Chemical Engineer Feeling Burned Out - Need Career Change Ideas

Management consulting Life in consulting
1

Hi everyone,

My situation: I got my masters in chemical engineering back in 2020 and have been working since then. I’ve worked at different places including small companies where you do everything and bigger consulting firms (including one of the major ones that starts with F).

The problem: I’m getting tired of chemical engineering work. Don’t get me wrong, there are things I really like doing. I enjoy working on cost estimates, doing heat and mass balance calculations, and figuring out problems where I have to dig deep and make smart guesses. These parts keep me interested and engaged.

But there’s other stuff that just drains me completely. Like working on P&ID drawings and markup work. I can’t see myself doing this kind of tedious work for the next 30+ years, whether I’m a regular engineer or move up to management.

What I’m asking: I’ve put 11 years into this career already and make decent money now. What are some options for changing careers without losing too much income? I’ve been thinking about maybe starting my own consulting business where I could focus on the parts I actually enjoy and hire other people to do the boring stuff. Does this sound like a good plan or am I being unrealistic?

Thanks for any advice you can share.

Signed,
Tired engineer looking for change

2

Honestly, consulting sounds like every burned out engineer’s dream until you’re chasing invoices and doing taxes instead of boring P&ID work. But you’ve got something most people don’t - you know what you hate. Before starting your own thing, try owner’s engineering or feasibility studies. You’d do the fun calculation stuff without tedious drafting. Same skills, similar pay, way less risk.

3

dude why not check out process optimization at manufacturing plants? they’re always looking for someone who gets the math but can actually talk to the operators. beats drawing lines all day and you’d actually use those problem-solving skills. companies are desperate for this right now

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Been there myself! After 8 years in ChemE, I jumped to project management consulting and it’s been great. Starting your own firm isn’t unrealistic - you’ve got solid experience and know what you want. Try freelancing on weekends first to test the waters before going full-time. Your cost estimation skills are super valuable in other industries. Have you thought about business development or technical sales? Sounds scary, but companies love engineers who can bridge technical and business sides.