SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING
Career Opportunities
Graduates of the Plastics program have enjoyed a rich employment track record since the program's first graduating class in 1989. Graduating seniors have seen strong placement in a variety of positions including:
- Management - We have alumni in many management positions including engineering management through general managers and owners.
- Plastic Tooling Sourcing and Support - These graduates are responsible for all aspects of tooling for plastics manufacturing including coordinating which supplier will provide the tooling and then ensuring that the tooling is constructed to company and customer standards.
- Sales - We have many graduates in technical sales positions.
- CAE Analyst - Engineers in this field work with using computers to simulate the molding process.
- Product Development Engineers - These graduates leverage their experience with processing and tooling to assist companies designing new products that utilize plastics. They work in integrated develoment teams and work with computer-aided design tools to design products in industries such as manufacturingl, medical, and consumer products.
- Process Engineering - These engineers are responsible for working on developing robust and efficient processing methods within the company. They can also be involved early in the development cycle of a new product to ensure that the product is easily manufacturable.
- For further information and to see videos of what some of our graduates are doing, please visit the Imagine Plastics website.
Recruitment from the plastics program is coordinated through the Academic and Career Planning Center at Penn State Behrend, which acts as a central contact point for potential employers. In the fall semester of each year, the Academic and Career Planning Center organizes a career fair, inviting employers with open positions for all disciplines sponsored on the Penn State Behrend campus.
Underclassmen often can experience some early training in Plastics Engineering prior to graduation through internships and Co-ops coordinated through the Academic and Career Planning Center.
Internships for Plastics Engineering Technology Graduates
Underclassmen interested in obtaining experience in the plastics industry can do so by participating in a 1 to 12 credit internship over the summer session. Employers aware of the Plastics program offer internships ranging from plant operations support through product development engineering. Past internship sponsors include:
- John Deere
- Bayer Corporation
- Niagara Plastics
- Viking Plastics
- SIPCO
- Ford
- Charlotte Pipe
- Rubbermaild
- Emerson Appliance
- Zurn Industries
- Graham Packaging
To receive credit for their internship experience, students provide a write-up of their experience to their advisor.
Co-Op Employment for Plastics Engineering Technology Graduates
Employers with longer term needs often provide opportunities for students in the form of co-op employment which overlaps with the traditional school calendar. Under such circumstances, students take a leave of absence from the traditional four-year schedule and often work for a year in a full-time engineering position.
Under these co-op agreements, participating companies often cover some type of relocation costs and housing reimbursement on top of competitive salaries on the order of entry level engineering positions.
Past participation includes:
- Johnson & Johnson
- Hewlett-Packard
- Bayer
- John Deere
- Little Tikes