Manufacturing Engineering FAQ

Q:  What is Manufacturing Engineering?
 A:  Manufacturing Engineers are responsible for helping design products as well as deciding how to build the product after the design specifications are determined. To practice this profession it is necessary to have a special knowledge of manufacturing processes and a working knowledge of many other disciplines.

More information regarding the Manufacturing Engineering program.

Q:  Who hires Manufacturing Engineers?
 A:  Every industry that manufactures a product or supplies parts needs manufacturing engineers. Although many different types of engineers are employed by companies like there, manufacturing engineers stand out due to the specificity of the Manufacturing Engineering curriculum. A wide variety of companies have hired students from the IME department in the past two years.

What are recent graduates doing now?

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 a Manufacturing Engineering co-op.

Current IME students talk about their co-op experiences.

Q:  How does a Manufacturing Engineering graduate compare with other engineering graduates?
 A:  Job prospects and salary for manufacturing engineering graduates are highly competitive with better-known disciplines like electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, and architecture. This can be attributed to the outstanding program offered at NDSU and the scarcity of the degree. NDSU is only one of nineteen universities in the United States to offer an accredited Manufacturing Engineering degree.

Detailed breakdown of employment records showing how manufacturing engineering graduates compare to other engineering disciplines. Since the program did not begin until 1997, the graduating classes are small. However, now that the program is fully developed, the number of students entering the program is increasing rapidly.

Q:  What kind of high school classes should I take to prepare for a major in Manufacturing Engineering?
 A:  To enroll in the manufacturing engineering curriculum in the freshman year, a student should have two years of high school algebra and one year in each trigonometry and physics. Students who have deficiencies may be able to complete these preparatory courses after matriculation at NDSU.