3D Printing Industry Job Types

[Frazveragan]

Hi TC21,

I'm new on the forum myself, but work in the 3D industry, so I might be able to help answer a few of the questions you asked. I'm in a company that does work in the applied sector as opposed to development, so some of my thoughts might not be on the mark.
If you want your degree to correlate directly to working in the industry I'd imagine you could find a role in R&D with materials/filament/printer oriented around a certain type of technology. If you're open to trying a number of things my experience so far has been that a lot of people in the industry have very diverse backgrounds generally in industrial work, manufacturing, engineering, or science.
There's really two ways this is playing out. Most of the 3D specific companies are producing equipment and primarily focused on selling equipment and of course developing new technology. If you're more interested in using 3D printing in a particular field this is still kind of emerging. Print shops are cropping up. It's used a lot in labs, with individuals doing prototyping, product design, art, etc. and in general there don't seem to be specific positions for someone only working with 3D Printers.
Again though, I only see a couple sides of it in what I'm doing.