Does your ideal career involve working with chemicals and highly-refined engineering technology? If so, you can start by earning a chemical engineering degree from one Nevada school: the University of Nevada-Reno. UNR has Bachelor’s degrees, Master’s degrees, and Ph.D. programs in this field. The average cost of tuition is $5,750 per semester.
There are several facets to your chemical engineering education. One of the most important, of course, is safety. Your career may require you to work with highly-volatile chemicals and chemical combinations, so you’ll have to learn safety skills early and practice them often. This is one of the reasons that there are so many lab hours in your program.
Once you prove that you can work in the lab safely, you can tackle the bevy of chemical engineering courses required by your school. As a Bachelor’s degree student, you may take courses like Material & Energy Balance, Principles of Chemical Engineering, and Introduction to Polymers. Required courses at the graduate level include Chemical Engineering Kinetics, Air Pollution Engineering Control, and Polymer Rheology & Processing.
We are well aware that many students make their school choices based on tuition and financial aid. At the University of Nevada-Reno, tuition rates vary for residents and non-residents. Residents pay $191.50 per credit regardless of full-time or part-time status. Full-time non-resident students pay $6,955 per semester in addition to the $191.50 fee per credit.
It’s important to begin your search for financial aid as soon as you’re accepted to your school of choice. Many scholarships are school-specific, so you must be accepted before you can begin the scholarship process. The University of Nevada-Reno awards a variety of engineering scholarships.
Once you have completed your chemical engineering degree, it’s time to get your license from the Nevada State Board of Professional Engineers. The Board can administer you a license once you pass the Principles & Practice of Engineering exam.
As a new engineer, look into joining the Nevada Society of Professional Engineers and taking advantage of their membership opportunities. You may be able to attend networking events and continuing education opportunities.
Your salary may start on the low end of the pay scale, but you’ll likely get regular raises for experience and seniority. O*Net indicates that the average chemical engineer’s salary in Nevada is $86,600.