Esh, FL asked Tricia Berry, The University of Texas at Austin AddedTuesday, January 26, 2016 at 5:33 PM Product design at a research level Hi, I want to do medical research in the lab. I'm also interested in product design but at a research level, not large scale. My major is molecular biology but I was thinking of changing it to chemical engineering. Are there opportunities in what I'm interested in with just a bachelors degree in chemical engineering (if I don't want to join grad school just after)? I am an international student Related to Chemical, Choosing a Degree Reset Sort By Default Tricia Berry , The University of Texas at Austin Answered Tuesday, January 26, 2016 at 5:33 PM Yes, there are definitely opportunities in research with a bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering. I worked for a few years as a Product Development Engineer in a research lab. I worked on the development of a process and formula for using a Dow Chemical Company epoxy (plastic/polymer) in biodegradable packaging peanuts. I worked on pilot testing various formulations, testing the product, researching options on manufacturing the peanuts (made on the same machine as Cheetos’s by the way), and interacting with the potential customers to test our product on their machines and assess their needs. I traveled to customer sites, conducted research at various universities where they had the equipment we needed to use (Dow didn’t have the equipment in house), and worked with a team of chemists, engineers, manufacturing specialists, technicians, equipment fabricators, customers, etc. Lots of work in the research space....all with a bachelor's degree. Do some undergrad research to get experience with research while in college to see if you like it...and then when you are looking for a full-time job you can use that experience to guide your process. Good luck!