r/industrialengineering

Hi,
I’m considering industrial engineering, but I keep hearing mixed things. Some engineers say IE has fewer jobs and that most of IE-type roles get taken by mechanical engineers or even business majors. I was highly advised against it because of lack of opportunity after graduation. Is that actually true in practice, or is IE still a strong major if I want to go into operations, business, and management, system, consulting later? I was more advised to pursue mechanical engineering for the same roles or Civil engineering as a different path that could also be a good fit based on my interest. I liked IE because I found it as a balance between soft skills and hard skills, moreover I’m more interested towards the management and business roles like supply chain management or operations. So I was wondering if it would be better to purse a bachelor in finance and later a master aswell.

Thank you guys

Thank you,
Reza

Is IE good if I am thinking of going for an MBA after IE? And I know it's not the best move in this economy, but I really like the idea of working in management, and don't really see a better path to it, and I mean, good MBA comes with pretty good networking and is generally worth it is what I have been told...

Is this a shit plan of action? Am I a bit delusional?

Hello Everyone!

I am a Production Scheduler, by trade, and I have to try to figure out how to build a measurable schedule for a work center that is managed entirely by manual, daily prioritization.

This awful shared resource is Inspection. We have a large high mix, low volume machine shop, with complex routings that bounce all over the floor, but which always route through inspection, after each machining operation.

We schedule machines by lot, but for some reason, we schedule Inspection piece by piece, as it shows up to the department (and there is ALOT of material churn and demand, in this department). Whereas we are running machines efficiently in lots, we will dink and dunk through inspections, one or two or three units at a time. Available work changes every day, priority changes every day.

How do I create a measurable schedule for this type of work center? Or is a traditional schedule not the right approach, for a work center that functions like this?

Thanks in advance!

https://preview.redd.it/jk14pke36b1h1.png?width=1684&format=png&auto=webp&s=08a92e3d8cd4e2ae57df5876532464dcf15cb1eb

We'll be here next Thursday 21st May, 3–5pm BST to answer your questions, with a focus on industrial and embedded use of Raspberry Pi.

Between the three of us we cover the full stack, so bring whatever you've got; board-level hardware questions, software and OS questions, the Compute Modules, RP2040/RP2350, real-time performance, interfacing with industrial protocols, or broader questions.

Post your questions now and we'll work through as many as we can on the day.

See you on the 21st.

— Eben, James & Gordon

I'm an Industrial Engineer and i want to pursue a masters degree but I'm not sure if i should get a Technical(Manufacturing,Production,Design) focused Msc or aBusiness(Management, QC,Supply Chain) focused Msc. What do you guys suggest given your experience and job market? Is it worth it pursuing a technical role or are these too saturated nowadays

I’m anticipating to graduate with my CS degree next spring and decided I want to make a full pivot into IE.

I’m planning to go for a MSIE, but how else can I get my foot in the door?

What IE roles should I apply to? Which would be more likely to hire a CS grad? What else can I do to make myself look like i’m passionate and fully committed to pursuing IE?

Hi, I'm a forklift 'service engineer', which basically means that people drive the soul out of their forklifts (and any other logistical machinery) and I gotta keep em running somehow.

Now theres not really anything about the hudraulics, electrical systems or mechanical parts that baffle me anymore.

But man I feel like everyone has an opinion on what kind of grease/oil/lube is best for a given application but nobody EVER can explain it.

They all lubricate but theyre all different. The label usually doesnt make you any wiser other than maybe specifying this is also food industry grade or plastic safe or high temp resistant etc,...

There are ones based on lithium, based on teflon,... I have 0 clue what the hell that means for me.

Im not sure what im asking, I think its more of a rant tbh but if anyone can tell me how I can start understanding this black magic, its highly appreciated.

Almost everyday i see a post here about someone wanting to switch to IE.

I'm pursuing a bachelors in civil engineering and have had a tough time trying to get even an interview for an internship.
Im from Chi IL and l've contacted human resources of several firms and they told me that a lot of the application process is based on if you live in economically disadvantage areas which I don't live in (but I am an economically disadvantaged person lol) so is it really risky or can I get sued if I use a friend's address who lives in a more poor area?
Also, a lot of the applications ask for experience with AutoCAD and Microsoft Excel, I have experience with neither and my friends in engineering told me they just lie and say that you do and you'll learn it once you get the internship, but I don't feel comfortable lying, especially if I get an interview. I'm going to take a class in the fall for AutoCAD however I want to start learning as soon as possible in case I get an interview this summer, but I'm unsure if it's necessary and how much time I would need to commit and what specific parts of AutoCAD I would need to study that would benefit me and increase my chances of getting the internship.
Also, a lot of them ask for you to understand the principles of engineering which I don't understand because this is only my second semester in college but I really really really want to get an internship as soon as possible like how can I learn as much as I can about engineering during the summer? Is there a textbook or what can I do?
If you have experience or have been in my shoes, can you please tell me how you landed your first internship and what I should be focusing on to maximise my chances. Thanks so much!

Need your expertise here.

