Materials Engineer

Industry uses lots of different materials- metals, ceramics, plastics, composites, biological materials, and chemicals – and constantly develops new materials. Engineers research and evaluate these materials to see how they perform and how they can be used.  They could be looking at new materials that can be used to make buildings safer, materials that will conduct energy for solar panels, new coatings for cars, or safer packaging for food products.  Materials Engineers could be using software to test and analyse data about the material, or they may be designing new products that will make best use of that material.  They could be investigating why a material has failed (think of the Grenfell Tower fire where the insulating material caught fire and many lives were lost).   As a Materials Engineer your research could support a new design that will have a positive impact on the environment or world health.You might need to be a curious person, analytical and good with numbers to be a Materials Engineer.  Good English qualifications will help with report writing and communication information to others. Maths, physics and chemistry  are qualifications that would be very useful in this role. Materials engineers can earn £20,000 to £45,000 per year.