It's Not About Molecules, It's About Pipes

Dinosaur Juice

The Petrochemical & Heavy Industry Titans. These are the traditionalists. They wear steel-toed boots, have a scary understanding of fluid dynamics, and are actively preparing to move to the Gulf Coast. Their curriculum is 90% learning how to build a 150-foot distillation column so they can refine fossil fuels and get paid an absurd amount of money at 22. If it doesn't involve a hard hat and thousands of gallons of explosive liquids, they don't care.

# ▲	University	Location	Degrees	Accept	Male/Female	Intl	5-Year Earn
1	U. of Texas at Austin Austin, TX	Austin, TX	138	22%	57% / 43%	2%	$114,167	—
2	Texas A&M University - College Station College Station, TX	College Station, TX	217	52%	52% / 48%	3%	$127,601	—
3	U. of Houston Houston, TX	Houston, TX	78	55%	67% / 33%	10%	$102,141	—
4	Louisiana State Baton Rouge, LA	Baton Rouge, LA	72	72%	65% / 35%	0%	$126,853	—
5	U. of Oklahoma - Norman Norman, OK	Norman, OK	30	72%	63% / 37%	17%	$102,951	—
6	Colorado School of Mines Golden, CO	Golden, CO	151	29%	48% / 52%	0%	$94,833	—
7	Purdue West Lafayette, IN	West Lafayette, IN	137	43%	55% / 45%	12%	$103,238	—
8	Pennsylvania State University Park, PA	University Park, PA	130	55%	62% / 38%	13%	$101,863	—
9	Georgia Tech Atlanta, GA	Atlanta, GA	144	13%	45% / 55%	13%	$104,837	—
10	U. of Florida Gainesville, FL	Gainesville, FL	117	23%	58% / 42%	6%	$100,606	—
11	U. of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, PA	Pittsburgh, PA	82	59%	60% / 40%	1%	$95,115	—
12	U. of Utah Salt Lake City, UT	Salt Lake City, UT	61	82%	64% / 36%	0%	$99,906	—
13	U. of Wisconsin - Madison Madison, WI	Madison, WI	111	41%	63% / 37%	23%	$109,702	—

White-Collar Drug Lords

The Bio/Pharma & Molecular Innovators. The traditional ChemEs look at these people and say, "That's just biology with extra math." They spend their time tinkering with E. coli, obsessing over protein folding, and preparing to work for Big Pharma. They will never see the inside of an oil refinery, but they might figure out how to mass-produce the next blockbuster mRNA vaccine. They wear sterile white lab coats instead of high-vis vests.

# ▲	University	Location	Degrees	Accept	Male/Female	Intl	5-Year Earn
1	Johns Hopkins Baltimore, MD	Baltimore, MD	63	6%	51% / 49%	14%	$106,741	—
2	MIT Cambridge, MA	Cambridge, MA	49	5%	39% / 61%	8%	$115,417	—
3	U. of Chicago Chicago, IL	Chicago, IL	—	5%	—	—	—	—
4	U. of California, San Diego La Jolla, CA	La Jolla, CA	89	29%	58% / 42%	16%	$86,647	—
5	Duke Durham, NC	Durham, NC	—	5%	—	—	—	—
6	Emory Atlanta, GA	Atlanta, GA	—	12%	—	—	—	—
7	Tufts Medford, MA	Medford, MA	23	10%	39% / 61%	9%	$106,829	—
8	Washington University in St Louis Saint Louis, MO	Saint Louis, MO	38	8%	61% / 39%	16%	—	—
9	U. of California, Irvine Irvine, CA	Irvine, CA	40	29%	80% / 20%	20%	$90,513	—
10	U. of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA	Philadelphia, PA	23	4%	43% / 57%	9%	$157,852	—
11	U. of Virginia Charlottesville, VA	Charlottesville, VA	33	12%	39% / 61%	0%	$114,748	—
12	Vanderbilt Nashville, TN	Nashville, TN	24	4%	42% / 58%	0%	$113,917	—

Polymer Whisperers & Battery Bros

The Materials, Nano & Soft Matter Architects. These engineers are obsessed with things you can't even see. They are convinced the future is entirely made of advanced plastics, bendable screens, and solid-state batteries. They sit somewhere between mechanical engineers and wizards, trying to force molecules to behave so we can all have lighter laptops and electric cars that don't catch on fire. They use the word "nanoscale" entirely too much.

