A career in Industrial Engineering

Essentially fulfilling the aim of “making things better”, Industrial Engineering is concerned with minimizing production costs, boosting efficiency as well as quality while also ensuring the well-being of workers and the environment. It is an integral part of almost every field as they strive to better the working capacities of machines as well as people. They are involved in every stage of production as well as processing. If you have always been curious about finding inventive ways for every complex process, then you should definitely consider studying this specialized branch of Engineering. Through this blog, we aim to bring you a detailed blog on what this field entails, the major courses offered by top institutions as well as the career prospects you can choose from. 

What is Industrial Engineering?

Industrial Engineering is mainly involved with the development, implementation, and evaluation of integrated systems of people and processes in order to eliminate wastage of time, energy, material, money, and other resources. As an area of study, it covers varied academic disciplines such as,

• Thermal Engineering
• Principles of Management and Managerial Economics
• Data Structure
• Instrumentation and Metrology
• Fluid Power Engineering
• Modelling and Simulation
• Planning and Control
• Database Management Systems

Why study Industrial Engineering?

There is no one reason why an Industrial Engineering Bachelor’s or Master’s degree is the ideal career route for you. So, let’s focus on the most critical ones:

• You’ll be working in a fast-paced industry where technology is always evolving, and you’ll have to keep up with it all while learning how to innovate.
• In Industrial technology, there is no such thing as a bad idea, and you will be encouraged to come up with solutions and alternative ways throughout your Bachelor’s degree.
• Industrial technologyis a versatile subject; you can choose a more technical or a more management-oriented path, allowing you to tailor your approach to the subject.
• Look around, and all you’ll see are industrial engineers – your cup, your laptop, your scarf: everything requires a life cycle plan. That is, indeed, the Industrial Engineer.

What does an Industrial Engineer Do?

As an industrial engineer, you can explore a wide range of career prospects in both the public and private sector. Further, under this career profile, your roles and responsibilities would include:

• Review process flows, engineering specifications and other information about methods which are applied for the manufacturing of goods and services.
• Figure out how to deliver and manufactured products and services.
• making Financial and Cost Planning more efficient by developing management control.
• Responsible for Statistical process control and quality control in order to increase productivity in the manufacturing industry.
• Delivering goods from company to customer and movement of heavy parts within manufacturing units.

Why is Industrial Engineering Important?

Industrial engineering is critical for both product makers and end-users. To make things more efficient, industrial engineers enhance procedures and designs. This is beneficial to company since it saves time and money, as well as raw materials, energy, and people. Industrial technology, on the other hand, is not just concerned with profit margins; it also assures the safety and quality of a product or process, which benefits both employees and end-users. Process analysis, design, prediction, and evaluation aid in the removal of obstacles and the creation of higher-quality and more efficient processes and devices. An industrial engineer ensures that the item you’re reading this on was not just built in the most cost-effective manner (making it cheaper for you to purchase), but also that it is safe and won’t spontaneously combust while you’re using it!

Where do Industrial Engineers Work?

Industrial engineers operate in a variety of contexts, including offices and the surroundings they are entrusted with improving. This might involve observing how a production process operates or investigating hospital processes. This information may then be taken and analysed on a computer to help solve problems. Industrial engineers can operate in both managerial and technical roles due to their diverse skill set. Consulting and engineering, research and development, service industries, logistics, manufacturing, and commerce are all places where they may be found.

Also Read: Sound Engineering Courses

Educational Requirements

Students who want to be Industrial Engineers need a master’s degree or even a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering. There are various industrial engineers, however, which possess degrees in mechanical technology, manufacturing technology, general technologyand electrical technology. Those students who have an interest in this branch of Engineering must have done high school with Mathematics, Science, and Computer Science subjects.

Popular Courses in Industrial Engineering

There are numerous courses offered in Industrial Engineering (IE) across the globe that one can choose from. Below we have listed some of the major bachelor’s and master’s degree courses available in this field:

Education Level	Courses
Undergraduate Level	Bachelor of Science (Industrial and Automation Engineering) Bachelor of Science in IE Bachelor of Engineering (IE) Bachelor of Science in Industrial and Systems Engineering Bachelor of Science in IE and Management Bachelor of Science in IE and Logistics Management
Postgraduate Level	Advanced Diploma of Industrial Automation Master of Engineering (Industrial Automation) MS in IE MS in General Industrial Engineering MS in Industrial Engineering and Logistics Management

Top Universities and Colleges

There are various universities and colleges abroad which offer graduate and postgraduate programs in Industrial Engineering. The following table elucidates some of the major renowned universities around the world that provide industry-focused curricula and exposure to students wanting to establish their careers in this field:

Georgia Institute of Technology, US

University of Michigan (UM), US

Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia

University of Nottingham, England

RWTH Aachen University, Germany

KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden

University of British Columbia (UBC), Canada

Engineering Institute of Technology, Australia

Western New England University, UK

New Jersey Institute of Technology, US

University of Dundee, UK

Is It Still in Demand?

Industrial engineering is still in demand, and students continue to be interested in studying it. Industrial technologyoffers a diverse range of career options, and it is expected to increase by 10% between 2019 and 2029, which is substantially quicker than many other vocations. Many sectors are still focused on increasing efficiency and lowering costs, which means industrial engineers will continue to be in demand.

Future Scope

Traditionally, industrial engineering has concentrated on designing assembly line layouts and increasing worker efficiency. However, with the introduction of lean manufacturing processes, industrial engineers are now tasked with identifying and eliminating wastes of time, money, materials, energy, and other resources.

Today’s industrial engineers map and analyze systems and processes in preparation for optimization using computer simulations and design. In order to enhance processes and procedures in the future, such technologies will likely be used with data science and machine learning. The Internet of Things is becoming an increasingly significant aspect of industrial technology, and it appears that this trend will continue and spread in the future to connect personnel, machines, materials, information, and more to build better practices.

Career Prospects

Industrial Engineers can discover job opportunities in a plethora of sectors such as Manufacturing firms, Hospitals, Consulting Companies, Engineering Services, and IT. After the completion of any of the above-mentioned bachelor’s and master’s programs in Industrial technology, below are some of the key profiles that you can opt for:

• Production Engineers
• Packaging Engineers
• Manufacturing Engineers
• Efficiency Engineers
• Cost Estimators
• Architectural and Engineering Managers
• Management Analysts
• Logisticians
• Health and Safety Engineers
• Safety Specialists and Technicians

Thus, we hope that this blog has helped you gain clarity regarding the varied features of Industrial Engineering and the opportunities it entails. If you are planning to study this specialised field of engineering but don’t know where to begin, take the help of Leverage Edu’s AI tool to browse through an array of courses available across the globe and find a suitable combination of course and university that fits your interests and aspirations and can provide you with the suitable knowledge and exposure to build your career in this domain.