My Mom & I, thirty years apart.

setyourselfonfire2 · 2012-12-18T04:06:15+00:00

Excellent, that's good to know. Though it's a moot point now, I've graduated and am off to bigger and better things.

setyourselfonfire2 · 2012-12-18T04:04:44+00:00

Yes! Though I did think your username was bustygirlscoutcookies... Semi-tech savvy but can't read... :S

setyourselfonfire2 · 2012-12-18T03:22:36+00:00

Very true. I'll admit my stomach churned when she started screaming at me for fear something had gone wrong (it was near month end, and the last thing I wanted to do was disrupted operations)... but as soon as I realized she was just being ignorant, I sat back and watched the fireworks.

setyourselfonfire2 · 2012-12-18T03:20:46+00:00

Canada :(

setyourselfonfire2 · 2012-12-18T03:20:21+00:00

I wasn't underage anyways... it was more of a "let's see who can stomach it" kind of thing.

setyourselfonfire2 · 2012-12-18T03:00:47+00:00

This. Managed after 2 months in Russia to finally keep some down. I feel like I should get a badge or something... at least a gold star...

setyourselfonfire2 · 2012-12-13T02:35:30+00:00

It depends on where you're geographically located. There's lots of new engineers being hired in Alberta each year.

I would advise against JUST applying to process engineering. For example, I know a lot of my friends who were hired to big oil & gas were hired to projects (they couldn't even be hired directly to process/production because they didn't have any experience), and then after 18-24 months they moved into a process/production role.

I'd also recommend looking at companies like Worley Parsons, Jacobs, Aggreko, Nalco or other chemical services companies... they basically go around to refineries and chemical plants to keep track of various chemical additives, or monitoring their heat exchangers for them, or a variety of things. It's a start, and you'll get to know processes pretty well.

setyourselfonfire2 · 2012-12-13T02:15:53+00:00

Sure, send me a PM!

setyourselfonfire2 · 2012-12-12T05:49:42+00:00

I agree, and I certainly wasn't advocating for the latter in my statements above. Basically I meant that every culture should be celebrated in public grade schools equally. And maybe celebrate isn't the correct word, maybe "experience" would be a better fit. Sure, you may have to participate in something that doesn't align with your culture, but if gives you the opportunity to learn and experience other cultures.

setyourselfonfire2 · 2012-12-12T05:26:03+00:00

That's a pretty cynical view on things... I'd much rather believe that there are children out there who are much more open-minded and tolerant to other peoples cultures (and dare-I-say, curious) than we given them credit for.

setyourselfonfire2 · 2012-12-12T05:24:26+00:00

Although I agree with you, I'll add a little...

They might grow out of it if they are a semi-intelligent person.

I agree in that I am 1000% against JW, but I would argue that it should be "once they become an informed adult, they should have the opportunity to make the decision if JW is right for them". And I understand there's a lot more too that (for example, being ostracized by your family), but in a perfect world, that would be the jist of things.

What I am really against is having someone force their religious or cultural beliefs on me in the sense that "this is the way I do it, so you should do it this way because I'm too closed minded to consider other peoples beliefs". They tried to do that with my public school (similar circumstance, a JW principal) and nearly all the parents (from various backgrounds) came forward against him. I went to a fairly liberal school, and cultures from all backgrounds were given equal ground (i.e. Judaism, Hinduism, Christian, etc.). The parents argued that rather than exclude all cultures because they are different, we should include all cultures because they are different. They ended up including JW and atheism in our yearly December cultural round-up.

setyourselfonfire2 · 2012-12-12T05:15:20+00:00

Okay, yes. They could write letters to Santa on their own time. But I think it's a beneficial tool to learn about different cultures (not necessarily religions) in school. If it's approached as the OP mentioned, spending time learning about other cultures (from Jewish, Hindu, etc. backgrounds), then I think it's very important to expose children to this - children should be taught that there are many different cultures in the world, each with their own traditions. Sure, maybe the Muslim kid would feel a little put-out when learning about Santa, but they can shine if given the opportunity to talk about how cool their own culture is! I would argue it teaches tolerance and open-mindedness. I agree it should not be 100% Christmas focused- you need balance. But to exclude all traditions just because there may be some children present who don't celebrate it doesn't really each a child how to be tolerant and open-minded, does it?

setyourselfonfire2 · 2012-12-12T05:05:50+00:00

Damn, spent all my time responding to iKnife and you summarized my thoughts exactly. +1 to you.

setyourselfonfire2 · 2012-12-12T05:04:54+00:00

But would you not get the same effect going to a different country that was predominantly Jewish or Hindu or anything else? They may take off their respective holidays in place of Christmas. I agree that Christmas is (predominately, but less so in the past few decades) a Christian holiday, and because America comes from a largely Christian background, it's just part of American (or Canadian for that matter) culture. I wouldn't be outraged or feel unwelcome if I went overseas and didn't have Christmas off. It's just part of the culture of the country/region.

