Career Chemistry of Chemical Engineers: Job responsibilities, career scope and pay scale

Demand for Chemical Engineers went uphill after its growing role in nanotechnology and bioengineering. Here are the top sectors hiring Chemical Engineers, along with the career prospects, job responsibilities and pay scale in Chemical Engineering.

Chemical engineers, job responsibilities of chemical engineers, salary of chemical engineers, pay scale of chemical engineers, what does a chemical engineer do, chemical engineering jobs, chemical engineering career

Chemical engineering is concerned with processes that convert raw materials or chemicals into more useful ingredients and products for varied industries. As the goal of every manufacturing business is high profit and low cost, chemical engineering enables businesses to curtail production cost up to a great extent.

That’s why -- from plastic to iron and steel and cosmetics to pharmaceutical -- the demand for chemical engineers is always more than supply in almost every industry.

A much sought-after stream among engineering aspirants, chemical engineering promises a bright career scope as the range of related professions is wide.

From biotechnology and aerospace to biomedical and petroleum industries, the career provides a wide range of growth opportunities and lucrative emoluments in Nav Ratna companies to blue-chip corporations in India as well as abroad.

Institute matters

For a great career start, an aspirant should have a degree in Chemical Engineering from a reputed university or college to get a strong backing for their profile.

Companies prefer graduates from prestigious institutions for hiring freshers through campus recruitments, and IITs followed by central universities occupy top ranks in the list of recruiters.

Job responsibilities of a Chemical Engineer

As every rewarding career demands some extra efforts and commitments, Chemical Engineers are also accountable for various challenging tasks such as conducting rigorous researches to develop innovative solutions, helping companies in getting patents, improving production capacities and ensuring employees’ safety working in laboratories and factories, and preserving or conserving various resource materials of special significance.

Also, amidst rising awareness about environmental safety, producing green or eco-friendly solution is another important task of chemical engineers.

In a nutshell, their core responsibilities revolve around three key objectives, i.e., making processes cost-effective, eco-friendly and efficient.

Career scope in Chemical Engineering

Earlier, it was only about industrial-scale production of chemicals, but the field has seen a vast change as the chemical engineers now cover various fields and industries.

A broad field, Chemical Engineering has applications in plastics, textile, food, pharmaceuticals, petroleum, and many more. All these sectors and industries hire Chemical Engineering graduates thus opening a huge scope for them in India as well as abroad.

If for example we talk about the Indian solvent industry, which is a part of the large chemical industry gamut, the scope is huge.

The Chemical Engineering industry is witnessing a growth in sales and it is estimated that from 2016 to 2024 the industry will expand at 4.7 per cent CAGR.

The growth is driven by the increased application of solvents in paints, plastic, adhesives, and pharmaceuticals.

With government's increasing focus on MSMEs and various tax benefits being doled, the Indian chemical industry is going to benefit that will translate into more jobs because of the growth they are expected to get especially in the times of US-China trade war.

The chemical industry in India recently gained 6th position as the largest chemical producer in the world and is on an uphill. It is estimated that the chemical industry will double its size to $300 billion by 2025.

Potential industries where you can work

Chemical Engineering graduates can find jobs in petroleum refineries, petrochemical industries, food processing units, cement factories, pharmaceutical industries, fertilizer factories, biotechnology sector, etc.

Pay scale of Chemical Engineers

Salaries in Chemical Engineering are lucrative where freshers can earn on an average INR 25,000 to INR 30,000 per month


With experience and depending on the skills, the salaries reach INR 5-7 Lakhs per year.

If one is willing to go abroad and work in the Petroleum industry, then one can expect high-end salaries. Competent professionals with a few years of experience can expect salaries between INR 1 Lakh and INR 3 Lakh per month.

- Article by Ajay Kapur, Managing Director, Shubham Chemicals & Solvents Ltd.

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