I’m originally not from the supply chain world, but I recently started working for a software company that develops supply chain planning software. During discussions with potential clients and management teams, I noticed that many people seem to use demand planning and production planning almost synonymously.

My company currently offers both modules, but I’ve observed something interesting: companies that start with demand planning as the entry point tend to be much happier with the results than companies starting with production planning, even though our production planning solution is actually more advanced compared to competitors than our demand planning module.

I’m having a hard time understanding why that is.

Is it simply the nature of the business, meaning there’s more money to be made or saved through demand planning than production planning? Or am I misunderstanding the relationship between the two?

Curious to hear perspectives from people actually working in supply chain/planning.

What types of jobs can I get with a double major in IE and DS? What do these jobs really do on a daily basis? I always see vague descriptions of jobs that don’t tell what the person actually does within the job, so specifics would be appreciated.

Hi everyone, I'm 18F and I'm so so so confused. I genuinely love finance and management but idk why I took mpc and I recently found out about IE and I think this is the only engineering I like 😭😭😭

Cse is nice and all but the job market is so saturated and I don't really have any interest in engineering except for IE. Like after 2 years of barely getting by in mpc I loathe science as a subject now.. and not to mention I'm dog shit at math.

It i do pursue IE, I plan to do masters in management MIM directly after graduating.

But my dad is against IE and says computer science is better. Ik it is in india but I just know I will struggle so hard as I don't care about engineering so much as my other peers do :((

I qualified for IE at mit manipal but I don't want to make the wrong choice... what do u all think?

I've never been so confused in my life..

Anyone at the annual conference in Arlington this weekend?

Any good sessions or topics you're looking forward to?

I'm an incoming freshman in college and want to mostly spend my time working in an office in the future, avoiding the "typical" IE job of working in manufacturing or factories. Is it difficult to find entry level jobs like that? What master's can I take that would be aligned with my goals? Specifically, I'm interested in maybe data analytics or finance. For those who already work in mostly an office setting, what are your experiences and your day to day like? I'd be really grateful for any insights!

Hi yall! I recently attended nursing school, but after being diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, I realized that a long-term career in nursing may not be sustainable due to the physically intense nature of the job. Before healthcare, I had considered engineering, so I think it’s time to explore that path. I’ve started experimenting with Tinkercad and I sorta loved it! It's definitely baby cad but I can see potential here! I’m btwn industrial, civil, and mechanical engineering. I don't think I would like circuits so I crossed off electrical. I'm not super interested in biomedical engineering but I don't rly know what it might entail.

I want to pursue a field with strong job security that isn't horrible on the joints! Rn the arthritis is prty mild the problem is the fine motor movements like twisting or gripping. I can't open water bottles lol. So if you guys have any advice on what kind of engineering I should go after, or even not go after, I would greatly appreciate it!

My plan is to go to UH, and I wanna brush up on Calc 1 and Calc 2 this summer (2026). I've already finished Uni Phys 1 and Uni Phys 2. lmk if I need to retake those classes! I figured I wld research any concepts that pop up in class. I rly don’t think I cld get far in engineering w/o being solid in Calc, so that’s why I’m tackling both of them over the summer. I think Uni Phys I don't need to retake lol. but lmk if i'm wrong- I figured it won't hurt to ask :)

ty for reading even if you don't respond! have a good day :3

Actually for my score I'm getting industrial automation at nitT and control and automation at nitW....

My will and skill set belong to physical chip design etc! So I just wanted an option to get inside the companies of ece.. like texas instruments, qualquam etc!

Someone pls guide!

Although I also loved the curriculum of Industrial automation (an instrumentation and control engineering branch at nit Trichy)

So I'm a rising senior industrial engineering major and going to graduate in spring 2027. I'm really interested in the healthcare/medical aspect of IE and want my career to be in that industry. I was wondering if its worth getting a masters in Health Systems (given by the IE school of my uni) or just try focusing on getting my entry level job in a healthcare company?

Right now, I'm gonna do a summer internship at an energy company as an operations intern so I think I'll gain valuable skills that I can take to an operations role at like a hospital or something but also I feel like a health systems masters would give me more of an advantage.

I've heard from both sides that I should either juts focus on applying to healthcare companies or just get a masters so what do yall think?

Hello,

I am an incoming freshman majoring in Industrial Engineering. I know this is a big ask, but I wanted to post on this subreddit to get a sense of which classes I should be looking into taking in the fall. I will be coming in to the institution with a handful of credits:

CHEM 1310

ECON 2105

HTS 1XXX

MATH 1551

MATH 1552

SS 1XXX

MATH 1554

MATH 2551

Both ENGL 1101 and 1102

SPAN 1002 (humanities credit)

And 4 other classes which I don't know if these credits overlap:

BUSA 1105

CIS 2010

PSYC 1101

HIST 2110

If there are any former (or current) IE students that would be able to help me gain any insight on which classes I should be looking into taking, please let me know.

Thanks!

I’m currently starting school in the fall for industrial and systems engineering. What are some skill or tools that I could help me stay ahead while in school?