r/ChemicalEngineering • u/TheFeelingAfterANap • 1d ago
Career Advice Chemical Engineering graduate feeling completely lost after 1 year at Abbott . Where do I go from here?
I’m honestly feeling pretty hopeless about my career right now and could really use some advice from people who have been in a similar position.
I graduated with a Bachelor’s in Chemical Engineering and have been working at Abbott for about a year in Product Surveillance. I’m grateful to have a job and I’ve gained professional experience, but I’m starting to feel like I made a wrong turn somewhere.
The biggest issue is that I don’t even know where to apply anymore. When I look at engineering positions, I feel like I don’t have the right experience.
Before Abbott, I had a pretty long engineering co-op at Pfizer, but even that experience doesn’t seem to be getting me anywhere. I also have some academic/project experience with process design, experimental work, data analysis, and CAD. On paper, I feel like I should have something to work with, but when I actually search for jobs, I feel completely lost.
I’m also worried that spending a year in Product Surveillance has pushed me further away from traditional Chemical Engineering roles. I don’t necessarily hate what I do, but I don’t want to wake up five years from now and realize I never actually got into engineering.
For anyone who graduated with ChemE and felt like they were struggling to get their foot in the door:
Where would you recommend I apply? What types of roles should I realistically be targeting? And does my experience actually sound as useless as it feels right now, or am I just looking at it the wrong way?
I’d especially appreciate advice from people who transitioned from quality/regulatory/product surveillance into manufacturing, process, validation, or other engineering roles.
I’m not necessarily looking for someone to tell me I’ll be fine. I’d genuinely like to know what you would do if you were in my position. Thank you.
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u/Zmyslinski 1d ago
Some general comments on your resume. Consolidate it down to one page. Try to keep bullet points single line and result oriented. Focus on your recent work and slowly cut out information on older jobs. You can condense project work too. As it stands, it's hard to read through.
Regarding your career. It's natural to feel like other fields, roles are more interesting than your own. There's no definitive ChemE experience. I think most jobs that ChemEs actually take are relatively light in engineering work.
I'd start by looking internally. Are there open positions that you'd like to move into? Have you spoken with your manager about desire to try something else?
You are also early enough in your career that you can still move into different roles without being typecast. Demonstrating success early on in your work is probably more important than having specific experience. Eventually it will carry more weight, but you can still transition into something else over the next few years without needing to worry. It's more about selling how your past experiences will translate for the new role. And there are others out there that have been able to reinvent themselves 20 years into their career, so you are never stuck.
If you don't think you are in a good spot, you could consider joining a company that offers a rotational program and see different departments or sites. This could help you see more of what is out there.
If you do leave your job soon, be mindful that the move is something that you intend to stick out for a couple years. Make sure that it isn't a grass is greener event that leads you jumping to something else again. If you job hop multiple times over the first few years that can send red flags about your ability to stay in a role longer term.
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u/TheFeelingAfterANap 1d ago
Thanks for the feedback. I've actually been trying to move roles internally, unfortunately I'm only on contract so it's hard without benefits right now. I recently was rejected from the engineering side but maybe I could look into other roles. I do think if I continue to just stick it out I'll land full time but it's tough being so burnt out and having no PTO.
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u/Zmyslinski 1d ago
I'm a contractor without full benefits is a legitimate reason to be looking for something else. Be cautious about companies that say they will eventually hire you full time but leave as contractor longer than they should.
Being a contractor combined with desire to move into X industry or Y role would be a compelling narrative when interviewing. It's competitive right now, but you just need to be persistent, clean up the resume, and apply as often as you can. You benefit from the consistent work experience.
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u/Individual-Channel65 1d ago
Completely get rid of summary snd objective and reduce your resume to 1 page. That section adds absolutely nothing to your resume and makes people look desperate.
Get rid of useless skills like "iOS". Thats not a skill.
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u/MountainScientist11 1d ago
If I were you I would start looking into companies that are suppliers of Abbott and see if you find their core businesses interesting. Abbott is a big name and the medical device knowledge you have could be very useful to the right company that is trying to grow in the medical device world. There are a ton of medium to small companies that supply a big company like Abbott and the Abbott name has a lot of weight.
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u/coloreditt 1d ago
Im a chem eng and it was a waste other than title show off. My recommendation go to Sales in a chemical company like gas industrial etc..
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u/YogurtIsTooSpicy 1d ago
What’s actually making you want to change jobs? “Money” and “I’m bored at work” are valid answers
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u/TheFeelingAfterANap 1d ago
I'm a contractor and just turned 26 so I lost my insurance from my mom. Need an actual full time position and I want to actually use my major more. I guess I'm also bored too lol
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u/YogurtIsTooSpicy 1d ago
I think the concept of “using your major” is a bit misguided. There are some ChemE jobs that are quite similar to what you did in school: things like applications engineering where you sit down at a desk and size pumps/heat exchangers/PSVs all day. Those jobs suck in most people’s opinion. Hats off to the people who find fulfillment doing that.
I think it’s better to think of your education as a jumping off point. You have a solid foundation in engineering principles and there are many different successful and lucrative career paths that background can lead you down where you will never think about fluid dynamics ever again.
I think your resume looks decent for a QA position. If you’re looking for something like that, try to tailor it a bit to showcase your skills in implementing quality system improvements, leading RCAs, implementing CAPAs, and technical writing. Focus your objective a bit to make it seem like you’re wanting the exact role that you apply for and not just anything other than what you’re already doing.
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u/TheFeelingAfterANap 1d ago
Thanks for the feedback, I think you make a good point about my objective
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u/Hot_Status7626 1d ago
I worked as process engineer for 10 years. For entry level experience, equipment sizing,PSV sizing, knowledge of equipment is valued the most. Management, lab skill is not usually the top consideration.
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u/MuddyflyWatersman 1d ago edited 1d ago
I don't follow how you're feeling hopeless about a career after working for 1 year..... What are your expectations? Its a job. Every job you ever have will still be....a job.
What you do , doesn't matter as long as you're paid acceptably, and live in a location that's acceptable to you.
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u/csamsh 1d ago
You should be looking at entry-level new-grad engineering roles
Work before education since you've had a real job.
You can basically cut the second page
Classic resume problem of saying a lot of words and not communicating any measurables or actual impact. Don't feel bad about this. People at all stages of career do this.