# ▲	University	Location	Degrees	Accept	Male/Female	Intl	5-Year Earn
1	Cornell Ithaca, NY	Ithaca, NY	35	7%	43% / 57%	14%	$107,787	—
2	Northwestern Evanston, IL	Evanston, IL	28	7%	57% / 43%	25%	$121,374	—
3	U. of California, Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA	Santa Barbara, CA	44	38%	68% / 32%	16%	$92,070	—
4	U. of California, Berkeley Berkeley, CA	Berkeley, CA	120	11%	54% / 46%	13%	$109,982	—
5	U. of Delaware Newark, DE	Newark, DE	82	55%	70% / 30%	13%	$95,349	—
6	U. of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL	Champaign, IL	145	37%	63% / 37%	14%	$108,676	—
7	U. of Michigan - Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI	Ann Arbor, MI	81	16%	47% / 53%	5%	$106,383	—
8	U. of Washington Seattle, WA	Seattle, WA	57	42%	47% / 53%	4%	$88,397	—
9	Arizona State Tempe, AZ	Tempe, AZ	89	88%	65% / 35%	15%	$110,182	—
10	U. of Colorado Boulder Boulder, CO	Boulder, CO	91	71%	52% / 48%	4%	$105,727	—
11	Case Western Reserve Cleveland, OH	Cleveland, OH	39	35%	64% / 36%	13%	$106,527	—
12	UCLA Los Angeles, CA	Los Angeles, CA	67	9%	55% / 45%	16%	$93,067	—
13	U. of Southern California Los Angeles, CA	Los Angeles, CA	38	12%	45% / 55%	11%	$94,160	—
14	U. of Connecticut Storrs, CT	Storrs, CT	62	54%	63% / 37%	0%	$89,389	—
15	U. of Maryland, College Park College Park, MD	College Park, MD	39	45%	59% / 41%	0%	$88,868	—
16	New York University New York, NY	New York, NY	49	9%	49% / 51%	24%	$96,375	—

High-Vis Vests & Factory Floor Grunts

The Co-op & Manufacturing Practitioners. The blue-collar heroes of the engineering world. While the Ivy League kids are debating theoretical thermodynamics, these students have already worked three semesters on a literal factory floor making soap, Doritos, or industrial solvents. They are fueled by caffeine, practically live in safety goggles, and graduate with a resume that makes corporate recruiters weep with joy. They actually know how to use a wrench.

# ▲	University	Location	Degrees	Accept	Male/Female	Intl	5-Year Earn
1	Northeastern Boston, MA	Boston, MA	93	6%	56% / 44%	9%	$96,907	—
2	U. of Cincinnati Cincinnati, OH	Cincinnati, OH	109	72%	62% / 38%	1%	$100,985	—
3	North Carolina State Raleigh, NC	Raleigh, NC	170	40%	58% / 42%	1%	$110,137	—
4	Virginia Tech Blacksburg, VA	Blacksburg, VA	78	47%	67% / 33%	3%	$98,212	—
5	Iowa State Ames, IA	Ames, IA	73	85%	60% / 40%	3%	$107,974	—
6	Ohio State Columbus, OH	Columbus, OH	187	49%	65% / 35%	2%	$105,901	—
7	Michigan State East Lansing, MI	East Lansing, MI	63	83%	60% / 40%	2%	$101,961	—
8	Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Troy, NY	Troy, NY	48	67%	52% / 48%	4%	$99,131	—
9	U. of Illinois Chicago Chicago, IL	Chicago, IL	46	55%	54% / 46%	7%	$91,673	—

Math Masochists Scared of Actual Chemicals

The Computational & Theoretical Pioneers. These students are doing Chemical Engineering entirely on a supercomputer. They haven't touched a physical beaker since freshman year and are deeply terrified of actual, physical chemical spills. Instead, they write extremely complex algorithms to simulate chemical reactions. They are destined to get a PhD, write papers with 14 variables in a single equation, and judge anyone who works in a real factory.