What can you do with a College Major in Industrial Engineering?

Career options for aspiring industrial engineers

Industrial engineers determine the most effective way to use the
basics of any production - people, machines, materials, information,
money, and energy - in order to make a product or provide a service.
Some of the most productive and successful professionals in the
industrial engineering field share many of these common traits:
• Oral and written communication skills
• Organizational ability
• Computer literacy
• Creativity
• A knack for designing and improving systems
• Mathematics ability
• Problem solving
• People skills
The industrial engineer provides the key to achieving the performance
goals of ownership or management. Unlike engineers in other
specialties, the industrial engineer is primarily concerned with
increasing productivity through the management of people, the
methods of organization and the available technology.

In order to solve problems encountered in product manufacturing and

service industries, industrial engineers must study the product and its
requirements. They use mathematical models to figure out production
requirements and to design manufacturing and information systems.
They develop and manage systems that aid in financial planning for
individual products. This is also an effective method of cost analysis.

Industrial engineers design financial systems and improve, upgrade,

and reconfigure these systems. Those engineers on the management
track may also develop wage, payroll, and salary administration
systems and other job performance and evaluation systems. These
engineers are so deeply involved with every nuance of the corporate
system that they are often the best source for overall company
evaluation.

Health and safety engineers are very similar to industrial engineers.

They both deal with the entirety of a production process. Health and
safety engineers promote worksite safety and corporate health by
applying models and systems of the industrial process. These
engineers must be able to recognize and then diffuse hazardous
situations before they come to pass.

In addition to manufacturing and service industries, industrial

engineers apply their knowledge to a variety of industries and
positions. An industrial engineering major might work as a:
• Management Engineer: The management engineer is
primarily responsible for the systems and procedures that make
employees more effective, individually and as a unit.
• Ergonomist: An industrial engineer who is concerned with the
proper tool usage and health systems that prevent stress and
injury.
• Operations Analyst: Responsible for integrating people and
machines effectively and safely.
• Quality Engineer: Measures, tests and ensures the quality
and safety of products or services.
Industrial engineering graduates might find themselves working on
projects like these:
• Designing the admissions procedure at a hospital.
• Discovering a new way to assemble a product that will prevent
worker injury.
• Representing a company in the design and construction of a
new plant.
• Performing motion and time studies.
• Developing prototype units for the cellular phone car adapter
market.
• Simulation modeling.
• Developing a hardware protection program for spacecraft.
• Developing a supplier quality program.
• Implementing lean manufacturing concepts.
• Developing and launching a complete material handling
system.
• Developing the conceptual layout of a dockyard and ship repair
facility.
• Working on a medical device to treat sleep apnea.
• Representing manufacturing and purchasing concerns on a
design team.
• Teaching industrial engineering courses.
• These are just a few areas in which businesses use industrial
engineers. In essence, when a company functions at the highest
level of productivity, an industrial engineer probably designed
and implemented the systems that brought the company to that
point.

Salary Expectations for Industrial Engineers

According to a 2006 study by the United States Department of

Labor, the median annual salary of industrial engineers was
$68,620. Most professionals reported earning between $44,790
and $84,850, although the highest 10 percent earned more than
$100,000 per year.

Certification and Licensure

No national licensing body certifies industrial engineers. Most
employers rely on the solid training that graduates receive during
their degree programs. Instead, most licensing and certification is
reserved for the products designed and developed by industrial
engineers.

Since an industrial engineer can effectively function in any field,

s/he must conform to the certification bodies that oversee his or
her particular specialty. Some states do require additional
licensing as an engineer. Consult your local statute and licensing
boards for more information.

Industrial Engineering Associations

• Association for Manufacturing Excellence (AME)
• The Association for Manufacturing Technology (AMT)
• Human Factors and Ergonomics Society
• National Association of Industrial Technology (NAIT)
• Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME)
• Institute of Industrial Engineers
• Board of Certified Safety Professionals