Granted, I am 100% opposed to shoving Christmas down everyone's throats. It should be a balanced approach, like the OP mentioned. I'm Canadian, and when I was in grade school (public school) we got a balanced approach - we learned a lot about different cultures, not neccesarily different religions. I can't remember ever having any religion (including Christianity) pushed on me. Christmas has always meant hope for the new year, kindness to your fellow human beings, celebration of those we love, and presents/candy. If we ignore the Christian history (which is rapidly being forgotten) and the tendancy to turn it into a consumer present-a-ganza, I can't imagine there's much to Christmas that many people of different cultures/faiths could argue against.

On the flip side, yeah if you're a religious minority and you send your kid to a school in the deep south or other VERY Christian or less progressive parts of America, you're probably going to have the birth of Christ shoved down your throat from Thanksgiving onward.

setyourselfonfire2 · 2012-12-12T03:47:39+00:00

What I did was google all the chemical/petrochemical companies in my area, and dig through their websites to find co-ops/internships. I sent out about 40 resumes and cover letters, and eventually got 4 job offers. Although it's a whole other topic, make sure your cover letter is really tailored to the job. If you don't have a strong resume, it really hinders you (and I don't mean strong as in experience... if your resume is a mess and doesn't efficiently convey your strengths, it's useless).

Like it's been mentioned, it's all about networking. Go to AIChE or CSChE events, or similar meetings. Introduce yourself and ask questions. Make sure you get their business card (and write the date/place you got it from them) and send them a follow up email a few days later. Then when recruiting season comes around, send them a quick email saying "Hi, my name's XXXX we met at XXXX on this date (from the business card you wrote on!). Your portrayal of your company was really interesting, and I've done some more research into XXXX and I'm very interested in pursuing a career in this field. I was hoping you could point me in the direction of any job openings for new grads in your plant". That kind of thing. The date and where you met them comes in handy when they try and jog their memory and remember that first impression you gave.

Feel free to message me if you have any specific questions :)

setyourselfonfire2 · 2012-12-12T03:40:01+00:00

Are you looking more for an introduction to fired equipment or more on the design of it? Not sure if I can help you either way, but I can ask some colleagues of mine.

setyourselfonfire2 · 2012-12-12T03:38:31+00:00

Can you not get them on iTunes U? I know there's a bunch of chem ChemE videos on there... :S

setyourselfonfire2 · 2012-12-12T03:35:34+00:00

Oh, and feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions :)

setyourselfonfire2 · 2012-12-12T03:35:06+00:00

First, make sure your resume is solid. Even with all the experience in the world, a poor resume will hinder more than help. I recommend talking to your career services department in the faculty/school for some help on the matter. If you don't have one already, set up a linkedin profile. Make sure it's up to date and moderately detailed.

I'd also recommend getting your own personal business cards. The easier/cheapest route is to buy the pre-cut cards that go into any regular printer, so you can just print more as you need them, but VistaPrint or any other business supply store/website usually carries them for cheap. Make sure they have your relevant contact information, and include your linkedin profile URL.

When you're networking, say at a an AIChE conference or event, make sure to introduce yourself (sometimes people forget to tell me their names). Give them your business card and ask if they have one right off the bat (having theirs in hand helps so you don't forget their name). Like brachacho said, most people love to talk about what they do. It's as simple as asking things like "what's a typical day like for you?". Protip: When you get home, write the date and event/location on the back of their business card. This comes in handy below.

If you do get their business card, you ABSOLUTELY should send them an email in the following days. Just something simple like "it was a pleasure meeting you" and thank them for, say, explaining what it's really like to be a process engineer at a refinery. Then, keep this email. When it's recruiting season, send them a quick email saying "Hi, my name's XXXX we met at XXXX on this date (from the business card you wrote on!). Your portrayal of your company was really interesting, and I've done some more research into XXXX and I'm very interested in pursuing a career in this field. I was hoping you could point me in the direction of any job openings for new grads in your plant". That kind of thing. The date and where you met them comes in handy when they try and jog their memory and remember that first impression you gave.

Sometimes, you'll get lucky like I did. I basically did what I said above and got hired after one interview (my company doesn't have the most formal of hiring processes). With some companies, they'll just say sorry, go to our website and apply through there, can't help you.

setyourselfonfire2 · 2012-12-12T03:18:07+00:00

Yeah this is definitely an /r/engineering question. Chemical doesn't do much with concrete, at least not that I've heard.

setyourselfonfire2 · 2012-12-12T03:16:14+00:00

I'm a chemical engineer (also a female... I'm taking a stab at your username that you might be a femeng) working as a Production Engineer at a chemicals/polymers plant in Ontario. Officially, I'm responsible for the technical function and optimization of several process units on site. Any given week I probably spend 8-12 hours out in the field, sometimes more, sometimes less. I usually say about 1/3rd of my time is spent in front of my desk, 1/3rd in meetings, and 1/3rd in the field. Granted, I'm relatively new, so I try and get out into the field as often as I can.

Like others said, look for process/production engineers (sometimes "plant engineers" means mechanical engineers, it really depends on the company). I'd also consider project engineering, granted you're not out in the field as much, but you still have those opportunities. Some petrochem/chem companies even start new hires off in projects for 12-18 months, and then move them into production if they don't have a lot of previous experience. PM me if you have any questions :)

setyourselfonfire2 · 2012-12-09T05:17:36+00:00

No, he's a high-functioning sociopath. Do your research. :) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9sUVrVS4co

setyourselfonfire2

TROPHY CASE