What is the most useful software in chemical engineering?

The major segregation of software is based on subject & application i.e. Process simulator , flow simulator , Mathematical Simulation tool, CAD, plant & Equipment design etc. One should first look to the area of interest and strong hold on subject and accordingly choose for the software they wanna proceed with.

There Are various software available in market which are used by chemical engineers in Academia as well as commercial purpose.

The major segregation of software is based on subject & application i.e. Process simulator , flow simulator , Mathematical Simulation tool, CAD, plant & Equipment design etc.
One should first look to the area of interest and strong hold on subject and accordingly choose for the software they wanna proceed with.
Software are like black box one can get maximum output of the software only when he/she is having good hold on Subject fundamentals.

Highly Recommended Software during your Academic Term:
Aspen Plus (Process Simulator) → Covers all major subject of chemical Engineering like Heat Transfer, Mass Transfer, Process calculation, CRE, Equipment Design and most important Thermodynamics.

MATLAB (Mathematical Simulation)→ can be very useful to develop user define model and also add an edge for chemical engineers in programming language, very useful for mathematical modelling

ANSYS Fluent (Flow simulator) → commercial CFD tool very useful for flow simulation, covers all major application in , MASS , MOMENTUM and ENERGY.