Things I Wish I Knew Before Starting Chemical Engineering

An honest letter to the girl I was, and the engineer I’ve become

When I first got accepted into the chemical engineering program, I was excited — thrilled, actually. I had taken a path no one in my family had ever imagined. Coming from a background where education was a luxury, where engineering wasn’t a legacy but a leap of faith, I knew I was stepping into something huge. But I was also naive. I thought passion alone would carry me through. I wish I had known the road ahead wasn’t just about equations and experiments — it was about resilience, discipline, and growing a spine of steel.

So, here’s everything I wish someone had told me before I signed up to become a chemical engineer — the raw truth, from one student to another.

It’s Not Just Chemistry — It’s a Whole World

Let’s get this straight: chemical engineering isn’t just chemistry. It’s math. It’s physics. It’s logic. It’s a battlefield of balance between complex subjects like thermodynamics, fluid dynamics, heat and mass transfer, process design, instrumentation and control. You’ll find yourself in situations where you’re juggling calculations for entropy while simultaneously writing lab reports on distillation columns. You’ll need to think like a scientist and execute like an engineer.

Your Life Will Run on Deadlines, Not Dreams

Chemical engineering is a degree of deadlines. And not the gentle kind. I’m talking last-minute quizzes you didn’t know about, assignments that appear out of thin air, lab reports due by midnight when you haven’t even started analyzing your data. You’ll live in a constant state of “just five more minutes” that turns into five hours. You’ll master the art of typing an entire report while eating dinner, and learn how to study on your bus ride to uni.

Labs Will Break You (and Then Build You)

Forget what the textbook says. Labs will go wrong — horribly wrong. Reactions won’t match expected results. Pumps will stop working. Data won’t make sense. Whether it’s your mini reactor experiment or calculating the pressure dropin a packed column, things will often not work out. And that’s okay. Engineering labs teach you more than just science — they teach you patience, teamwork, and how to laugh through failure.

Oh, and don’t get too comfortable — you’ll also face workshops like carpentry, welding, lathe machines, and milling that’ll test both your brain and your physical energy.

Being a Girl in Engineering Is a Journey of Proving Yourself — Every. Single. Day.

I walked into a class of 40 students. Only four of us were girls. And it showed. Every time I gave a suggestion in a society meeting, it was overlooked or mocked. As the only female president among male engineering society heads, I had to work twice as hard to be taken seriously. People saw my scholarship and my grades and said I was “too strict” just because I didn’t help them cheat. Even though I helped friends prepare, shared notes, and explained concepts — I was still bullied for not letting anyone copy from me.

But I stayed rooted. I had principles. And I believed I didn’t have to shrink myself to fit into a system that wasn’t designed for me.

Group Work Is... a Rollercoaster

Here’s the reality: not everyone will pull their weight. You’ll carry others during group projects. You’ll do 80% of the work, but you’ll still have to smile and pretend it was a team effort. It’s frustrating. But it teaches you how to lead with grace, even when you feel like screaming.

Your Mental Health Will Take Hits

Some nights, you’ll be staring at your laptop, surrounded by unread notes, with dinner cold next to you — forgotten. You’ll miss weddings, family dinners, and birthdays. You’ll feel like you’re just surviving. Some days, your skin will break out from stress. You’ll forget what rest feels like. But eventually, you’ll learn the importance of breaks, of saying no, of letting yourself be human.

You Won’t Always Be the Best — But You’ll Be Better Every Day

Being a topper doesn’t mean every quiz goes well. You’ll face failure, bad grades, and even worse professors. But the goal isn’t to be perfect — it’s to progress. You’ll grow into someone who solves problems, not just numericals.

Friendships Will Make It Bearable

It’s the moments in the cafeteria, the shared stress before a quiz, the laugh in the middle of a breakdown — that’s what will keep you going. The bunks that turned into therapy sessions. The chai that cured temporary heartbreaks. You’ll make friends who become family.

You’ll Discover Strengths You Didn’t Know You Had

There will be days you handle lab reports, family chores, society events, and still show up for class on time. There will be weeks when you’re dead tired but still helping someone else prep for a viva. And through it all, you’ll realize: you’re not just becoming an engineer. You’re becoming someone unstoppable.

You Will Look Back and Smile

It won’t be easy. In fact, it’ll be one of the toughest journeys you ever go through. But one day, you’ll look back — and smile. You’ll remember the sweat, the tears, the heartbreaks, the pride. And you’ll realize:
“I did that. I survived. And I’m stronger for it.”

Chemical engineering isn’t just an academic journey — it’s a life lesson in resilience. If you’re about to begin, brace yourself. It's not going to be easy, but trust me, it will be worth it.

So, to every future engineer out there:
Keep going. Believe in your voice. Challenge your mind. And never, ever think you’re not good enough.

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