Nature of Work
A plastic is a type of synthetic or man-made polymer; similar in many ways to natural resins found in trees and other plants. Webster's Dictionary defines polymers as: any of various complex organic compounds produced by polymerization, capable of being moulded, extruded, cast into various shapes and films, or drawn into filaments and then used as textile fibers.
Plastics engineering encompasses the processing, design, development and manufacture of plastic products. A plastic is a polymeric material that is in a semi-liquid state, having the property of plasticity and exhibiting flow. The nature of plastic material poses unique challenges to an engineer. Mechanical properties of plastics are often difficult to quantify, and the plastic engineer has to design a product that meets certain specifications while keeping costs to a minimum. Other properties that the plastic engineer has to address include outdoor weather ability, thermal properties such as upper use temperature, electrical properties, barrier properties and resistance to chemical attack.
Market Scenario
Many private companies and MNCs that deal with the production and marketing of plastic commodities also offer employment to plastics technologists and engineers. Plastic technologists also play a significant role in the key sectors of the economy, including agriculture and water management, automobiles and transportation, building and construction, telecommunication and electronics, besides defence and aerospace, computers and power transmissions and even in manufacture of artificial limbs. Polymer use in India is very less as compared to the other developed countries, so this field offers a high potential of growth and so are the employment opportunities.
Within India:
The plastics and polymer industry is growing at fast pace. The transport sector, household appliances and goods, packaging, electricity and telecommunication are the major areas, which demand plastics, hence are creating employment opportunities in this sector. For instance, synthetic rubber is now in great demand. In the public sector, plastics engineers / technologists and technicians may find employment in: The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Oil and Natural Gas Commission, Oil India Laboratories, Petrochemicals Engineering Plants, Indian Institute of Petroleum, Polymers Corporations of different states and Petroleum Conservation Research Association of India.
Overseas:
Employment for plastic engineer is expected to grow by 11 percent over the 2006-16 decade, about as fast as the average for all occupations. Engineers have traditionally been concentrated in slower growing or declining manufacturing industries, in which they will continue to be needed to design, build, test, and improve manufactured products. However, increasing employment of engineers in faster growing service industries should generate most of the employment growth. Competitive pressures and advancing technology will force companies to improve and update product designs and to optimize their manufacturing processes.
Employers will rely on engineers to increase productivity and expand output of goods and services. New technologies continue to improve the design process, enabling engineers to produce and analyze various product designs much more rapidly than in the past. Unlike in some other occupations, however, technological advances are not expected to substantially limit employment opportunities in engineering because engineers will continue to develop new products and processes that increase productivity.
