17-2041.00 · Learning planner
Chemical Engineers: a task-based learning plan
Design chemical plant equipment and devise processes for manufacturing chemicals and products, such as gasoline, synthetic rubber, plastics, detergents, cement, paper, and pulp, by applying principles and technology of chemistry, physics, and engineering.
Explore the complete task inventory first →
Understand the profile before choosing priorities
The table shows the ten highest importance ratings among 32 skills with usable ratings. Skills tied on importance can share a rank. Importance (1–5) and level (0–7) describe different dimensions. A level of 4 is not 4/7 of a course, and neither scale is your personal score. Source dates refer to the underlying rating, not the database release date.
| Skill | Importance / 5 | Level / 7 | Rating date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Science | 4.12 | 5.12 | 08/2025 · Analyst |
| Critical Thinking | 4.12 | 5.00 | 08/2025 · Analyst |
| Reading Comprehension | 4.00 | 4.38 | 08/2025 · Analyst |
| Complex Problem Solving | 4.00 | 4.38 | 08/2025 · Analyst |
| Active Learning | 3.88 | 4.75 | 08/2025 · Analyst |
| Judgment and Decision Making | 3.88 | 4.62 | 08/2025 · Analyst |
| Systems Analysis | 3.88 | 4.12 | 08/2025 · Analyst |
| Systems Evaluation | 3.88 | 4.12 | 08/2025 · Analyst |
| Mathematics | 3.75 | 4.75 | 08/2025 · Analyst |
| Operations Analysis | 3.62 | 4.62 | 08/2025 · Analyst |
Anchor the plan in an actual task
Choose one reported task you want to understand better. Then choose one to three skills and describe an appropriate learning activity, evidence you will review and a date. For practical work requiring authorization, choose relevant coursework, observation or supervised training.
Science
Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
Read the scale examples
These generic examples illustrate the level scale. They are not required activities for chemical engineers.
Level 6: Analyze aerodynamic systems to determine the practicality of a design
Level 4: Conduct product tests to ensure safety standards are met
What observation or comparison would help you test an explanation, and what would remain uncertain?
Critical Thinking
Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
Read the scale examples
These generic examples illustrate the level scale. They are not required activities for chemical engineers.
Level 4: Evaluate customer complaints and determine appropriate responses
Level 6: Write legal brief challenging a federal law
What assumption could change your conclusion, and what evidence would you check first?
Reading Comprehension
Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
Read the scale examples
These generic examples illustrate the level scale. They are not required activities for chemical engineers.
Level 4: Understand an email from management describing new personnel policies
Level 6: Read a scientific journal article describing surgical procedures
Which instruction, constraint or exception in a document would you need to explain accurately?
Complex Problem Solving
Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
Read the scale examples
These generic examples illustrate the level scale. They are not required activities for chemical engineers.
Level 4: Redesign a floor layout to take advantage of new manufacturing techniques
Level 6: Develop a plan to provide emergency relief for a major metropolitan area
How would you separate the problem into parts and compare possible explanations?
Active Learning
Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Read the scale examples
These generic examples illustrate the level scale. They are not required activities for chemical engineers.
Level 4: Determine the impact of new menu changes on a restaurant's purchasing requirements
Level 6: Identify the implications of a new scientific theory for product design
What new information would change your approach, and how would you record the change?
Judgment and Decision Making
Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Read the scale examples
These generic examples illustrate the level scale. They are not required activities for chemical engineers.
Level 4: Evaluate a loan application for degree of risk
Level 6: Decide whether a manufacturing company should invest in new robotics technology
Which options, constraints and consequences would you compare, and what could change the choice?
Systems Analysis
Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
Read the scale examples
These generic examples illustrate the level scale. They are not required activities for chemical engineers.
Level 4: Determine how a new piece of equipment will affect production rates
Level 6: Identify how changes in tax laws affect locations of manufacturing operations
What inputs, outputs and dependencies would you map before proposing a change?
Systems Evaluation
Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
Read the scale examples
These generic examples illustrate the level scale. They are not required activities for chemical engineers.
Level 4: Identify the reasons why a client might be unhappy with a product
Level 6: Evaluate the long-term performance of a new computer system
What would indicate the system is meeting its purpose, and what comparison would be fair?
Mathematics
Using mathematics to solve problems.
Read the scale examples
These generic examples illustrate the level scale. They are not required activities for chemical engineers.
Level 4: Calculate the square footage of a new home under construction
Level 6: Develop a mathematical model to simulate and resolve an engineering problem
Which quantities, units, denominator and rounding rules would need an explicit check?
Operations Analysis
Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
Read the scale examples
These generic examples illustrate the level scale. They are not required activities for chemical engineers.
Level 4: Suggest changes in software to make a system more user friendly
Level 6: Identify the control system needed for a new process production plant
Which requirements and constraints must a solution meet before options are compared?
Review the result
Your plan should explain why the selected skills matter for your chosen task, what you will do next and what evidence you will examine. Revisit the plan after that activity. Completing a worksheet or matching an occupation’s ratings does not establish professional competence.
Keep your worksheet
Download before leaving this page. Unsaved writing remains only in the page and is cleared on refresh. Notes and learning actions are not sent to a server. This guide describes an occupation and supports study planning; it does not provide clinical, legal or equipment-operating procedures.
Source and practice material
Occupational context uses the O*NET® 31.0 Database from the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, under CC BY 4.0. View the occupation.
Skill Workbench selected and adapted the occupational information and added its own fictional cases, calculations, guidance and worksheets. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed or tested these additions. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.