In the future, which sub-field of chemistry/chemical engineering college students will have a broader prospect?

Speaking of chemistry, I believe that many people's minds float neutral is those chemical experiments done in middle and high school - tweezers, beakers, droppers, distillation bottles... All kinds of instruments and wonderful chemical reactions. Once out of the campus, not only the distance between chemistry and us seems to become very distant, the chemical industry has even been labeled as "traditional and old-fashioned", and has become a sunset industry that needs to be "detoured" in the eyes of many people. So what are the prospects for the chemical industry? In the "Super Peanut" online course, SABIC's vice president and North Asia president Li Lei gave his answer: "Chemical industry belongs to the high-tech field, it is not a sunset industry, it is an industry that is always in the middle and young generation." It has strong vitality, flexible and innovative thinking and the courage to break through difficulties, and its prospects are unlimited."

Data from the mainstay of the national economy show that China is the fastest growing chemical market in the world, far ahead of other major chemical producers. As early as 2009, China became the world's largest chemical producer and has since maintained its leading position, accounting for about 40% of global chemical sales in 2019 [1]. By the end of 2019, the main business income of enterprises above designated size in the chemical industry had reached 6.89 trillion yuan; The total profit reached 397.44 billion yuan [2]. From the perspective of national economic development, chemical industry, as one of the important pillar industries of China's national economy, has always maintained strong competitiveness and extremely high importance. The cornerstone of human daily life In addition to its contribution to the economy, the chemical industry is also the "just need" of human daily life. ICCA (International Federation of Chemical Associations) has done a statistic, in our clothing, food, housing and transportation, 96% of the products are closely related to chemical industry [3]. Such a statistic may surprise many people. It is no exaggeration to say that every single one of us on Earth depends on chemical industry to survive. There is a demand for the market, the chemical industry market prospects must be broad.

Will the chemical industry be confined to the impact of various emerging industries in the Internet era? The answer to that question is clearly no. For example, in the recent "new infrastructure" and "new urbanization" boom, whether it is the construction of 5G base stations, intercity railways, various modes of transportation based on artificial intelligence, or the hot fields of medicine, biological engineering and so on, it is inseparable from the support of chemical industry. Moreover, it is precisely because of the new demand from these emerging areas that the chemical industry is constantly innovating and upgrading. As Li Lei said at the Boao Forum for Asia International Science, Technology and Innovation Forum conference held not long ago, "Innovation is the oxygen and blood of advanced manufacturing and real economy. Innovation and development, promote each other, rely on each other, and integrate together, which is a high-quality development road driven by innovation." Today, China's chemical industry is firmly moving forward on this road.

It is believed that the above points are enough to give many people who previously had no knowledge of the chemical industry a new understanding and insight into the industry and its future development prospects. In major universities, there are also many students who are highly enthusiastic about the chemical industry and expect to join the industry after graduation. After using data and facts to tear down the label of the chemical industry as "traditional and old-fashioned" to the public, it is time to solve the doubts of students who are aspiring to develop in the chemical industry about the career development path of the industry. In fact, under the premise of excellent professional literacy, the upward channel of the chemical industry is very clear. The business of a diversified chemical enterprise can be applied to petrochemical, agriculture, steel, special materials (such as rail transit, aerospace, high-end equipment), etc., which covers almost all aspects of life. Chemical students have the opportunity to combine their interests with their professional skills to shine in relevant companies and positions in these fields. At the same time, the chemical industry is not only a development direction of technical jobs. In the "Super Peanut Theory" course mentioned in the beginning, Jiang Jun, a human resources expert with 23 years of relevant experience, gave his opinion on this issue on his career experience in SABIC: Usually within a chemical company, there are two types of talent promotion models: technical and managerial. 

Among them, technology has relatively higher requirements for professional counterpart, such as research and development positions in SABIC Shanghai Research and Development Center. For managerial talents, enterprises pay more attention to talents' comprehensive qualities such as project control ability, teamwork ability and leadership ability. "Take SABIC, a world-renowned diversified chemical company, as an example, our judgment of talent is relatively flexible, and it is not only about what professional you can do some relevant work. "From our point of view, we will train talents for their abilities, and when they reach a certain stage of development, they will have more options and a broader career path." Jiang Jun teacher introduced that with professional as a "stepping stone", chemical students will have many opportunities to develop in different branches and different positions in the industry in the future. As the saying goes, God rewards the diligent. I believe that whether it is on campus, ambitious chemical students, or has been working hard in the chemical industry for many years, as long as with a continuous enterprising heart, continue to improve their hard and soft power in the work, we will be able to find their own career positioning in this big industry with broad prospects, to realize the value of life.