This is a comprehensive report about the industrial engineering salary and job outlook.

Industrial engineers are in demand these days as companies strive to improve productivity and workplace quality. Industrial engineers are the ones who come up with ways to make the processes more effective and efficient in an organization.

The global market is getting more and more competitive these days and the need to improve costs in research, performance and facilities are now a main goal for most companies desiring to earn more while spending less.

Responsibilities of an Industrial Engineer

An industrial engineer is the one who studies and designs a system that will integrate people, facilities and machinery that will make them effective and efficient in creating services and products that will be beneficial to the public. He is the link between operational execution and management objectives.

Industrial engineers come up with the design of the elaborate work structure and enterprise by studying the capacity and drawbacks of human operators. They look for ways to maximize work performance and improve security and comfort in the workplace.

Here are some career paths you can pursue with industrial engineering:

Ergonomics in the Work Place

Industrial engineers typically work on cognitive and occupational ergonomics. Occupational ergonomics focuses on the extent and strength capacity of the human body in regards to enforcement of manual labor, like for example — item handling. The primary job here is to reduce work related injuries and promote a safe working environment as in the case of designing an ergonomic system for lifting heavy packages at FedEx.

When it comes to cognitive ergonomics, engineers check how to measure human behavior with intricate systems to come up with user interfaces and tools to help with decision making. One example of this is measuring precision and accuracy of assembly line workers building a motherboard for a computer.

Industrialization, Quality Control and Manufacturing

Industrial engineering in manufacturing plays an important role to make sure people and equipment are organized to make manufacturing more economical and efficient. Some examples of work in this area are in designing, planning, controlling and establishing capital. Work in quality control may involve overseeing the production of goods and making sure that they meet the necessary specifications and coming up with standard methods for inspection. An example of this doing quality checks on car assembly lines and coming up with designs to automate production and inspection processes.

Duplication Study and Optimization

This line of job engages the generation, study and development of complex organization which involves flows and communication of financial and physical properties, data and people. The work here usually involves simulating how an operation will work smoothly in queues around a hospital, factories, call centers, etc. Jobs in this career are in the fields of health systems, telecommunications, military and risk management systems.

Industrial Engineering Job Outlook

Industrial engineers are one of the most in-demand types of engineers in the US. There are 70,000 available jobs in the US last October. Jobs for industrial engineers on average remain posted for 7 weeks in the USA according to BLS data.

Based on the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, industries like aerospace merchandise and parts manufacturing, engineering services, architectural firms, and motor vehicle parts manufacturers hire the most numbers of industrial engineers.

Industrial Engineering Salary

Industrial engineers earn an average yearly salary of more than $77,300, with the top 10% earning more than $ 116,700 back in 2011. This is according to a report from BLS.

Annual salaries are highest (more than $106,900) among industrial engineers that are employed in the petroleum products business.

Educational Requirement for Industrial Engineers

A bachelor’s degree is generally required for one to land a job as an industrial engineer. If you want to get a position in research or post-secondary training, you may need to get a master’s degree to qualify.

Those who are interested in pursuing this career should have a strong foundation in advanced mathematics and science. Coursework in college usually includes statistics, assembly systems planning and manufacturing structure designing.

Final Words

Choosing industrial engineering as a college course can lead to a very promising career. With the information that you have read about industrial engineering salary and career outlook, are you willing to take the leap and become a top industrial engineer?