Chemical engineers

NOC

21320

conduct research, develop chemical processes and equipment, and provide technical and management services for manufacturing plants that convert raw materials into a wide range of end products.

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Full NOC Description

Chemical engineers research, design, and develop chemical processes and equipment, oversee the operation and maintenance of industrial chemical, plastics, pharmaceutical, resource, pulp and paper, and food processing plants and perform duties related to chemical quality control, environmental protection and biochemical or biotechnical engineering. They are employed in a wide range of manufacturing and processing industries, consulting firms, government, research and educational institutions.

Main Duties

This group performs some or all of the following duties:

Conduct economic and technical feasibility studies in areas related to chemical, petroleum, pulp and paper, food or other processing industries

Conduct research into the development or improvement of chemical engineering processes, reactions and materials

Evaluate chemical process technology and equipment and determine production specifications

Design and test chemical processing and associated plants and equipment

Oversee the construction, modification, operation and maintenance of pilot plants, processing units or processing plants

Establish and conduct quality control programs, operating procedures and control strategies to ensure consistency and adherence to standards for raw materials, products and waste products or emissions

Prepare contract documents and evaluate tenders for the process aspects of industrial construction

Supervise technicians, technologists and other engineers

May work in an administrative capacity, for example, in the development of guidelines and specifications for the handling of dangerous chemicals, environmental protection, or standards for foods, materials and consumer goods.

Chemical engineers may specialize in the products and processes of a particular industry such as pulp and paper manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, petroleum refining, energy processing, plastics, metal extraction and refining, or adhesives and coatings production. They may also specialize in functional areas of various industries such as process control, pollution control or fermentation processes.

Also Known As

adhesives engineer
biochemical engineer
biotechnical engineer
chemical process control engineer
chemical process engineer

chemical project engineer

environmental chemical engineer

industrial hygiene engineer

industrial waste treatment engineer

liquid fuels engineer

petrochemical engineer

polymer engineer

pulp and paper engineer

refinery engineer

waste treatment engineer

Requirements

Employment Requirements

A bachelor's degree in chemical engineering or in a related engineering discipline is required.

A master's degree or doctorate in a related engineering discipline may be required.

Licensing by a provincial or territorial association of professional engineers is required to approve engineering drawings and reports and to practise as a Professional Engineer (P.Eng.).

Engineers are eligible for registration following graduation from an accredited educational program, and after three or four years of supervised work experience in engineering and passing a professional practice examination.

Provincial Regulation

Provincially Regulated: Yes

Regulation Body

Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of New Brunswick

Employment by Sex

The following graph shows the percentage of men and women working in this occupation in New Brunswick.

Data legend

13.6%

Female

86.4%

Male

Employment by age

The following graph shows the breakdown of all persons working in this occupation in New Brunswick by age group.

Data legend

6.8%

15-24

50.0%

25-34

22.7%

35-44

11.4%

45-54

6.8%

55-64

2.3%

65+

Employment by highest level of education

The following graph shows the breakdown of all persons working in this occupation in New Brunswick by highest level of education achieved.

Data legend

0.0%

No Certificate, Diploma or Degree

0.0%

High School, Diploma or Equivalent

0.0%

Apprenticeship or Trades Certificate or Diploma

0.0%

College or University Below Bachelor Level

100.0%

University - Bachelor Level or Above

Employment by Industry

The following graph shows the industry groups in which the largest shares of persons working in this occupation in New Brunswick are employed. Small percentages for all top three industry groups may suggest employment for this occupation is widely distributed amongst many industry groups.

Data legend

52.3%

Manufacturing

18.2%

Utilities

9.1%

Wholesale trade

20.5%

All Other Industries

Employment by Economic Regions

The following graph shows the breakdown of all persons employed in this occupation in New Brunswick by which economic region they reside in.

Data legend

N/A

Northeast

11.40%

Southeast

61.40%

Southwest

20.50%

Central

N/A

Northwest

Economic Regions

The following map displays New Brunswick’s five economic regions. An economic region (ER) is a grouping of counties, created as a standard unit for analysis of regional economic activity across Canada.

Annual Average Salary by Economic Regions

The following graph shows the average salary of all persons employed in this occupation in each of New Brunswick’s five economic regions.

Data legend

N/A

Northeast

N/A

Southeast

$116,000

Southwest

$110,000

Central

N/A

Northwest

Economic Regions

Hourly Median Wages by Economic Regions

The following represents the median hourly wage of all persons employed in this occupation in each of New Brunswick’s five economic regions.

Salary

The following shows the average salary of everyone who worked full-time and year-round in this occupation across each of the Atlantic Provinces and nationally.

Employment Outlook

The following represents the number of job openings that are expected to occur in this occupation over the next three and ten years respectively, broken down by openings expected to result from growth (“new jobs”) and openings expected to result from attrition (death and retirements).

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