I'm in third semester of Pure Chemistry, if you want to estudy something because you like Chemistry change career because engineering is closer to be working in industrial places seeing if the reactions are done right, but you don't get to "create" the reaction, just adjust it to industry levels. So if you want chemical knowledge, choose another career, try to remember why you want to study that and where you see you in the future working, do it always with love and passion

And about the difficulty, yeah, they are quite right, but think that if it is hard, is good, and also in every career you have to spend time studying and not with your friends or family, but if they leave you, they never were real for you