Polymer Engineering

Types of Degrees Polymer Engineering Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many general polymer & plastics engineering graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Bachelor’s Degree	134
Master’s Degree	93
Doctor’s Degree	52
Graduate Certificate	11

What Polymer Engineering Majors Need to Know

People with careers related to polymer engineering were asked what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. They weighted these areas on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the highest.

Knowledge Areas for Polymer Engineering Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in polymer engineering should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

• Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
• Physics - Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub- atomic structures and processes.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

Skills for Polymer Engineering Majors

The following list of skills has been highlighted as some of the most essential for careers related to polymer engineering:

• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Abilities for Polymer Engineering Majors

As a polymer engineering major, you will find yourself needing the following abilities:

• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).

What Can You Do With a Polymer Engineering Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with polymer engineering:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Architectural and Engineering Managers	5.5%	$140,760
Engineering Professors	14.7%	$101,720
Materials Engineers	1.9%	$92,390

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Polymer Engineering?

This major attracts more men than women. About 78% of the graduates in this field are male.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of polymer engineering majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	11
Black or African American	2
Hispanic or Latino	4
White	109
International Students	1
Other Races/Ethnicities	7

Geographic Diversity

Americans aren’t the only ones with an interest in Polymer Engineering. About 0.7% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Polymer Engineering

Some careers associated with polymer engineering require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

Find out what the typical degree level is for polymer engineering careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	1.7%
Bachelor’s Degree	45.5%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	5.1%
Master’s Degree	27.1%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	2.9%
Doctoral Degree	12.8%
Post-Doctoral Training	4.9%

Online Polymer Engineering Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	1	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	0	0
Bachelor’s Degree	6	3
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	10	0
Post-Master’s	1	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	8	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By Cjp24 under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.