Chemical Engineering November 2011 - 18

CPI sector
Newsfront
with engineering skills, and solid future
prospects, an engineering degree offers
no guarantees. In his experience leading
a wide-ranging engineering professional
society, Jacobson has observed
two groups of engineers in the job
market - those who are having trouble
finding new work, and those who
have a choice of opportunities. " Many
engineers who are one-dimensional,
having done the same thing for a long
time, and who and have expertise only
in one narrow area, are finding it difficult, "
Jacobson says. More than ever,
companies seek potential employees
who can draw upon a wide knowledge
base to solve critical problems. " Many
companies are looking for novel solutions
to major challenges, and 'cookbook'
solutions are not likely to work, "
Jacobson explains, adding,
" there's
real money where firms are tackling
the biggest problems. " To develop and
implement those solutions, individuals
with a broad set of experiences and a
vast assortment of problem-solving
tools that span several engineering
disciplines are the most needed. Not
only are experiences in a wide range of
engineering subdisciplines important,
but skills and knowledge from areas
outside chemical engineering can be
equally important. Knowledge in areas
as far afield as medicine, music, religion
and many others can prove valuable,
Jacobson says.
Industry personnel confirm that
skills outside engineering, as well as
less tangible traits, are often crucial
to chemical engineering jobs. Patrick
Ropella, CEO of the Ropella Group
(Milton, Fla.; www.ropella.com), an
executive search firm specializing in
the chemical industry and related
high-technology areas, says his company's
clients often place as much
value on an individual's attitude toward
a new job and interpersonal
ability as they do on technical skills
and experience. Russ Reinhart, OSU
Chemical Engineering Dept. head,
says industry is seeking chemical
engineers who can write clearly and
effectively, and who can deliver highquality
presentations.
John Peterson, a senior recruiter at
Advanced Search Group (Willowbrook,
Ill.; www.advancedsearch.com) who
specializes in the specialty chemicals
Circle 21 on p. 62 or go to adlinks.che.com/35071-21
18 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHE.COM NOVEMBER 2011
%
%
Chemicals &
petrochem 36.4
Petroleum
refining 18.8
Pharma/
biotech 5.9
Pulp & paper 1.9
Specialty/fine
chemicals 8.4
Energy 17.2
Other 24.2
Food and
beverage 5.4
Nonferrous
metals 2.5
ceramics 1.4
Rubber 2.0
Glass and
Area of work
%
%
R&D 19.5
Process
operations 26.4
Automation/
process
control 4.2
Process or
product
design 21.3
FIGURE 3-4. A larger portion of respondents
(36.4%) than last year (30.2%)
work in the chemicals and petrochemicals
sector. Process operations and
product and process design topped the
list of common work sectors
and petroleum refining sectors, also
sees experience with a wide variety
of different unit operations as a great
help for job seekers and job changers.
" Currently, there tends to be much less
time for training, " he says. " Companies
really want people who can jump
right in and be immediately effective
without a lot of hand-holding. "
Retirement delays
Also related to future demand for engineers
is the much-discussed issue
Environ.
health safety 7.3
Consulting 14.9
Plant manager 4.4
Academia 2.1
Other 12.6
http://www.ropella.com http://www.advancedsearch.com http://adlinks.che.com/35071-21 http://WWW.CHE.COM
Chemical Engineering November 2011

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Chemical Engineering November 2011
