Career Explorer Engineering and architecture
Grows with AI
Chemical engineers
Design chemical plant equipment and devise processes for manufacturing chemicals and products, such as gasoline, synthetic rubber, plastics, detergents, cement, paper, and pulp, by applying principles and technology of chemistry, physics, and engineering.
In the middle of the pack: more resilient than 54% of the 831 careers we score. AI exposure is moderate (the Bureau of Labor Statistics rates it high), and US jobs are projected to change by +4.7% by 2035, faster than average. The work leans on creative vision and ethical judgement.
AI can help with many of the tasks, and demand is still growing. Being fluent with AI is the edge here.
- Median pay (2025)
- $125,040
- Job growth to 2035
- +4.7%
- Openings a year
- 1,100
- People doing it (2025)
- 21,900
- Usual route in
- Bachelor's degree
Where people already use AI for this work
- Research technology designs or applications
- Develop operational or technical procedures or standards
- Diagnose system or equipment problems
From Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025).
Work AI rarely helps with
- Inspect commercial, industrial, or production systems or equipment
- Design industrial systems or equipment
- Develop safety standards, policies, or procedures
What the work looks like
- Develop safety procedures to be employed by workers operating equipment or working in close proximity to ongoing chemical reactions.
- Troubleshoot problems with chemical manufacturing processes.
- Monitor and analyze data from processes and experiments.
- Evaluate chemical equipment and processes to identify ways to optimize performance or to ensure compliance with safety and environmental regulations.
- Design and plan layout of equipment.
From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.
Careers using similar strengths, with a stronger outlook
- Electrical engineersGrows with AI, Index 59, +9.9%
- Materials engineersGrows with AI, Index 61, +7.5%
- Agricultural engineersGrows with AI, Index 66, +6.9%
- Computer and information systems managersGrows with AI, Index 61, +15.8%
Also known as: Chemical Engineer, Development Engineer, Engineer, Process Engineer, Engineering Scientist, Process Control Engineer, Project Engineer, Refinery Process Engineer.
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Sources: US Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2025 to 2035; O*NET 31.0; Microsoft Research (2025); Anthropic Economic Index (2026); Eloundou and colleagues (Science, 2024); Felten, Raj and Seamans (2023). How we score. Updated 12 October 2026.