Industrial engineers are concerned primarily with the application of resources to most effectively create a product. They are responsible for creating the most effective application of essential factors of production such as people, materials, equipment, and energy in order to create a product or provide a service.

In order to most effectively manage resources, industrial engineers study manufacturing processes and management principles to create plans for the application of resources. They design product planning and control systems in order to most efficiently allocate resources and develop products. Additionally, they will create management systems and plans to allocate human resources in the most efficient manner for the completion of essential functions in the creation of a product. 

Industrial engineers work closely with project and contract managers in the completion of their work. However, unlike managers, industrial engineers are not responsible for the physical management of people or resources. They simply analyze working systems in order to create effective management plans that are then implemented by managers. Most of the time this requires a high level of product planning and an advanced understanding of the resources necessary for the construction and development of a product in order to understand how to create a plan to effectively manage and allocate those resources. 

Industrial engineers typically work in office buildings on projects as they come across their desks. Once they have created the resource plan for a project, their work is done and they move on to the next project. It is up to managers to implement the plans of a industrial engineer.

Career Specializations 

• Assembly: These industrial engineers work with the assembly process of a project or company's operations in order to find ways to streamline the effort.
• Raw-product processing: Before any product can be made or turned into a service it starts as a raw product. Raw-product processing industrial engineers work to create plans for the allocation of these raw products.
• Administrative: Administrative industrial engineers are primarily concerned with the completion of more administrative duties such as completing paperwork, streamlining administrative efforts, and creating plans for the office-level side of manufacturing.

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Degree Levels

• Bachelor's Degree: 4 years to complete
• Master's Degree: 2 years to complete

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Education & Certification Requirements 

Just as for basically any type of engineering job, a bachelor's degree is required as a minimum to be able to work as an industrial engineer. In many cases this bachelor's degree is enough to gain employment, but for more research positions and for many higher-level positions, a master's degree is required. Additionally, many industrial engineers will move into management in their career, and in order to do so, a business administration degree is typically required.

Industrial engineering degrees teach students specifics about the industrial engineering specialization. Degrees also, however, generally cover many more generic topics in engineering and physical sciences including physics, advanced mathematics, general engineering, design, engineering technology, and others. Many of these course may combine classroom work with labs in order to provide a student with hands-on education engineering and design upon graduation.

Although engineering is a very common degree, the number of large engineering schools that provide education in specialties such as industrial engineering are much more limited. Additionally, many students will complete combined engineering programs in which they take two years of classes at a regular college or university and then finish their bachelor's degree with another two years at an engineering school. Many schools will also offer combine five-year or six-year master's programs that involve completing three years toward a bachelor's degree before moving to an engineering school to complete another two to three years of school to complete both the bachelor's and master's degrees. These are popular among students who go to liberal arts colleges that do not offer any engineering classes.

Engineers are required to become licensed if they offer services directly to the public. Since most industrial engineers work in manufacturing or other project-based companies, certification is often not required for industrial engineers. That being said, those who do work with the public may gain certification as a professional engineer (PE). Licenses are conferred by individual states to students who attend an accredited program. Upon graduation, the engineer will take a Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam, making them Engineers in Training (EITs). Then, after several years of work experience (usually no less than four years) EITs can take a second exam called the Principles and Practice of Engineering exam to become fully certified. Although license requirements vary by state and are conferred by the state board, in most cases licensing exams are administered by the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES).

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Salary Information

The average salary for industrial engineers is about average for all types of engineering. As of May 2008, the average annual salary was approximately $73K. This average salary is dependent on many factors, including education level. The average salary for those with only a bachelor's degree, for instance, is less than $60K a year on average, while those with a master's degree can sometimes bring in well over $100K a year. (BLS)

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Job Outlook

Jobs for industrial engineers are expected to grow by 14 percent by 2018. This is not only higher than the average across all jobs in the economy but also higher than the expected job growth for all engineering degrees. Additionally, there are currently over 200,000 people employed in the United States as industrial engineers, making it one of the largest areas of engineering and also making job prospects very favorable as job turnover remains high to fill so many positions. (BLS)

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Related Careers

• Contract Management: Contract managers set up contracts for negotiating goods and services between two parties. Contractor managers are interested in creating deals that maximize the efficiency of goods and services between two companies. They are required to set up the contract and then present it to the parties involved for negotiation and approval.
• Supply Chain Management: Supply chain managers are responsible for connecting the links in the supply and movement of goods and services between companies. Supply chain managers are often tasked with buying and selling goods for a company to maximize the production capabilities and efficiencies of a company. They are primarily interested in streamlining the movement of essential products through the economy from one company to the next, and ultimately to the consumer. 

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