<p>In many cases, the difference between IE and OR is only like the shades of color. But, there is certainly a huge difference in hiring preference. In my area--consulting in the Washington, DC, area--there is a huge demand for jobs that are called "systems engineering" and "operations research". There is almost no demand for the job title "industrial engineer". </p>
<p>In many schools, IE and OR both focus on optimization problems. There are deterministic optimization problems--linear and nonlinear programming and some dynamic programming. And, there are stochastic optimizations: Markov decision processes (the rest of dynamic programming), forecasting, risk analysis, and time series analysis. </p>
<p>An industrial engineer will also learn about inventory control, production process management, quality control, time-motion analysis, human factors engineering, and a variety of other manufacturing-focused issues. So, an area where the manufacturing sector is strong might find greater use for IEs. </p>
<p>In much of the federal sector, the problems are sufficiently complex that they can't be addressed with mathematical equations directly. DoD mostly uses modeling and simulation to evaluate large systems. OR types and systems engineers often design, build, and maintain these M&S applications. I don't see many IEs. </p>
<p>But, that's just the view from my cave opening. Your mileage may differ. What part of the country are you in? Perhaps I can offer an even less-informed opinion!</p>