Also called: Polymer Process Engineer, Injection Molding Engineer
Sets up the machines that melt and mold plastic into everything from bottle caps to car bumpers.
A new mold for a phone case is making parts with tiny bubbles. You adjust melt temperature, pressure and cooling time on the molding machine, cut parts open to check, and lock in a recipe that runs 24 hours a day.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Bachelor's degree (4-year), about 4 years after high school. Bachelor's in plastics, polymer, chemical or mechanical engineering.
Ways in: 4-year college. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Plastics Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Polymer Science.
Growing about average (about 3% over 10 years).
Medium risk for 10 years. AI vision and smart controls tune molding machines automatically; setting up new molds and solving defects on the floor stay human.
Classes: Chemistry, Shop or manufacturing CTE, Physics, Algebra II.
Official data: O*NET occupation 17-2041.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.