Industrial Engineering?

College Majors Engineering Majors
1

<p>My son is a freshman engineering major & trying to decide which area to specialize in. He told me the other day that he is considering IE. I have done a little research and feel this may be a good option for him because it seems closely related to Business (another major he had seriouly considered). Also, he has talking about getting an MBA sometime in the future.</p>

<p>Give me some feedback please. But if you have any negative comments about IE, please give me your reasoning. I know the way things work on these boards. Thanks for your help!</p>

2

<p>I think you may have a misperception. Industrial engineering has traditionally been tied to the manufacturing sector. Most of the courses taught in IE lead to a career there: quality control, process design, inventory management, human factors, industrial psychology, etc. I would be very surprised if modern service-oriented businesses (insurance, banking, investment, government, software, etc.) used much of this. </p>

<p>As the years wore on, engineers were called upon to apply rigorous design techniques to the overal 'enterprise', say a mid-size company or larger. The work integrated information systems with specific processes of the enterprise. In short, we would break down the overall system and treat it as a 'system of systems'. "Business" places a high value on those who can do this well. </p>

<p>As engineering schools prepared graduates for this new 'enterprise design paradigm', they have tended to change the name to 'systems engineering'. Some courses were added while others were dropped. The curriculum began to shift much more toward software design and integration. Software does drive the modern corporation.</p>

<p>Now, there is still some demand for traditional IE's. The US still has a manufacturing sector. But, the market is clearly shrinking and much of what they learn is becoming obsolete. I would choose carefully among colleges because the IE curricula vary significantly among the schools.</p>

3

<p>Actually many graduates from Berkeley's Industrial Engineering and Operations research program go on to jobs in management consulting and investment banking.</p>

4

<p>Many engineering students of any kind go on to management consulting and investment banking. This is usually the case with MIT graduates.</p>

5

<p>well georgia tech have great IE(imaginary engineer cough cough) program and it is all about management, statistics, and optimization.</p>

6

<p>The field of "Operations Research" has typically been housed in the Industrial Engineering departments at most schools. OR, as I understand it, is the modeling of complex systems from a cost/benefit point of view to help make decisions; it could be applied to manufacturing processes, but it has use in many other areas. For example, when Fedex started up, how would they decide where to locate their hub to maximize profit vs costs - the place where all packages would be routed, sorted, and sent onto to their destination airport every night? Thats the type of OR decision-analysis model that would be developed. I believe OR had its origins in military decisions (where there are a vast array of factors) and was also used during the planning and operations of the Bell System. I would be curious as to its employment prospects these days. I would assume an operation like WalMart uses this... or the airline industry deciding what routes to operate, how many, what planes to buy, etc.</p>

<p>Operating any business with a large number of cost factors would seem a match.</p>

<p>I've wondered if I could win in Fantasy Football w/ such models. ;)</p>

7

<p>Industrial engineers determine the most effective ways to use the basic factors of production—people, machines, materials, information, and energy—to make a product or to provide a service. They are mostly concerned with increasing productivity through the management of people, methods of business organization, and technology. To solve organizational, production, and related problems efficiently, industrial engineers carefully study the product requirements, use mathematical methods to meet those requirements, and design manufacturing and information systems. They develop management control systems to aid in financial planning and cost analysis, and design production planning and control systems to coordinate activities and ensure product quality. They also design or improve systems for the physical distribution of goods and services, as well as determine the most efficient plant locations. Industrial engineers develop wage and salary administration systems and job evaluation programs. Many industrial engineers move into management positions because the work is closely related to the work of managers.</p>

<p>THEIR DEMAND:
Industrial engineers are expected to have employment growth about as fast as the average for all occupations through 2014. As firms seek to reduce costs and increase productivity, they increasingly will turn to industrial engineers to develop more efficient processes to reduce costs, delays, and waste. Because their work is similar to that done in management occupations, many industrial engineers leave the occupation to become managers. Many openings will be created by the need to replace industrial engineers who transfer to other occupations or leave the labor force.</p>

<p>I asked an Engineering advisor in Penn State U. about Industrial Eng. (I E is ranked 4th in Penn State for undergraduate and 3rd for graduate by US news and weekly)</p>

<p>and the advisor said:
Thanks for contacting me. If you haven't visited our web site: <a href="http://www.ie.psu.edu%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.ie.psu.edu&lt;/a> I would highly recommend it. It has a lot of information regarding our major, our department and our curriculum. Once you get on campus, we can meet to discuss it more in person (a lot easier to do than to try and do it through email). I will be at the Engineering Advising Center for 3 hours a week during the semester so feel free to contact them and set up an appointment with me (once the semester starts...). </p>

<p>In the meantime, I can share with you that the demand for IE's is high and the average starting salary this year is over $52,000. Our graduates go to work in a wide variety of places such as: United Airlines, Disney World Corp, UPS, Wal-Mart, Hershey Foods, IBM, and Ingersol-Rand. </p>

<p>That's a little bit for now. I hope we can meet during the Fall semester to discuss opportunities further!</p>

<p>Sincerely,</p>

<p>Mrs. Joshi</p>

<ul>
<li>shes taking about the undergraduate major and dept.</li>
</ul>

8

<p>I appreciate everyone sharing with me your knowledge. I will pass this info along to my son.</p>

<p>Any one else?</p>

9

<p>an article about the demand in indust eng.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.graduatingengineer.com/futuredisc/industrial.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.graduatingengineer.com/futuredisc/industrial.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>it looks like its good. whats some people saying it bad?</p>

10

<p>I don't know about the Manufacturing-slanted I.E. degree, but in the DC area, companies are screaming for folks with strong Operation Research and/or Systems Engineering backgrounds.</p>

<p>And I.E. degree with an OR/SysE emphasis will do well in my geographic area.</p>

11

<p>so basically IE is in decline for manufacturing but theres demand in OR or any business management type job.</p>

<p>i see....</p>