Pros
As a chemical engineer, I feel like I utilized my degree much more than any other process engineering job I will ever have. Advice to recent college graduates: This is a great place to gain a great understanding of process design but it is important to develop other in demand skills outside of this industry. I recommend a part time law program or coding boot camp so that you will always have a hedge against this cyclical industry.
Cons
The skill set developed in the process engineering role holds no value to any other industry. As much as I enjoyed the work I did, petrochemical manufacturers would not consider me for an experienced or even entry level position despite having 4 years of process engineering design experience. Be careful not to stay here too long, I had recruiters literally tell me that my experience here is worthless to chemical manufacturing/operations roles. Department managers are dishonest about layoffs and the company did not offer any kind of severance support. I begged for a field assignment opportunity to gain exposure to different job roles, but those opportunities were very rare and reserved for highly experienced individuals (10-15+ years).
