Industrial Engineering & Management FAQ

Q:  What is Industrial Engineering & Management?
 A:  Industrial Engineering is about bringing together people, facilities, money, and other resources to help businesses work better and more efficiently. They make significant contributions to their employers by saving money while, at the same time, striving for a more pleasant workplace for fellow workers.

More information regarding the IE&M program.

Q:  Who hires Industrial Engineers?
 A:  The term “industrial” leads some to believe IEs only work in manufacturing settings. However, nothing could be further from the truth. IEs work in industries ranging from healthcare, information systems, and service industries. A variety of companies spanning many different industries have IMEs in the past two years.

What are recent graduates doing now?

Q:  Why don’t you hear more about IEs?
 A:  After being hired, industrial engineers are often given other job descriptions, such as process engineer, manufacturing engineer, quality engineer, consultant, project manager, sales engineer, or CEO.

Q:  Do students have opportunities to work in jobs related to their major prior to graduation?
 A:  One of the strengths of the NDSU engineering college is the emphasis placed on cooperative education. Students are encouraged to take a semester off anytime after their sophomore year to work in industry as an Industrial Engineering co-op. Read co-op experiences of current IME students.

Q:  How does an IE graduate compare with other engineering graduates?
 A:  Job prospects and salary for NDSU industrial engineering graduates are highly competitive with better-known disciplines like electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, and architecture. Detailed breakdown of employment records comparing IE with other engineering disciplines.

Q:  What kind of high school classes should I take to prepare for a major in Industrial Engineering?
 A:  To enroll in the industrial engineering curriculum in the freshman year, a student should have two years of high school algebra and one year in each trigonometry and physics. However, a special program can be arranged for students who are deficient in these areas.