You’ll need a diverse set of skills in marketing, industrial design, and materials science to work as a package engineer. The study of which design is best for a specific item or marketable product is known as package engineering. From perishable foods to computer equipment, you may be asked to design packaging for a variety of products. As a package engineer, it is your responsibility to learn the best practices in the field earning a bachelor’s degree in one or more science or engineering disciplines.
Depending on the type of package engineer you want to be, package engineer training can take on a variety of forms. Concentrating on marketing during your undergraduate years would be most beneficial if you are more interested in the soft skills of packaging and learning what colors and images appeal to consumers. As a marketing major, you’ll learn everything there is to know about the consumer market and how businesses present packaging to attract the most customers. If you want to work as a package engineer, you should have an eye for attractive and effective packaging.
Materials science or industrial engineering are good options if you have strong math and engineering skills. The study of how materials are built, their properties, and how they can be optimized for maximum performance is known as materials science. Packaging includes not only consumer goods but also industrial machinery and computer hardware for use in harsh environments such as extreme temperatures and rough terrain. To determine what type of packaging would be best for products in various conditions, specialized training in the chemical and physical properties of materials such as metals, wood, and silicon is required. A bachelor’s degree in materials science or industrial engineering from a reputable institution will equip you with the knowledge and skills you’ll need to make these critical decisions in your career as a package engineer.
This field encompasses more than just marketing and hard sciences. A bachelor’s degree in industrial design, the study of product usability and aesthetics, is required to work as a package engineer. Package engineering’s creative and scientific natures are combined in industrial design. It’s especially useful in the technology industry, where appealing but ergonomically designed packaging is critical for increased sales and word-of-mouth popularity. If you enjoy working with your hands, majoring in industrial design could be a fun way to land a future job as a package engineer.