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In 2024, the locations with the highest concentration of Polymer & Plastics Engineering degree recipients are Lowell, MA, Hattiesburg, MS, and Penn State Erie (Behrend), PA. In 2024, the locations with a relatively high number of Polymer & Plastics Engineering degree recipients are Penn State Erie (Behrend), PA, White Oak, PA, and Lowell, MA. The most common degree awarded to students studying Polymer & Plastics Engineering is a bachelors degree.
Information about the types of higher education institutions that grant degrees in Polymer & Plastics Engineering and the types of students that study this field. University of Massachusetts-Lowell awards the most degrees in Polymer & Plastics Engineering in the US, but Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Erie-Behrend College and University of Massachusetts-Lowell have the highest percentage of degrees awarded in Polymer & Plastics Engineering.
Tuition costs for Polymer & Plastics Engineering majors are, on average, $14,274 for in-state public colleges, and $63,930 for out of state private colleges.
The most common sector, by number of institutions, that offers Polymer & Plastics Engineering programs are Public, 4-year or above institutions (16 total). The most common sector, by number of degrees awarded, is Public, 4-year or above (228 completions).
The most common sector, by number of degrees awarded in Polymer & Plastics Engineering, is Public, 4-year or above (228 completions in 2024).
The following chart shows the share of universities that offer Polymer & Plastics Engineering programs, by the total number of completions, colored and grouped by their sector.
University of Massachusetts-Lowell has the most Polymer & Plastics Engineering degree recipients, with 69 degrees awarded in 2024.
The following bar chart shows the state tuition for the top 5 institutions with the most degrees awarded in Polymer & Plastics Engineering.
Out of all institutions that offer Polymer & Plastics Engineering programs and have at least 5 graduates in those programs, Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Erie-Behrend College has the highest percentage of degrees awarded in Polymer & Plastics Engineering, with 3.39%.
This map shows the counties in the United States colored by the highest number of degrees awarded in Polymer & Plastics Engineering by year.
Information on the businesses and industries that employ Engineering graduates and on wages and locations for those in the field.
The average salary for Engineering majors is $138,226 and the most common occupations are Software developers, Miscellaneous engineers, including nuclear engineers, and Civil engineers.
The industry that employs the most Engineering majors is Architectural, engineering & related services, though the highest paying industry, by average wage, is Internet publishing, broadcasting & web search portals.
The average salary for Engineering majors is $138,226 and the most common occupations are Software developers, Miscellaneous engineers, including nuclear engineers, and Civil engineers.
This chart shows the average annual salaries of the most common occupations for Engineering majors.
This map shows the public use micro areas (PUMAs) in the United States colored by the average salary of Engineering majors.
Note that the census collects information tied to where people live, not where they work. It is possible that Engineering majors live and work in the same place, but it is also possible that they live and work in two different places.
The most common occupations for Engineering majors, by number of employees, are Software developers, Miscellaneous engineers, including nuclear engineers, and Civil engineers.
Compared to other majors, there are an unusually high number of Engineering majors working as Chemical engineers, Civil engineers, and Petroleum, mining & geological engineers, including mining safety engineers.
The highest paid occupations by median income for Engineering majors are Surgeons, Podiatrists, and Securities, commodities, & financial services sales agents.
The number of Engineering graduates in the workforce has been growing at a rate of 3.88%, from 4.98M in 2023 to 5.17M in 2024.
The largest single share of Engineering graduates go on to work as Software developers (9.37%). This chart shows the various jobs filled by those with a major in Engineering by share of the total number of graduates.
The most common industries that employ Engineering majors, by number of employees, are Architectural, engineering & related services, Computer Systems Design, and Construction.
The highest paying industries of Engineering majors, by average wage, are Internet publishing, broadcasting & web search portals, Offices of physicians, and Broadcasting & content providers.
The number of Engineering graduates in the workforce has been growing at a rate of 3.88%, from 4.98M in 2023 to 5.17M in 2024.
The industry which employs the most Engineering graduates by share is Architectural, engineering & related services, followed by Computer Systems Design. This visualization shows the industries that hire those who major in Engineering.
This map shows the public use micro areas (PUMAs) in the United States where there are a relatively high population of Engineering majors.
Note that the census collects information tied to where people live, not where they work. It is possible that Engineering majors live and work in the same place, but it is also possible that they live and work in two different places.
Demographic information for those who earn a degree in Engineering in the United States.
The average age of a person in the workforce with a degree in Engineering is 42.8.
The most common degree type these workers hold is a Bachelors Degree. Male employees are more likely to hold Engineering degrees, and White students are the most common race/ethnicty group awarded degrees in Engineering (166 students).
This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in Engineering. The most common ages of employees with this major are 30 and 29 years old, which represent 2.92% and 2.88% of the population, respectively.
The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Polymer & Plastics Engineering are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Research Doctorate.
The most common degree types held by the working population in Engineering are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Doctorate degree.
This chart shows the granted degrees by sex at the 5 institutions that graduate the most students in Polymer & Plastics Engineering.
This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in Polymer & Plastics Engineering for each race & ethnicity.
In 2024, White students earned the largest share of the degrees with this major.
This chart illustrates the differences by sex for each race & ethnicity of Bachelors Degree recipients in Polymer & Plastics Engineering.
White Male students, who earn most of the degrees in this field, are the most common combination of race/ethnicity and sex.
There are a relatively high number of people that were born in India that hold Engineering degrees (4.03 times more than expected), and the most common country of origin by total numbers for non-US students earning a degree in this field is India (525,874 degree recipients).
Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the Polymer & Plastics Engineering field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Polymer & Plastics Engineering majors need many skills, but most especially Science. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Polymer & Plastics Engineering majors need more than the average amount of Troubleshooting, Technology Design, and Equipment Selection.
These two visualizations, one a radial chart and one a bar chart, show the same information, a rating of how necessary the following skills are for Polymer & Plastics Engineering majors. Toggle between "value" and "RCA" to see the absolute rating of that skill (value) and the revealed comparative advantage (RCA), or how much greater or lesser that skill's rating is than the average. The longer the bar or the closer the line comes to the circumference of the circle, the more important that skill is. The importance of Troubleshooting is very distinctive for majors, but the Science, Critical Thinking, and Active Learning are the three most important skills for people in the field.
Photo by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center