Chemical Engineers

High school students should join science clubs and take part in other extracurricular activities, as well as engineering and science organizations that sponsor design and problem-solving contests and offer mentoring programs and other resources. Science contests are also a good way to apply principles learned in classes to a special project. Students can also subscribe to the American Chemical Society's ChemMatters a magazine for high school chemistry students that is published four times during the school year.

College students can join professional associations, such as the American Chemical Society (ACS), American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), and SME (which is composed of individual technical communities with specific fields of interest), as student affiliates. Membership benefits include subscription to magazines—some of them geared specifically toward students—that provide the latest industry information. College students can also contact the ACS or AIChE local sections to arrange to talk with some chemical engineers about what they do. These associations can also help them find summer or co-op work experiences.

In addition, the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) has a mentor program in which high school and college women are matched with an SWE member in their area. This member is available to answer questions and provide a firsthand introduction to a career in engineering.

Finally, you should check out the American Society for Engineering Education’s precollege Web site, https://sites.asee.org/precollege, for general information about careers in engineering, as well as answers to frequently asked questions about engineering.