Industrial engineering (IE) is all about choices - it is the
engineering discipline that offers the most wide-ranging array of
opportunities in terms of employment, and it is distinguished by its
flexibility. While other engineering disciplines tend to apply skills to
very specific areas, industrial engineers may be found working
everywhere: from traditional manufacturing companies to airlines, from
distribution companies to financial institutions, from major medical
establishments to consulting companies, from high-tech corporations to
companies in the food industry.
Click here to view a partial list of employers of our alumni.
Industrial engineering is the only engineering discipline with
close links to management - many industrial engineers (IEs) move on to
successful careers in management. Also, if you think that one day you
will start and run your own company, an industrial engineering program
will provide you with the best training for this - regardless of what
the company will actually do!
So what do IEs do? In very simple
terms, while engineers typically make things, IEs figure out how to make
or do things better. This is what gives IEs so much flexibility - as
you can imagine, everyone would like to do things better! IEs are
primarily concerned with two closely related issues: productivity and
quality. They address these two issues by looking at integrated systems
of machines, human beings, information, computers, and other resources. A
variety of skills and techniques are used to design and operate such
systems in the most productive way possible, while continuously
improving them and maintaining the highest levels of quality. IEs make
significant contributions to their employers by making money for them
while, at the same time, making the workplace better for fellow workers.