From Class to Career: Explore Your Engineering Interests through Internships

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I recently shared how I  decided to study Chemical Engineering. After touring labs and plant sites at Eli Lilly in Indianapolis, I was interested  in learning how to scale chemical processes from the lab bench to a manufacturing site. My internships have indeed spanned from lab bench to manufacturing, including experiences in  industry that I wouldn’t have imagined just 4 years ago.

Close to 400 companies came to campus last week for Industrial Roundtable – one of the largest student-run job fairs in the nation. The Industrial Roundtable provided me the opportunity to connect with a variety of employers these past 3 years for internships to explore my interests in Chemical Engineering.

Internships give you the opportunity to learn more about a company and a role for a few months while working on an exciting project. Do you wonder what it would be like to work in research & development? Experience R&D or undergraduate research for a summer. Interested in working in the automotive industry or pharmaceuticals? Find an internship and give it a try! 

Take advantage of opportunities in college to explore your interests. Now is a great time to learn what you like (and also what you might like less). These experiences will help you find a career path you enjoy.

Internships in Chemical Engineering

Chemical Engineers learn skills suited for many different roles, including research and manufacturing. Many Chemical Engineering students will work as Process Engineers, where they are responsible for a specific process or piece of process equipment – working on improvement projects and  addressing any day-to-day problems in the plant. Other students will conduct research or develop new processes. 

I’ve learned something new about opportunities for Chemical Engineers each summer as I interned in different functions. (Click through to read more in previous blog posts about my experiences!)

 R&D Technology Development – After my freshman year, I worked with an organic chemist in Beauty Care Research & Development. I worked in a lab, designing experiments to develop a material to be used in anti-wrinkle lotion. I was excited to return to Purdue that fall and apply the techniques I learned in my Organic Chemistry lab.


Products Research – The following summer I experienced a different role in Beauty R&D in Product Research. I developed a survey and conducted focus groups with women to understand what women liked and wanted in their anti-aging products. I analyzed these results to help develop technical requirements for the engineers in the lab to improve our products. 


 Process Modeling – This past summer I had the opportunity to work with manufacturing sites in process modeling. I developed a biotech capacity model and scheduling tool for a manufacturing facility to help identify process bottlenecks and opportunities for process improvement projects.


I attended Industrial Roundtable one last time this fall. From the lab bench to manufacturing sites, I’ve learned a lot these past four years. I look forward to many new experiences in Chemical Engineering ahead!

Stay tuned for my next post about how to get the most out of your internship!

-Beata Strubel

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