7 replies to this topic

[Helix]

Hi for all. I'm happy to find this forum and hope someone can help me. I will try to be brief

I live in Romania (eastern europe) and will graduate from high school in 2013. I am thinking about going to chemical engineering. After gaining the my degree I would like to move to another country,maybe usa or canada. My physics teacher told me that if i want to move from here I should get a degree in something. Is chemical engineering a good choice considering my foreign plans? Will anyone in the usa or canada hire me? Would i be treated as a stranger and be told: ''we hire first our country's citizens'' ? You know,my parents are not going to support my higher education plans, they say that one can get a job without a diploma too. So the last thing i would like to hear from them is : ''you see,we told you. You have a qualification, 4 years behind you but still dont have a job.'' I also noticed that any job offer is searching for experienced engineers. But how to gain experience if nobody hires me due to lack of experience? Could I earn a living pay rent,taxes,food etc by myself with a chem eng salary? Also, is it a complicated procedure to get my bachelors degree equal with of those from the usa? Do i have to take exams there too? I appreciate any piece of advice and am sorry for my grammatical mistakes.

[Art Montemayor]

Helix:

First of all, I don’t represent nor do I speak for my country, the USA. I can only give you my opinion and personal advice – which is up to you to evaluate.

If you are going to graduate from a European high school next year, I assume you are 15 or 16 years of age. If that is so, I consider it remarkable that you are able to express yourself as fluently as you do in the English language – especially in a written, logical manner. In my opinion, your written English is on a par with USA college graduates with respect to structure, composition, and logic. You communicate very well and demonstrate a mature and realistic approach to life and your future. I am very impressed by your communication skill.

The USA, unfortunately for other countries, is a continuing receptacle of some of the best productive immigrants from other countries to our shores. I believe this is true because of the freedoms and opportunities that our political system still offers to all citizens within our confines. And we continue to offer those opportunities to any qualified immigrant. By “qualified”, I mean that it is obvious that the more prepared and more skills you possess, the greater the chances are that you will obtain immigration entry into the USA. Each year, more and more qualified people from all over the world are taking that opportunity and you have to compete with them. That is only obvious sense. Therefore, your physics teacher is giving you sensible advice.

I don’t know about economic conditions in Romania. I do know some ex-Romanian chemical engineers here in the USA with whom I have worked. They seem very happy and accomplished. They are all married and have a family here. They compete successfully with other, USA-born engineers. One thing I learned a long time ago, when I was in your age group, was that without an education in a profession I was going to remain in the same humble economical and social level that my parents were in. I was the eldest of nine children and both my parents did not have a high school education. The decision to increase your educational level and compete at a higher level of competition is for you to take.

By the same token that you are more prepared and more skilled than others around you, you will reap more benefits and opportunities for advancement socially and economically. That, I believe is basically true in most countries today. Therefore, if you obtain a higher education – in engineering, for example – you will be in a position to offer more to society and expect more compensation and respect for your efforts. One way that many engineers have, in the past, succeeded in obtaining easy entry into the USA is to obtain a job working with a USA-owned or affiliated company abroad and then obtaining a job transfer into the USA. That may, or may not, still exist as an entry path into the USA. But certainly, anyone with an established engineering degree in Europe would be seen in good light as an immigration candidate into the USA. I, for one, would be delighted to welcome yet another bright and contributing engineer into USA society. Romania, however, would be the poorer in the exchange. That, unfortunately for the native country, has been the result in many cases where engineers have immigrated into the USA. Our history is filled with such success stories.

I wish you all the success in your ultimate decision(s).

[Helix]

Thank you very much your answer, Art Montemayor. This was encouraging. However I want to ask if there are many young newly graduated chemical engineers who couldn't get job. I think I was not enough clear expressing myself when talking about my age. My last (4th) year in high school will begin in this year automn/september. Thus I have one more year until going to the university. And just one more question: According to statistics the starting salary of chemical engineers is somewhere between 60000-80000 $. Is that enough money in the usa to live alone, pay the rent, bills, food and to have a normal life?

[GS81Process]

My answers from a Canadian perspective:


1. Is chemical engineering a good choice considering my foreign plans?

Possibly, but a few things to consider.

You will likely have no trouble getting residency in Canada if you have an engineering degree. It will make the immigration acceptance process much easier than if you did not have a degree because you will be considered "skilled". The Government of Canada is planning to make immigration of skilled workers easier. But...

Engineering is a regulated profession in Canada. Every professional engineer must be registered with their provincial engineering association. These associations do not necessarily recognize all foreign degrees or credentials. I would recommend that you contact the professional engineering association in the province you wish to move to and ask if they will recognize your degree. Lately they seem to be more accommodating and less bureaucratic than in the past.


2. Will anyone in the usa or canada hire me?

Yes, in Canada they will hire you if you have the proper credentials (see response to 1). The employment situation is currently quite good in Canada.


