Industrial engineers work to reduce waste in production plants. They create plans to use machines, employees, information, materials and energy in the most cost efficient way. Industrial engineers review production schedules, work flows and work processes. They create quality control standards and work with clients on product specifications.
Skillset: Critical thinking skills are necessary to identify and resolve efficiency problems. Math skills are necessary to understand the number of items produced, how long it takes to produce an item, how many employees it takes to produce an item and how much it costs to produce an item. Industrial engineers must have speaking and writing skills to convey directions to employees, understand client needs and create written reports regarding efficiency.
Education: Even entry level industrial engineering positions require a bachelor's degree. Some universities offer a five year degree where students earn a master's degree and a bachelor’s degree.
Career Path: With a master's degree, industrial engineers may teach at a university. For industrial engineers who choose to stay in production, the more experience they gain, they will be assigned to more complex projects. Others may choose to become facility planners where they supervise a team of technicians and engineers.
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