Chemical Engineering

Jan_Itor

Can anyone please give me some info on chemical engineering courses in Ireland? I have it as my second choice on the CAO but I don't do physics and have been told this will hold me back.

Also which university would you recommend in terms of course quality, social life, etc.. UCC seems to be one of the best as it has a 6 month placement in third year but being honest I'd love to go to college in Dublin! Thanking you!

Daniel S

Jan_Itor wrote: »

Can anyone please give me some info on chemical engineering courses in Ireland? I have it as my second choice on the CAO but I don't do physics and have been told this will hold me back.

Also which university would you recommend in terms of course quality, social life, etc.. UCC seems to be one of the best as it has a 6 month placement in third year but being honest I'd love to go to college in Dublin! Thanking you!

UL has a very good Chemical and Biochemical course. 8 month work placement as with most engineering courses in UL.

Jan_Itor

What is the workload like in first year? Will I be lost without physics?

Daniel S

Jan_Itor wrote: »

What is the workload like in first year? Will I be lost without physics?

If your only going into the Leaving cert course, do physics. You will be at a disadvantage, but you should be able to catch up. As it's chemical you probably won't have to do much mechanics and electronics so you should be okay.

beargrylls93

Daniel S wrote: »

If your only going into the Leaving cert course, do physics. You will be at a disadvantage, but you should be able to catch up. As it's chemical you probably won't have to do much mechanics and electronics so you should be okay.

hello, I actually do chemical engineering in ul and i can tell you that after first year that we do no more physics but it is, is quite hard... in my second term now though and my physics class is really small like 15 people. Also there is a maths and learning center that really in my opinion, one hour there helps more than hours of studying...

mechanics isnt the main po#art of chemical engineering but it is important to us

hidinginthebush

Hi OP,

I graduated chemical engineering in 2006 in ucd. Its certainly handy having prior knowledge of physics going into it. The physics courses in 2nd year get quite difficult. Applied maths would also be a great leg up on some of the first year courses.

The course in ucd is well structured, and is now incorporating biological elements into it (in bioprocess eng), which, given the direction industry is going, is a very useful area to have knowledge of. I can't comment on any of the other chemical engineering courses in the country.

Daniel S

beargrylls93 wrote: »

hello, I actually do chemical engineering in ul and i can tell you that after first year that we do no more physics but it is, is quite hard... in my second term now though and my physics class is really small like 15 people. Also there is a maths and learning center that really in my opinion, one hour there helps more than hours of studying...

mechanics isnt the main po#art of chemical engineering but it is important to us

Brian/Sarah/Michelle? 1/2 chance since there's only six in yer course

J Dogg

I graduated from UCD Chemeng in 2005.

I hadnt done physics and struggled a bit in 1st and small bits of 2nd year with physics course. But it really isnt essential so dont be put off. You should be fine.

There is an opportunity to do a summer industry work placement during the UCD course but there are limited places for a big class (+ 30 my year).

beargrylls93

Daniel S wrote: »

Brian/Sarah/Michelle? 1/2 chance since there's only six in yer course

nearly, one of the other lads for sho !

Jan_Itor

Thanks for those replies I think i've settled on UCC due to the 6th month work placement and its close enough to where I live!

For those who have completed their degrees what kind of jobs do you have now? Do you enjoy it, what companys, hours, pay ,etc... Thanks again this thread has been very helpful!

treaty_exile

Hi J_I,
I graduated from CIT back before UCC muscled in on the action, so can't really give you much info on the UCC experience, but having worked with a few of their recent graduates it's likely they'll be primarily focused on the pharma sector.

There's a fair chance you'll be spending a summer travelling to/from ringaskiddy or little island.
Failing that, you've always got industry clusters in Shannon and Dublin but UL and UCD grads are more likely to gravitate towards the west coast and our nation's fair capital than the Cork contingent.

Other career options:
the semi conductor industry, mainly Intel in Leixlip
Oil and Gas, most likely Aberdeen initially, after that, think global!
chemical manufacturers - manufacturing raw materials, catalysts, reagents and excipients.
there's been a shift away from raw material manufacture in Ireland in favour of cheaper (mainly eastern) alternatives, but there are companies that have bucked this trend.
business analyst - slightly less common but some of your fellow grads could end up in one of the Big 4 accountancy firms purely for mathematical ability. again, this is more common to UCD than UCC.

I can only give you the benefit of my time in the pharma sector
(started out in consultancy but realised it wasn't for me after a year)

The hours are pretty standard unless you're on shift (rare unless you go down the production supervisor route)
Assuming you start in a manufacturing facility (rather than a consultancy like DPS or PM) you'll have an early-ish start, 8am to 4, probably with flexitime thrown in, giving you an hour each way.
Put the hours in, particularly when the brown stuff hits the air circulation device, and you'll be fine.
The clock watchers (guys out the gate at 4.01 without fail) don't tend to get ahead, nor do they want to.
Salary is pretty standard, it's a small industry and there aren't many outliers on the benchmarked salary curve. Probably in the 30-35k bracket initially, after that it's up to you.
Your future salary will depend greatly on how your particular company is doing. (globally that is, Ireland's economic woes matter little to your average MNC)

The course itself isn't easy, but the friends you meet and the war stories you'll come out of colllege with as you go through the course are worth the effort.
Get that honours degree, get your foot in the door somewhere and the sky's the limit.