r/industrialengineering

I just finished my first internship and while I met a lot of engineers (some being industrial engineers) I felt like there was a lot of shade towards Industrial Engineering. I know what other people think about my career shouldn't matter, but I want to get a well paying job so how people view the degree matters.

Can I have some reassurance that this degree can still lead to high paying jobs/ a respected career.

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I work in the Oil/Gas industry and data analytics is something I’ve been working on for last 8 months give or take. We currently utilize Aveva Pi Vision as a primary analytics platform for general equipment monitoring, trending, etc, outside of our normal control systems. We are getting some third party tools to increase the functionality but honestly it’s just so limiting in what you can do. I’ve been looking into Ignition Perspective as something that provides a lot more developer tools to build more sophisticated monitoring solutions. I was curious what the community thought about that or if there was a better direction.

soooo im going to third year in engineering , and i feel so behind from my peers , like theyve already passed about 73 hours and im on about 67? lol , but seriously i feel so embarrassed especially because i failed two courses at once , which made my progress much slower . im terrified ,i will register about 17 credit hours this new semester , and i really want to pass them all and be happy and raise my GPA a little , i want to study but im scared because these are alot of hours for a semester and these are like my majors courses so theyre harder.

regardless, please students help me to motivate myself ,

and if its okay if i was a little bit behind the students can i catch up with them?

I start IE at the end of the month and I currently have a MacBook. I want to get a new laptop specifically for school nothing too big though I like a sleek look and looking for insights.

Im kinda bored and am trying to go into reading some stuff related to IE as im going into first year IE in september. I just started on Case in Point 10th edition by marc P. Cosentino, which from what ive heard is a more consulting oriented book. I was wondering what books do yall think is a must read if you were in my position?

Edit: clarifying edition, dont know if thats needed

Hi guys,
I am a rising junior who switched from Biomedical Engineering to Industrial and Systems Engineering. I struggled a good amount in my BME classes and realized that the major wasn’t for me. I always had a strong interest in math and statistics and I have gotten As in all my math classes from Calc 2 to Diffeqs, which is why I switched to IE. But, I’m really worried about trying to find an internship for next summer since my gpa has tanked bc of bme (3.22 overall gpa as of rn). I feel like I am really behind and idk what to do. I have some experience being a part of clubs, design teams and such at my school but a lot of IE majors at my school already are way ahead of me and have had like 1-2 internships and more experience. I would very much appreciate any help or advice.

I have a computer science bachelors degree and I’m considering pivoting away from the field. Some of the core reasons are because of the growing presence of AI eliminating entry level roles, the gruesome and long interview process, and my general lack of interest and enjoyment of coding. I’m considering industrial engineering instead but before I do I want to know some of the downsides of the IE field. I have a job offer from Bloomberg for full time and it seems like a terrible opportunity to turn down but I interned with them this summer and really hated the coding aspect. I constantly felt like I didn’t know what I was doing. Would industrial engineering be a better fit given my tech background but interest in processes and optimization?

I have a solid passion for ECE and switched from that to IE. I still want to pursue projects or join clubs since I'm taking the time to take certain classes and learn on my own also in the event that it helps me maybe with roles in the future.

Would it be dumb to do EE side projects, research, or clubs related to topics I enjoy in that field? Would I need to specifically show an IE aspect to it or would it still help/not help me regardless.

I joined my first job as a post graduate industrial engineer. Whenever I describe what I do to people, they say this line, "Oh, so you don't do anything technical?". Am I just describing my job poorly, or do industrial engineers don't really do anything technical?

Also, what counts or doesn't count as technical? I know industrial engineering is valuable to organizations, as it increases productivity and reduces cost. So, does being allegedly " non-technical" reduce industrial engineering's value?

Location: India.

Type of job: Industrial engineering role on a manufacturing shopfloor.

I’m in my last semester of Computer Science, but I’m interested in becoming a controls engineer. what would you suggest I do to acquire the skills necessary to land a job as a controls engineer. Was thinking about taking some PLC classes at my local community college or maybe somewhere online? would this be a good idea? what other things do you suggest?

Hi everyone! I recently graduated from IE a few months ago and I’m trying to figure out what I should specialize in.

I’ve been working in HSE for over 3 years now but the experience has been so discouraging with my fellow colleagues that I want to grow apart from it and do something else. I’ve been thinking about SCM and Logistics but the job market in my country is pretty tough for anything I choose. I’ve also thought about Quality Management and getting some Lean Six Sigma certifications as well as an MBA but I don’t know how to get into it.

What specializations would you recommend? How can I figure out what to do? Your help is greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

While doing risk assessment for operations a risk that was present was a strike. Until now we don’t know a good way to deal with it. So my question is how do you deal with a massively reduced workforce as well as potential sabotage

After nearly 3 years of IE classes, although I’ve enjoyed the technical side, I still haven’t found most of my classes engaging or fulfilling. I’ve questioned during my time here if I would find the work meaningful. I’ve found all my liberal arts classes a lot more enjoyable, just never switched because of job issues.

I took an unrelated health sciences internship this summer on a whim and I enjoy that a lot more and find it meaningful and fulfilling because it’s for a good cause and I still use math that I am considering switching. The salary wouldn’t be as high and my one concern beforehand is that maybe because I haven’t done an internship in IE, work will be different from classes.

How were IE classes vs actual IE work? Did you find the work fulfilling?

I am also worried about the personality fit of me being in IE. I am not very good at talking to people and heard that a lot of work is convincing operators to change their ways.

Any advice?

My first choice was civil engineering because I liked architecture and buildings but I heard the pay was bad so I went for CE. I’ve been having doubts with CE though because I’ve heard there are many Civil Engineers grad especially in my country(PH). I’m having a hard time understanding physics which made me doubt I can do CE but when I found out that IE is more on statistics, I was pretty good with that. I may seem like I’m only choosing either the two eng’g field because of the pay but I really do want to know which one pays more and can be quite consistent because I also want to travel in the future and provide for my family. I’ve been researching more about other engineering field as well! I also still have 2 years before college.

I was wondering what their lifestyle is like and their salary over the years of experience. And if you can add more important details :))

Hey everyone,

I've been reflecting a lot on the different career paths within IE, specifically the transition from plant-floor manufacturing quality/operations to higher-level corporate roles like supply chain analysis, process engineering, or project management.

For those of you who started on the floor—dealing with daily fires, line stoppages, and immediate shift metrics—and eventually moved into remote, hybrid, or corporate office environments:

• What was the biggest adjustment for you when shifting from reactive, real-time problem-solving to long-term strategic projects?
• Do you feel your time on the floor made you a significantly better systems thinker than peers who started directly in corporate?
• For anyone currently feeling burned out by plant life, what specific skills or certifications helped you make that pivot smoothly?

Would love to hear your experiences and advice for early-to-mid career IEs navigating these options!

I for sure know that internships are incredible, because you get work experience which is vital. The problem is that I can only do internships during the summer cuz that's when I have a lot of time.

But, what is the best thing to do during autumn or winter, when you don't really have time for internships but there's still a bit of time in your day.

My best idea so far would be to take part in a formula student team, I think it'll be very good for my CV since you can see irl everything being built rather than just theories.

What do you guys think, do you have any other ideas?