The real life alchemists of the 21st century. Plastics engineering involves the development and manufacturing of plastic materials. Plastics are either completely synthetic or semi-synthetic. A plastic engineer possesses the same abilities as a materials engineer, but they are also experts in plastic. As plastic contains very unique and stubborn properties, it requires its own field of research and education. While there is a lot of fascination with the impressive abilities and applications of plastic, it is a specialised field with limited career options depending on the country you wish to work in.