What Do Industrial Engineers Do
While particular products, systems, or processes are involved with most engineering fields, industrial engineering focuses on managing people, coordinating organizations, and maximizing the use of technology in ways that improve productivity in a variety of workplace settings. In an increasingly global market, today’s businesses need to thrive, and industrial engineers help them do just that by enhancing both efficiency and quality, whether the result be a streamlined operating room in a health care environment, an integrated production schedule for production, or a long-range and comprehensive financial plan.
In their attempt to minimize wasted time, resources, and money in the workplace, industrial engineers can be called upon to perform a wide range of tasks:
- To decide the best possible design for information, production, and distribution systems, they use mathematical models or computer simulations.
- They work at an administrative level, helping with initiatives for strategic planning, financial analysis, wage management, and job assessment.
- They deal with human variables and ergonomics, maximizing employee engagement with their physical and technical work environment.
Job Prospects for Industrial Engineers
In a mind-boggling array of markets, there are career openings for industrial engineers. In service industries, health care, shipping and transportation, banking, entertainment, forestry and logging, the military, and all levels of government, industrial engineering is not only about manufacturing; it is also called for. However, the largest number of industrial engineers are working in manufacturing industries such as the aerospace industry, the manufacture of parts for motor vehicles, and the manufacture of navigational, calculation, medical, and other equipment.
Future of Industrial Engineering
An ongoing need to increase productivity to keep up in a fiercely competitive marketplace, as well as an interest in rising manufacturing quality to reduce the effects on the environment, would ensure that industrial engineers will have plenty of job opportunities in the future.
Colleges and Universities
Associate Degree in Industrial Engineering: While a bachelor’s degree is typically the minimum training needed to start working as an engineer, 2-year associate degree programs are available in industrial engineering technology, enabling the holder of the degree to start working as a technician or move to a four-year program.
Industrial Engineering Bachelor’s Degree: The majority of entry-level industrial engineering positions require a bachelor’s degree. The first two years of the program are usually spent learning pre-engineering and general education subjects, while the last two are dedicated to the core curriculum of engineering.
Master’s and Doctoral Degrees in Industrial Engineering: Graduate degrees usually specialize in industrial engineering in a specific field of studies, such as engineering of human factors, computer modeling, or supply chain management.
Online Degrees in Industrial Engineering: Online and distance learning programs in industrial engineering are available at all levels, from undergraduate degrees in industrial engineering to doctoral studies.
Salaries for Industrial Engineers
The U.S. according to The median national annual wage for industrial engineers is $87,040. The 2018-19 Occupational Outlook Handbook of the Bureau of Labor Statistics Actual wages can vary greatly depending on field specialization, venue, years of experience, and some other variables. Long-term national employment growth forecasts do not reflect local and/or short-term economic or employment conditions and do not guarantee real job growth.