organising cover for sickness absence and allowing for downtime in production are aspects of your role as an engineer that you are unlikely to have been taught as part of your university course. The most effective way to address deficiencies in such skills is by observing others within your place of work. Ask questions: what do they do? Why do they do it that way? Your questions are unlikely to generate a negative response from an employer that is supportive of your ambition. You are not going to be asked to perform this type of task on your first day as a graduate engineer, so gathering information to prepare yourself for when this does happen could help you to gain additional responsibilities sooner than your peers. The underlying factor here is that you adopt a proactive approach to your work and show enthusiasm for continued learning.
9. Engineering accounting: fixed and variable costs / risk management
Closely relating to point eight is that, once the plant is designed, decisions about staff numbers, shift patterns and sickness or holiday cover must be made. Consider: technical support or call-out arranged for emergency work; the maintenance schedule; how long the equipment will last; power draw and consumption; other utilities required; costs and how these costs are likely to change; fixed costs that cannot be avoided (e.g. labour) and variable costs that change according to changes in the process (e.g. no gas or electricity consumption when the plant is shut). These vital considerations will become your responsibility as you develop your career, but they are not something that you will have been able to learn during the completion of your degree. Learn from others, follow instructions meticulously and show initiative when you are given extra responsibilities.
10. Sales
Whether selling to clients or selling your own skills, the principles behind reading people by understanding their body language and identifying hidden signals, knowing what they are looking for and telling them what they want to hear in order to get what you want are all relatively similar.
Psychology would not necessarily be something that you’d expect to be covered as part of an engineering course syllabus, but the ways in which you interact with others is guaranteed to have an effect on your success throughout your career. What you must ensure is that you choose methods of interaction that will create positive results for you. Conduct you own research, either online or in libraries, to improve your ability to influence the thoughts and actions of others; think about changes you could make to the way you present your ideas that would improve how well they are received by clients and colleagues. This kind of research could assist significantly in accelerating your career.
So, while it is highly likely that you have dedicated many hours to gaining impressive grades at university and have a firm grounding from which to enter employment, a degree is not your ‘golden ticket’ to the top of the career ladder. Now that you have gained this valuable qualification, you will need to embark upon a steep learning curve in order to excel within your career, and acknowledgement that this will be required is an excellent step forward.
If you are enthusiastic about future training opportunities, are willing to utilise the expertise of other more experienced professionals around you, and have the determination to build on what you have leant throughout your time at university, there is every chance that you will develop an enviable position within your company, moving forwards as your skill set widens and your experience within the workplace strengthens your knowledge base.