<p>Hello, what do you guys think of the job market for Industrial Engineers compared to other engineers? I have a Physics background, never knew what industrial engineering was all through undergrad, found out about it after I graduated and now considering going into an MS IE. I would like to work in theme parks, airports, and hospitals but it seems like most IEs work in manufacturing and factories. Is that true?</p>
<p>The job market is really broad from where I am standing. I’m getting a second bachelors in IE right now. This past Thursday I went to the engineering career fair and received internship interview requests for: Process Engineering, Manufacturing, Healthcare consulting, Operations management, Energy Efficiency, & Supply-Chain. All of these were specifically wanting IE’s.</p>
<p>You might want to consult the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook (Google BLS OOH). Check the entry for Engineers in the A-Z index.</p>
<p>There are two problems with asking this question. First, “Industrial Engineering” varies considerably from one school to another. At some schools, IE is pure manufacturing, at others it’s pure supply chain, at others it’s pure OR, at others it’s pure industrial hygiene/safety and ergonomics, etc. </p>
<p>Second, the market for IE’s varies massively depending on the school you attend. At the top schools, the market is very strong. If you’re above average right now, you have multiple job offers from all over the country starting in the 60’s (and sometimes the 70’s). If you’re at a lower ranked school, you’re lucky to find one job paying in the 40’s.</p>
<p>The problem (in both cases) is that there isn’t general industrial alignment regarding what an IE is and what an IE does. Most of the time, it’s very clear when you need an EE or an ME. It isn’t always so clear when you need an IE and many managers don’t recognize the need for IE’s. As a result, the well run companies know when they need IE’s and are willing to pay well for that skill set, so they recruit from the top programs. The not-so-well-run companies often don’t recognize the need for IE’s, meaning that that that they recruit non-IE’s to do IE work, leaving universities scrambling to develop a marketable skill set for their IE students (hence, ergonomics and industrial hygiene/safety in IE programs).</p>
<p>Random thought: could CFB53B = Banjohitter? You two sound a lot alike when you post, your join date is pretty recent, and I haven’t seen Banjohitter post in a while. You also write a lot about the same topics on the same forums.</p>
<p>Either way, he speaks the truth.</p>
<p>I already see some statements that are incorrect in CFB53B so I’m going to ignore that.</p>
<p>ChuckTown, why would you go for a second bachelors instead of a masters? Was it that your bachelors was in a non quantitative area?</p>
<p>Yeah, my first degree was in psychology…I could have done a MSIE in Human factors but I had no clue if I would have actually liked that. So, I started in the BSIE program to get a feel for the different paths within IE.</p>
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<p>Specifically what?</p>
<p>Nothing in the post is incorrect- you just don’t understand the field enough to know it’s correct.</p>
<p>To say this school has only this IE pure track and that school only has that shows you didn’t research the schools’ curriculum. Most grad schools allow you to pick a track whether it’s Quality, Lean, Healthcare, etc.</p>
<p>All others things about not so well run companies and your prestigous school biases are just way out of reality.</p>