Annual Salary
£20,000 to £45,000
Average UK salary in 2019 was £30,378
(source Office for National Statistics)
Swap to Maintenance or Manufacturing or go back to all job sectors
Swap to Maintenance or Manufacturing or go back to all job sectors
Materials engineers research the behaviour of materials used in industry to make them stronger, lighter and more hard-wearing.
Average UK salary in 2019 was £30,378
(source Office for National Statistics)
You could work: evenings; occasionally
There will be
3.4% more Materials engineer jobs in 2026.
In your day-to-day duties you could:
You could work at a manufacturing plant, in a laboratory or in an office.
You can get into this job through:
You'll normally need a foundation degree, higher national diploma or degree. Relevant subjects include:
You could also take a degree course specialising in one group of materials or their commercial use, for example metallurgy, polymer science, biomaterials, or sports and materials science.
You'll usually need:
Apprenticeships relevant to this role include:
You'll usually need:
You can find out more about careers in materials engineering from the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining.
With experience, you could move into project management or technical sales. You could also specialise in a particular material, or work in research and consultancy.
You'll need: