Why study Food Engineering?

The food engineering degree has good job opportunities in Spain. By earning this degree you would have the opportunity to become a professional capable of managing scientific and technological processes to market and produce profitable and environmentally friendly food products and services. Next, we will provide you with the information you need about the food engineering degree in Spain, with the aim of helping you make the best professional decision geared toward your future.

What is the Food Engineering degree?

If you are interested in studying food engineering, you should know that this degree combines the study of different disciplines such as physics, chemistry, biology, microbiology and mathematics, so you must be versatile and open to the scientific field.

Every food product or service produced today is backed by a set of complex engineering processes. The development of this engineering in Spain has made it possible to train professionals who have been able to innovate in the field and bring development to humanity.

Food Engineering is a discipline that studies the transformation, processing and quality of the processes inherent to food at all its stages, in order to produce safe food, optimize resources and improve the company's profitability.

To be more specific, we will present you with a list of common activities that a food engineer carries out in the industry for further guidance, which are the following:

• Manage the operations of industrial processes for manufacturing, transforming or conditioning raw materials into the finished product.
• Design and control systems that allow production processes with the least negative impact on the environment.
• Use food science and technology to develop, improve or offer new products.
• Design, implement and control quality management systems that help ensure nutritional value, as well as food safety.
• Plan, schedule, calculate and control the machinery and instruments of industrial facilities.
• Audit production processes.
• Develop innovative methods in technology that continuously improve processes.

Food engineering professionals have a very high degree of responsibility, since the production of safe food for human consumption depends on them, as well as maximizing the use of resources acquired by the company and avoiding economic losses.

The work field of a food engineer varies among food industries, pharmaceutical, regulatory or certifying institutions, state institutions, universities or research and innovation centers.

The food industry is very important and has developed enormously in the last 100 years, consequently, food engineers have been highly valued people in the work field, so they receive good annual remuneration.

The food engineer has an important impact on daily life, the present of this university degree is very good and with a lot of future projection, that is why it is one of the most recommended degrees of study to study in our country.

Profile of the applicant to study Food Engineering

So, to position yourself as a successful student in this area it is desirable to have some specific skills. Next, we describe the main skills you should have as a person so that you can be a student and future professional in the area of food engineering:

Creativity and innovation The food engineer constantly faces any number of challenges, so their ability to generate new ideas is important when solving problems or proposing continuous improvement of processes.

Versatility One of the main qualities that define a food engineer is versatility, capable of adapting to different contexts, open to acquiring knowledge from different scientific as well as technological areas and applying it with ease.

Ability to work in a team The food engineer must be a person open to teamwork, be accessible to other people, willing to collaborate with others to achieve the company's common goals.

Problem-solving ability The food engineer must be able to take logical steps to solve the different issues that may arise, as well as make difficult decisions.

Frequently asked questions about the Food Engineering degree

So far we have presented a little about what this degree is about, as well as the skills and competencies you should desirably have to position yourself as a good future student and professional in the area of food engineering.

At this point we want to let you know some important facts and answer some of the doubts that everyone close to entering university wants to know about obtaining this degree, so, next, we will resolve them for you.

What is the duration of the degree? To obtain the Food Engineering degree you must complete 4 years of study, you should know that there are other similar degrees you can choose from and they have the same duration of 4 years.

However, there are double degree programs that are similar and their study time is 5 years.

What is the price of studying Food Engineering? Annual costs vary as established by each university, in this case, the Food Engineering degree is taught at public universities, below we will show you some examples:

• Universidad politécnica de Catalunya 1,660 euros per year (public).
• Universidad politécnica de Madrid 1,473 euros per year (public).
• Universidad pública de Navarra UPNA 1,350 euros per year (private).

As we can see in the examples, you will need to evaluate which university is within your means.

What cutoff grade do I need to get into Food Engineering? The cutoff grade for this Food Engineering degree at the national level has been set at 5.00 points, so all universities maintain that cutoff point.

General subjects in the Food Engineering degree

Like all engineering you will see scientific subjects such as calculus, chemistry, physics, biology. While the more specialized subjects are engineering principles, production, production management, quality systems, environmental management, ecology, animal production, agricultural valuation, technological processes in the meat, dairy and fermentation industry, among others.

Career opportunities for Food Engineering graduates

The graduate with a Food Engineering degree has a field of work focused on the food production industry, pharmaceutical industry, raw material supply companies, accreditation and certification companies, quality and environmental auditing companies, research centers or universities.

Some of the most prominent positions these professionals hold in the industry are Engineers or specialists in production, quality management, quality control, process auditor, consultants or advisors, teachers and researchers.

What is the salary of a person with a degree in Food Engineering?

The salary of a food engineer varies according to experience, a newly graduated engineer earns around 20,000 – 25,000 euros per year, although if they work for an internationally recognized company they can earn 45% more.

While an engineer with more than 4 years of experience can earn 30,000 euros per year or 3,500 euros per month.

How can I tell if Food Engineering is the right degree for me?

With all this information, it is important that you now evaluate whether earning this degree could be a good option for you. Assess your strengths and weaknesses, and also consider how you have performed in scientific subjects, such as mathematics, physics, and chemistry, since they will be part of your daily life in this degree.