Industrial Engineering Career
The production process involves several processes that require expertise to deal with the risk of wastage and under-production. An industrial engineer fits in the production process by coming with crucial methods of integrating workers, machines and the raw materials to come up with products. Generally, industrial engineering involves the integration of human character and performance at the workplace. Companies always look for ways to remain competitive and cost effective and industrial engineering has offered to provide personnel who can aid in the provision of effective services. Besides, an industrial engineer is an all-rounded individual who can fit either in the field or in the office, depending on where the company needs them to work. Therefore, an industrial engineer is flexible and saves companies from the cost of employing more personnel to carry out activities that can be carried out b a single person at different times. A career choice as an industrial engineer offers satisfaction for individuals who aim at transforming the production sector after going through a series of training with some rewards through employment, although the career is subject to several challenges.
An industrial engineer undergoes a series of training before qualifying to be licensed as an engineer. The career does not overlook the need to go through a properly-developed curriculum that prepares individuals for the work that awaits them in the field (Mishkin, Wangrowicz, Dori & Dori, 2016). The journey to becoming an industrial engineer begins in high school, where the individual is expected to achieve high grades in mathematics-related courses such as algebra, trigonometry and calculus. Also, computer science courses offer an additional advantage to students who desire to pursue industrial engineering as a career. The individual is then required to acquire a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from a recognized institution before being considered for employment. However, a bachelor’s in other engineering fields such as electrical, mechanical, civil and general engineering over a better opportunity for an individual to pursue a career as an industrial engineer. Moreover, the bachelor’s degree programs follow a properly-developed curriculum with specific courses being offered to prepare an individual for their profession.
A bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering involves a series of courses that involve the content required for the profession. Generally, students attend lectures and practical lessons as part of the training. Also, courses such as statistics, production systems planning, and manufacturing systems design are offered to equip the students with hands-on experience as they progress towards completing their education. Generally, a course in industrial engineering is offered for five years in most colleges and universities. Also, similar courses that may help an individual to become successful in the field, such as electrical engineering, are offered for varying durations depending on the offering college or university. Furthermore, a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering can be used as the foundation towards achieving a master’s degree in the same field, although an individual can get into the field to work after acquiring a bachelor’s degree. An individual requires at least a bachelor’s degree to qualify as an industrial engineer, and further qualifications offer additional advantage where competitiveness in the job market is required. Moreover, employment as an industrial comes with several rewards.
Industrial engineering provides an opportunity to enjoy similar or more rewards as other professions. After successful completion of studies and training, and industrial is licensed to join the engineers’ body from where they can carry out their engineering activities. However, entry-level careers do not require licensure, although being licensed improves the odds for one to be considered for employment. Therefore, licensing may be viewed as the first reward that an industrial engineer receives after attaining the relevant qualifications. Also, the engineering systems are developed to ensure that the engineers get rewarded according to the improvements the show at the workplace. For example, engineers are rewarded by getting promotions to higher offices as managers and executives either after advancing their education qualifications or expertise in their respective areas of work. Also, some engineers reward themselves by using the attained skills to start their engineering firms that grow to become competitive in the market. Moreover, the career promises more job openings as companies strive to take the advantage offered by industrial engineers.
The primary role of industrial engineers is to cut on the costs of production. Companies are embracing the efforts of cost-cutting, and thus the need for more industrial engineers grows every day. Therefore, the practicing engineers are continuously being rewarded with managerial positions, while new engineers are being recruited to fill the positions of the promoted engineers (Steenkamp & Muyengwa, 2017). The cycle has been moving on continuously in recent years, making industrial engineering to become one of the most coveted careers due to its rewarding systems. Generally, the provision of ready job opportunities can be seen as a reward owing to the increasing rate of unemployment in the world, with people looking for better paths to take in a bid to emerge competitive in the job markets. Moreover, engineers have emerged to be one of the well-paid employees in recent years.
A career in industrial engineering offers a reward for better pay and engineers enjoy some of the highest salaries in the job sector. Although the level of salary varies depending on the position of an engineer in the company, the average salary of an industrial engineer is high compared to other professions. For example, engineers with a bachelor’s degree and at the entry-level of employment have reported earning more than $50000 per annum, which is one of the highest salary levels for entry-level jobs. Also, industrial engineers enjoy several paid vacations and holidays as well as retirement benefits at the end of their professions. However, industrial engineers face several challenges in their profession.
Industrial engineers are subject to several challenges that impact their operation in their daily lives. The production department faces significant changes that require that industrial engineers should remain flexible to meet new challenges every day and should always be in a position to develop practical solutions that do not compromise their practice as engineers. First, the frequently changing technology poses a challenge of several skills becoming obsolete within a short period. Industrial engineers are thus faced with a frequent need to keep updating their knowledge with the changes in technology to remain at par with the requirements brought about by the changing technology. Generally, the requirement to keep adapting to the changes in technology is a burden to the industrial engineers whenever they consider the time they spend during training. Therefore, changes in technology appear as a challenge to industrial engineers. Moreover, artificial intelligence is coming as a form of competition for industrial engineers.
The challenge of obsolete skills does not end with the need to acquire new skills. The emergence of artificial intelligence has come as a setback in a field that had enjoyed growth over the years. Poor management strategies have seen companies preferring artificial intelligence on machines to industrial engineers who had been offering similar services in the past (Chavez, Dotong, Camello & Laguador, 2016). Generally, the emergence of artificial intelligence means that companies are no longer in demand of industrial engineers, and the growing job opportunities have started to fade. Besides, the training for engineers has been customized to incorporate the impact of artificial intelligence on machines, and the quality has gone down. Therefore, industrial engineers no longer hold the reputation that was initially associated with the training received in school.
In sum, a career choice as an industrial engineer offers satisfaction for individuals who aim at transforming the production sector after going through a series of training with some rewards through employment, although the career is subject to several challenges. The journey to becoming an industrial engineer begins in high school, where the individual is expected to achieve high grades in mathematics-related courses such as algebra, trigonometry and calculus. Moreover, a career in industrial engineering offers a reward for better pay and engineers enjoy some of the highest salaries in the job sector. However, industrial engineers face several challenges in their profession. The frequently changing technology poses a challenge of certain skills, becoming obsolete within a short period. Industrial engineers are thus faced with a frequent need to keep updating their knowledge with the changes in technology to remain at par with the requirements brought about by the changing technology.
References
Mishkin, H., Wangrowicz, N., Dori, D., & Dori, Y. J. (2016). Career choice of undergraduate engineering students. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 228, 222-228.
Chavez, N. H., Dotong, C. I., Camello, N. C., & Laguador, J. M. (2016). Employability of engineering graduates of one Asian university as basis for curriculum review. EPH- International Journal of Science and Engineering, 1(6), 18-29.
Steenkamp, H., & Muyengwa, G. (2017, June). Industrial engineering as a career choice at the University of Johannesburg. In Conference Review Procedure (p. 304).