A textile engineering degree prepares students to develop and test new synthetic and natural fibers and materials. The degree requires coursework in chemistry, engineering, computer science, and other sciences. Students can earn a two-year associates degree, bachelors, masters, or PhD. Higher degrees open more career opportunities in fields like clothing manufacturing, medical applications, and synthetic materials replacement. Technical textiles now account for over 40% of manufacturing in developed countries and include advanced materials like aramid and carbon fibers used in applications from defense to aerospace.

1. What is a Textile Engineering Degree?
The material in everything from the clothes you wear to your favorite room was created by textile engineers. If you
like the idea of developing and testing synthetic and natural fibers to make new material, then this career path may
be for you.
Getting Your Diploma
A textile engineer uses their science and math background to look at different types of fabrics. Some of your
coursework might include chemical manufacturing, industrial engineering, computer science, and molecular
synthesis. That will prepare you for this exciting career.To be successful in this field, you’ll want to have a strong
scientific and mathematical background. That will give you the skills you need to improve current fibers and
develop new fabrics. Having creativity and critical thinking skills will help you do well. You’ll also want to be able
to manage several projects and work in a team to be successful.
As with many college programs, the diploma levels can vary. You might enter a two-year program or go on to
research-based doctorate. The amount of time you will spend in school will depend on the type of textile engineering
degree you pick. However, many people choose to get a master’s degree, which can open up many doors later.
When you’re deciding on the type of degree to get, you’ll want to spend some time looking at the different career
opportunities. Make a list of the ones you’re most interested in and see what types of qualifications you would need.
Paying for School
It can be a challenge for many people to pay for a degree. That’s why so many people choose to take out student
loans. But if you want to take out a private loan, you’ll likely need to have a credit history. If you don’t, many
lenders require you to have someone sign with you. The good news is that it is completely possible to take out a
private student loan without a co-signer if you work with the right lender. Not everyone may want to go into debt for
school. But it may allow you to get a higher paying job sooner than if you had waited several years to be able to pay
for your degree out of pocket.
Job Outlook
After graduation, you might work full-time in a research lab or office. You’ll likely have a 40-hour workweek. To
land a job after graduation, it’s a good idea to have previous experience. Both co-operative education programs and
internships can go a long way toward helping you get a feel for your future job while improving your skills. This
degree opens up many possibilities for you. Some graduates might go into clothing manufacturing. But others have
gone on to create biocompatible organs for medical applications. You might find yourself coming up with synthetic
materials as a replacement for organic ones. Because of how quickly technology advancing, new career paths are
opening up every day. The job outlook will vary depending on what you’re looking for after graduation. Of course,
the more experience you have, the higher a starting salary you can get.
Things about Textile

2. Apart from conventional use of textiles like clothing over the centuries, nontextile industries discovered utility of
specially designed and engineered textile structures that could be used in their products, processes and services.
Textiles inherently can posses immense versatility and are capable to shape into various functional products for
varied uses - from usual packaging material to the sophisticated areas like defence and aerospace. The decade from
1960 was a period of development of gigantic global man-made fibre industry and new mechanical and chemical
processing technologies like non-wovens, three dimensional braiding and weaving, coating and lamination,
composites, etc. These new fibres and technologies opened up new vistas of host of application areas for technical
textiles per second.
By 1980, there were two distinct situations. On one hand, there was almost a revolution in material science leading
to development of useful polymers for high performance textile fibres like aramid, PBI, Carbon, PAN, etc. On the
other hand, textile industry in major industrialized countries were struggling for survival due to low cost of import
and almost stagnant consumer markets. The entire textile industry in developed countries realized that non-
conventional textiles could offer not only a fresh lease of life to their textile industry, but also could provide
potential remunerative market for its healthy growth. Today value - added technical textiles, account for more than
40% of total manufacturing activity of many industrial countries.
Technical Textiles, as earlier known as industrial textiles, were in the product mix of a few manufacturers in low end
application like cotton canvas, shoe lining, coated fabric, water holding stores, etc. Infact, a large portion of Defence
Textiles were functional and could be classified as technical textiles. First deliberation on geo-textiles took place in
India in a Defence Seminar in 1985. Few innovative entrepreneurs engaged in Defence supplies were producing
technical textiles like parachute canopy fabrics and accessories, duel shade fabrics, sleeping bags, WR treated
closely woven fabric, high altitude clothing, tents, awnings, shelters, revetment fabrics, etc without explicit
knowledge that such items were none other than technical textiles. In 90's, the term 'technical textiles' got widely
accepted in the western world, and here the textile industry found it remunerative to produce various types of value
added technical textiles for innumerable innovative and functional applications by non-textile industries or
individual consumer.
It is pertinent to note that the current century will be guided by three powerful engines of development viz. Micro-
electronics, Bio-technology and Material Science. Impact of micro-electronics are already visible with computers
and telecommunication being the prime movers of the new industrial era both in developed and developing
countries. While bio-technology has made its determined journey to a new era, new technologies in materials like
fine chemicals, optical fibres, high polymeric plastics and resins, fibre reinforced composites, etc have offered better
substitutes of traditional raw materials of developing countries like copper, aluminum, iron, etc. Technical Textiles
on its own merits will occupy a prominent place in material science.
Whereas energy was the motive power of the industrial age till last century, post -industrial world community is
driven by knowledge. Centrality of theoretical knowledge is the source of innovation and the policy formulation for
the society. World-wide, this has led to the pre-eminence of professional and technical class, and development of
new intellectual technologies which, with the advance of current century, may be as salient in human affairs as
machine technology has been for the past century and a half. Conventional textiles were considered as products of
low technology of making yarn, fabric, dyeing, etc. Technical textiles governed by rigid specification parameters,
consistent quality requirement, meeting the demanding engineering tolerances, reliability over long period of use of
end stores, varied non-textile applications, etc. essentially require hightech emerging technologies in most of the
products and processes. Introduction of smart textiles, plasma and nanotechnology, composites for space and high-
end applications have changed the textile technological scenario drastically and they possess knowledge, not
conventional know how of production.