Why I chose a career in Polymer and Plastic Engineering: Vikranth Tiwari
Vikrant Tiwari
Plastic and Polymer Engineering is a rather new course that isn’t very popular but has a very good career scope. Most of the market is composed of goods made of plastics and it is estimated that the use of plastic goods will continue to grow. This growth gives opportunity to build a career in the plastic Industry. This idea was exposed to me around the completion of my intermediate.
As is common among most science stream intermediate pass-outs, I too was very keen to pursue engineering. However, I did not want to pursue BTech or regular courses like Mechanical, Civil, Computers, etc. I was looking for something new and something more interesting. Diploma in Plastic Mould Technology caught my attention. As I was not able to qualify in JEE Main, I made my mind to pursue a Diploma rather than Bachelors as it was cheaper but was also giving more placements compared to B.Tech. I applied for Polytechnic through the state-conducted JEECUP examination. I got a decent rank, as the paper was relatively easier than the ones I had been giving until then. I was hoping to get a college that had the course I needed and finally chose Government Polytechnic, Lucknow. The college is a reputed institute in whole Uttar Pradesh for being the oldest institute and a provider of the most number of placements. I got admitted to the course Plastic Mould Technology in July, 2015. The course curriculum is heavily based on the syllabus of the same course offered by CIPET, another good institution for pursuing Plastic Engineering.
The JEECUP examination syllabus is based on high school syllabus and is easy to prepare. Knowledge of General Science is important and proficiency in Mathematics also helps. I did not need the help of a coaching centre to beat the exam as I was already preparing for other similar exams at the time. I would suggest the students to look thoroughly at all the options they have and consult teachers and friends before making a decision. This is very important as I did not have a particular goal in my mind, which cost me a year before finally getting admission.
Three years later, I completed my Diploma and waited for the campus recruitment. Getting recruited through campus selection in a non-industrial city is tough. There are some plastic industries in UP but none of them is close enough to come for recruitments. Most plastic industries are small to medium enterprises and they do not want to look far for fresh recruitment. Having learned this, we contacted several companies and were given the general response that stated the need to get some experience first. This prompted us to get some insight into the plastic industry and its operations. This was one thing that we learned very late. Almost all branches and courses have the same situation. The students are either recruited for very less salary or a package really far from a reasonable salary. At first, I thought it to be a wrong decision on my part and felt that I should have chosen another stream. But I realized that almost all the branches are facing the same issue. And I came to accept my decision and made up my mind to do something about it. At present, I am getting trained in an industry and have already started receiving a positive feedback from recruiters just in two months. I am also learning CAD to improve my academic profile and knowledge. Now, my plan is to spend the next 4 months training at the industry and then applying for a decent job.
Now, it would not be accurate to say that the plastic engineering stream is relatively new and should not be pursued. Each stream has its own merits and demerits. There are a few places where only a Plastic Engineer is required. My final advice is to perform your best and keep your confidence up, no matter what you pursue. As there is a lot of competition nowadays, only the best are chosen.
About the Author:
My name is Vikranth Tiwari and I am a Diploma holder in Plastic Mould Technology and a fresher. I completed my diploma in 2018 from Government Polytechnic, Lucknow and am currently learning new skills like CAD. My hobbies are reading and helping people in any way I can. My interests are in sports and social media. My aim is to build a career in the plastic industry.
