This week we got a chance to have a talk with Sebastian Jørgensen. He is a competent graduate of BSc.Eng in Chemical and Biochemical Engineering from the prestigious Technical University of Denmark in 2020. Within his bachelors, he has specialised within Process Engineering.
While studying for his professional degree, he has gathered multiple technical experience from some big companies. He has worked as Intern at Haldor Topsøe, after which he was offered a student job within the same company due to his excellent and competent skillset and humble personality. After graduation, upon applying through the internet, he got his first job as Process Operation at Unibio. Currently, he is working as a Process Engineer for Chempilots A/S.
Given his education and professional experience, he has hand-on in-depth technical knowledge within the core topics of Chemical engineering. Therefore, we were lucky to get an interview with such experience individual and get some insights which can help future graduates in align their careers. Read the article below to read about his education and experience as a chemical engineer.
Education
As mentioned, Sebastian is graduate of BSc.Eng Chemical and Biochemical Engineering from DTU. Therefore, we have started to ask him about his education experience.
ChemE is considered to be a degree with very high workload. What was your experience and how was the workload during your degree? What took most of your time?
My priority was to make as many assignments as possible in the different courses.
Many people confuse Chemical Engineering with core chemistry degrees. Was there a lot of chemistry in your curriculum? How did it link with Chemical Engineering?
There was some chemistry, but less than 25%. It is only a small part of being a chemical engineer.
What topics did you find the most difficult during your degree? What made it so difficult to learn in your opinion?
I think Thermodynamics was the hardest topic to learn. I have later realized that it was my teachers methods which made it difficult, and I have spent a lot of time with it since then.
What line did you choose to focus during your degree? What does it entail and why did you choose it?
Process Engineering. I like to work with unit operations, and that is why I chose to put my focus there.
Did you have student jobs during or between your education? Where did you work? How did it help your education or future career?
Yes, I got it right after my internship at Haldor Topsoe, and it helped me argue for my experience.
What did you do at your internship?
The internships are quite different at Haldor Topsøe, but my internship was all about the creation of data to TXY diagrams.
Work Experience
Sebastian is currently as a Process Engineer for ChemPilots A/S and has previously worked as a Process operator and a student assistant within the chemical engineering fields.
Which industry and role do you work in? What is your daily work routine like?
I have been working as Process operator within a production and have been working as such for 6 months. I have been at my new work as process engineer for almost two months. My daily routine as Process Engineer consists of upgrading equipment by doing maintenance work or buying new parts that I feel would enhance the setups. I also work with different projects in pilot scale.
What are the typical tasks which you have to deal with and is it easy for you to perform?
My daily routine as Process Engineer consists of upgrading equipment by doing maintenance work or buying new parts that I feel would enhance the setups. I also work with different projects in pilot scale. There are significant challenges, but I feel I am well equipped to meet those challenges.
What is the best thing about your job?
The ability to optimize production processes. That has been my passion almost since I started studying to be a chemical engineer.
Which topics from your degree do you use the most on the workplace?
Unit operations. I have had to upgrade my chemistry knowledge and learn a lot of hands on skills.
How easy was it for you to change company and/or jobs if any?
I think it was very easy for me to change companies and roles.
What are you future plans for your career? What does your current job allow you to do in future?
I plan to stay at Chempilots and grow my skillsets and professional career.
Any suggestions for future graduates? Something they should be doing while they are still in university getting their degree.
Get some real life experience. A role like an operator got me a lot of interest from a lot of companies.
Comments