There are around 22,000 plastic processing units in India and with the total per capita consumption of plastic products moving towards 8 per cent of GDP growth, there is a huge demand for plastic and polymer engineers, says Shriyance Jain
A career in plastic and polymer industry is a promising one, offers numerous options to excel and is supported with good remuneration. It also lets you explore and invent new things, which can step up your career to new heights.
Plastic and polymer engineering deals with studying the structure, designing, analysing and modifying the polymer to help in the manufacturing of plastic and polymer products. It also includes various aspects of the petrochemical industry and uses the concepts like thermodynamics, plant and process design as well.
Just look around your surroundings and you will spot numerous things made up of plastic. Some will be made up of soft plastic, whereas few will be of harder quality. Available in various textures and colors, some look like leather, whereas some resemble wood. Plastic is nothing but a form of polymer. The polymer can be of any type — synthetic, semi-synthetic or organic.
From bristles on toothbrush to the large water storage tanks; from daily purpose material to medical and aircraft construction, it’s being vastly used in diverse industries. Industries like automobile, furniture, electrical, aeronautical, packaging, etc vividly make use of plastic and polymers for various purposes at varying levels.
Polymers plays a vital role in providing basic necessities for everyday use, thus it is being recognised as a high priority sector. Polymer and plastic has emerged as a fast growing industry and owing to that fact, the importance of plastic and polymer engineering as a career option is escalating.
In the last decade, engineering has been one of the most opted career choices by the students, but most of them tend to follow its mainstream branches for further studies. Instead of a high demand in the market and the growth in a very rapid pace, the plastic and polymer branch is usually overlooked.
Scope
A colossal crowd is coming from mainstream branches of engineering (electrical, software, mechanical, etc) and this generates a tough competition at the time of recruitment. Whereas, the situation is completely opposite in the case of plastic and polymer. The students are opting for this career because the industry is growing rapidly and demands a lot of experts. Moreover, the career opportunities are not only limited to the companies in this industry but also has its reach in the companies which use plastic as raw material. Such companies are in dire need of people coming from this background so as to additionally advance their products according to the required changing trends. So, a career in this field is definitely a promising one.
Recent Trends
In the last five years, there has been a rise in the number of students opting for career in plastic and polymer industry. The issues like developing eco-friendly plastic, waste management, etc. are the major issues which are being worked and discussed upon currently.
People with good knowledge and expertise are easily being hired for good positions. Also the per capita consumption of plastic products in India is moving towards 8 per cent of GDP growth. At present, there are around 22,000 plastic processing units, which clearly signify the speedy growth of the industry.
Courses
A student can choose to study undergraduate programmes like B.Tech in Plastic Engineering, B.E. in Polymer Science and Chemical Technology, B. Tech in Chemical Engineering (Plastic and Polymer) and B.Tech Polymer Science and Technology. For higher education, students can study further in programmes like M.E. in Plastic Technology, M. Tech Polymer Science and Technology, M.E. Polymer Technology and Ph.D Polymer Science and Technology.
Eligibility
To pursue an undergraduate course, a student must pass higher secondary (10+2) with Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics. Most of the colleges take admission on the basis of qualifying JEE Mains (AIEEE) or other state level entrance exams.Whereas for admission in post graduation, a student must have a degree in B.E. or B.Tech and should qualify the GATE exam.
Skills Required
Apart from the mentioned academic qualifications, if a person wishes to exceed in this field, he is suggested to have the following qualities —
Job prospects
Since the polymer and plastic is widely used in several industries, the students from this background get easily hired by tyre companies, fuel refineries, polymer manufacturing, research institutions, etc.
There is a high demand of polymer technicians/technologists in such companies. The various job profiles that are available includes Quality and Control Manager, Design and Manufacture Engineer and R&D Officer in various departments like design and manufacturing, management, technical support, processing, research and development and quality control. The Ministry of Petroleum, ONGC, Indian Institute of Petroleum, Natural Gas, Tyre Companies and Petrochemical Engineering Plants are some of the top recruiters.
The remuneration differs with designations and companies, but it is definitely equitable for the aspirant. Because, the plastic utilisation is increasing rapidly, appropriate waste management is also needed this lead to the development of eco-friendly plastics for pollution control and encouragement of recyclability. The role of a plastic and polymer engineer comes into the play. A good understanding of properties and processing of polymers is needed for further enhancements and manufacturing of products.