Industrial Engineering

One of Dr. Ola Harrysson’s students works in the CAMAL (Center for Additive Manufacturing & Logistics) Lab

So what is industrial engineering anyway? It’s simple. Industrial engineering is about figuring out how to do things better. It combines the physical and social sciences together with engineering principles to improve processes and systems. As a result, industrial engineering is the “people person’s” engineering.

Industrial engineers improve quality and productivity while at the same time cutting waste like time, materials, money, and energy.

This is why many industrial engineers often get promoted into management positions. For the same reason, industrial engineering is an excellent choice for anyone wanting to run his or her own business.

The world needs more Industrial Engineers

As companies battle in the competitive world market, the need for industrial engineers grows. Why? They are the only engineers trained to be productivity and quality improvement specialists. They share the common goal of saving companies money and increasing performance.

Industrial Engineering offers workplace freedom

Industrial engineers have offices as well as work in the settings they are trying to improve. When collecting data, they may observe the staff working in a restaurant or watch workers assembling parts in a factory. When solving problems, they are in an office analyzing the data that they or others have collected.

Industrial Engineering is all about options

Industrial engineers work in almost any industry, anywhere in the world. They can work in and out of the office while they interact with people and processes they want to improve. This flexibility gives them a career advantage over other types of engineering. Industrial engineers have the luxury not to specialize. They can keep their options open. This makes them susceptible to the cyclical nature of any individual industry.

Discover why industrial engineering could be the perfect major for you.

Additional information:

A Closer Look at Engineering

In’s and Out’s of Engineering CODA

Video-Introduction to Industrial Engineering

Video-The Creativity of Engineering at NC State

14 Grand Challenges for EngineeringĀ 

College
Discipline
  • Engineering
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Related Majors
  • None
Skills You Could Develop
  • Problem Solving
  • Technical Communication
  • Analytics
  • Simulation & Modeling
  • Lean Six Sigma/Quality Systems
  • Project Management
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