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Industrial Engineers

Typical education: Bachelor's degreeHigh pressure Bright Outlook

What they do

Design, develop, test, and evaluate integrated systems for managing industrial production processes, including human work factors, quality control, inventory control, logistics and material flow, cost analysis, and production coordination.

Kinds of work

  • Conventional: Organizing information, following clear procedures and working with data and details.
  • Realistic: Hands-on work with tools, machines, plants or animals, often outdoors.
  • Investigative: Science, research, figuring out how things work and solving complex problems.

High pressure: How much pressure workers in this job report: deadlines, conflict, dealing with upset people, the cost of mistakes, responsibility for others' safety, competition and long hours. It varies a lot from one employer to the next. Source: U.S. Department of Labor worker surveys.

Pay, tasks and more

Salary

United States $102,440 Median per year · $49.25/hr Most earn $74,370–$159,860

BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, 2025.

What you might do

  • Confer with clients, vendors, staff, and management personnel regarding purchases, product and production specifications, manufacturing capabilities, or project status.
  • Develop manufacturing methods, labor utilization standards, and cost analysis systems to promote efficient staff and facility utilization.
  • Complete production reports, purchase orders, and material, tool, and equipment lists.
  • Schedule deliveries based on production forecasts, material substitutions, storage and handling facilities, and maintenance requirements.
  • Record or oversee recording of information to ensure currency of engineering drawings and documentation of production problems.
  • Communicate with management and user personnel to develop production and design standards.

Job outlook

Bright Outlook Rapid Growth

United States
12% more jobs by 2035, much faster than average · about 23,100 openings a year

Openings include new jobs and jobs left by workers who retire or change careers. Projections: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. "Bright Outlook": U.S. Department of Labor.

Where they work

  • Aerospace product and parts manufacturing7.1%
  • Engineering services5.8%
  • Semiconductor and other electronic component manufacturing5.5%
  • Machinery manufacturing5.0%
  • Fabricated metal product manufacturing4.6%

Share of all workers in this career. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Employment Matrix.

Experience before this job: 2 to 4 years

Career path

How people usually get into this career, from school to their first job and beyond.

Typical education: Bachelor's degreeExperience before this job: 2 to 4 years

Industrial Engineer is usually not an entry-level job right out of school. Most people earn a bachelor's degree, then spend about 2 to 4 years in related engineering or production work before moving into this role, so the whole journey often takes 6 to 8 years.

  1. Bachelor's degree in industrial engineering (or a related engineering or math major)

    4 years

    You learn statistics, operations, cost analysis, and how factories and supply chains work, which are the core skills this career uses.

  2. Manufacturing Engineer

    1-2 years

    You start working on real production lines, improving processes and equipment, and learning how plants actually run, which builds the experience employers look for.

  3. Industrial Engineer

    2-4 years of related experience before this role

    You design and improve whole systems for quality, inventory, logistics, and workflow, and you coordinate with production teams to put your changes into practice.

Where it can lead

  1. Industrial Production Manager

    2-4 years as an Industrial Engineer or similar role of experience first

    You move from designing improvements to leading the production teams that run them, which adds people management, budgeting, and planning responsibilities.

  2. Senior Industrial Engineer

    several years as an Industrial Engineer of experience first

    You take on larger, more complex projects, often leading other engineers and advising leaders on big decisions about systems and facilities.

What you can do now

Ideas for high school and college students.

In high school

  • Take math and science classesAlgebra, geometry, and higher math, plus physics and chemistry, build the foundation for engineering courses in college.
  • Join a robotics, engineering, or math clubTeam projects teach you how to design, test, and improve something step by step, which is the core of industrial engineering.
  • Get a part-time job at a store, warehouse, or restaurantWatching how work flows, where bottlenecks happen, and how inventory is handled gives you real-world examples to think about.
  • Learn spreadsheetsPracticing with Excel or Google Sheets to track data and make simple charts prepares you for the analysis work engineers do.

In college

  • Major in industrial engineering or a related fieldAn accredited engineering degree gives you the core courses in statistics, operations, and systems design that this career requires.
  • Pursue a summer internship or co-op in manufacturing or logisticsHands-on work at a plant or distribution center builds experience and often leads to job offers after graduation.
  • Join an industrial engineering or engineering student societyStudent groups offer networking, guest speakers, and team projects that help you learn the field and meet people in it.
  • Earn an entry-level process improvement certificationA beginner Lean or Six Sigma certificate, often offered through community or online training, shows employers you understand quality and waste reduction.
  • Take a campus job that involves scheduling or process workJobs like working in a campus dining hall, library, or lab let you practice spotting and fixing workflow problems.

Tips for getting started

  • Get hands-on experience early. Internships and co-op jobs in factories, warehouses, or hospitals show you how real systems work and make your first job search much easier.
  • Build comfort with spreadsheets and data. Learning Excel and basic data analysis now will help you in nearly every industrial engineering class and job.
  • Talk to people who already do this work. Ask an engineer or production supervisor what their day looks like, which helps you decide whether this path fits you.

Related jobs that often lead here

Related jobs a step up

Education, experience and related careers: U.S. Department of Labor. The step-by-step path, where it can lead and what you can do now were written by AI as typical examples; many people take other ways.

College majors that lead here

  • Industrial Engineering Bachelor's degree: typical pay 1 year after finishing $77,946 a year · typical debt $20,824
  • Engineering-Related Fields Bachelor's degree: typical pay 1 year after finishing $75,934 a year · typical debt $23,250
  • Systems Engineering Bachelor's degree: typical pay 1 year after finishing $78,987 a year · typical debt $19,500
  • Manufacturing Engineering Bachelor's degree: typical pay 1 year after finishing $76,612 a year · typical debt $19,823

Majors: U.S. Department of Education and BLS (CIP–SOC crosswalk). Earnings and debt: College Scorecard, typical across U.S. colleges.

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