<p>Hello all,
I am a high school senior looking to major in engineering at a university. I think IE is a really cool major, but I am also interested in programming, so I was wondering if IEs use any sort of programming / scripting / application development? I am kinda leaning away from a pure CS major, which is what I originally thought I wanted to do, because I don't want companies to think of me as "just another programmer." I would also want to do some kind of technological consulting, or maybe even working as an independent contractor, which is what I've heard a lot of IEs end up doing. But my main concern with IE is if it uses any sort of programming or technological know-how. I am under the impression that it does, as many MS programs for IE I've seen say that programming experience in C/C++/Java is required, but all the actual job applications on the internet I've looked don't mention any sort of programming knowledge.
I appreciate any answers I can get. Thanks!</p>
<p>IE Student here and we definitely learn it. I have taken C++ and will also be taking VBA which should be pretty similar. Whether you use it will depend on the path if IE that you take, but it is definitely is an option. It is more of a tool to do the job and not the full job from what I have seen though. IE is a really fun major, good luck!</p>
<p>In education, yes, but perhaps less than you may think. Where I go we take 1 intro to programming that all engineering majors take, 1 IE specific programming course (intro to OOP, and some Database stuff), and then the option of taking one other which can count towards a specific requirement (Data structures and more in-depth OOP). Depending on where you go, a minor in CS might suit you better.</p>
<p>In the IE programming course we use VB and VBA so you learn how to simple applications that would help someone do their job more quickly. For what it is, it’s a pretty useful course for IEs I think.</p>
<p>You most certainly want to know programming for industrial engineering. The ability to make specialized computational tools is very important for IEs doing operations research.</p>