3. Would i be treated as a stranger and be told: ''we hire first our country's citizens':

No. There are many laws protecting equal employment opportunities in Canada. Some individuals may object to foreigners taking what they consider "local jobs" but you have the law on your side. Also, the population of Canada consists of so many immigrants that this sentiment is in the minority. You will probably be surprised to find many Romanians in most large Canadian cities.

4. Could I earn a living pay rent,taxes,food etc by myself with a chem eng salary?

Yes.

5. Is it a complicated procedure to get my bachelors degree equal with of those from the usa? Do i have to take exams there too?

It depends. Refer to my answer to question 1.


Your english is quite good. Best of luck to you no matter what you decide.

Edited by GS81Process, 13 April 2012 - 05:08 PM.

[kkala]

Reading the interesting posts above, I would like to add a note.
I have met several Greeks having studied Petroleum Engineering in Romania (University of Ploesti), and few Romanians of same studies having worked in international projects.
Level of knowledge of Romanian Petroleum Engineers met was impressive. One of them had left his job to work abroad as foreman in a Refinery. I met him as Commissioning Manager of a big part of a Greek refinery (2011) and was lucky to be be in his team for few months.
Corresponding level of Greeks having studied there showed a big variation, but there are excellent examples. Discussing Romanian education with such a colleague (his wife is Romanian Chemical Engineer) I got the impression that Chemical Engineering Education was very good there. A Romanian may not be afraid of extra exams and tests abroad, on the condition that he has been a good student. Untaught material (if needed) could be fast learned at that time.
But issue of diploma "recognition" should be explored in advance, concerning the Romanian University of your Chemical Engineering studies and the country you intend to go. In Greece Petroleum Engineering diploma from Ploesti is recognized (by the way, Greece is not proper for employment, at least for next 10 years due to crisis). But why that Commissioning Manager started as foreman? Well, it might not be diploma recognition.
Certainly emigration has pain, more or less, depending on personal character. Money may not counter balance that pain. And my personal impression is that Chemical Engineering is not a job of much money, its main advantage being its interest and excitement; rarely can you consider a task of it as a chore.
Concerning salaries in USA, see also http://chemistry.abo...neer-salary.htm '> http://chemistry.abo...neer-salary.htm . Cost of living in Athens is said to be somehow higher than USA (except house rent). In Greece minimum gross salary of unskilled worker was about 10780 Euros ~14000 US$ (before crisis). You can live here alone with this money, though much better with a little more. If an engineering salary is obtained in USA, money sent to Romania would be valuable, as long as cost of living remains different.
Probably you have to be optimistic and ready for some sacrifices in order to work as Chemical Engineer abroad. I think the heavier sacrifice would be the professional effort, which will necessarily limit other aspects of life. You will not feel it heavily, if you really want to realize your purpose (Personally I had thought of it and did not "depart", but local conditions in 1972 were different).
Several students got a scholarship for further studies in USA (and other countries) after graduation (Master, etc). I do not know present situation, having the impression that these scholarships started to be less and less even before economic crisis. At any case you could search for this possibility during your studies. It seems convenient in your case, you could work there after these supplementary studies.

[Technical Bard]

In Canada today, there is a shortage of chemical engineers (amongst other types). This is expected to continue due to demographics. Immigrant engineers are usually easily hired if they are competent. As noted by GS81Process, there are licensing requirements, and some foreign credentials are not as well recognized as others. However, the licensing agencies have clear rules for submitting your credentials, evaluating foreign training and setting a set of technical exams on some subjects if they feel you might be lacking in a particular area. It is legally possible to become registered as an engineer in Canada without a degree, but that is very difficult (lots of exams...). A quality employer will even arrange assistance in studying for and passing these exams.

One thing that some immigrants do to accelerate licensing and avoid the "exams" is to enroll in graduate school in Canada. In 16-24 most can obtain a Masters-level degree, making you suddenly "Canadian-educated", and since all Canadian engineering schools are recognized across the country (and in some US states) without further assessment, this can be an alternative route.

I have been in industry for 20 years or so, and have worked with engineers from many countries. My current office has engineers who graduated from schools in probably 30 different countries from all continents.

With regard to salary, engineers in Canada are some of the highest paid people around. Many engineers make more than your average physician (doctor, with the exception of surgeons, psychiatrists, etc) or average lawyer. The starting salary for engineers in Canada is more than 50% above the mean income of all canadians. Most the licensing boards in Canada publish annual salary surveys (which you can get on their websites).

Good luck to you.

[Helix]

Thank you all for your answers. I feel more determined now about what to do.

[Shivshankar]

Helix,

From perspective of Norway, here degree in chemical process engineering is very much in demand, also lot of Job oppurtunities are here as Oil and Gas Indutries have large setup in Norway. Also education is free, but the cost of living is very much high. If you can learn language then stuff will be easy to get part time job and later on. The salaries are preety good for an engineer. For more information log on to following websites. For applying you have to give IELTS/GRE exams for englsih fluency.

All the best

You can refere to following website for more information.

http://www.studyinnorway.no/

http://www.udi.no

Regards
Shivshankar