How to become an Industrial Engineer

Industrial Engineering is an exceptional branch of engineering that is associated with developing, improving and implementing integrated systems involving people, information, materials, machines, energy, devices and capital in order to investigate, analyze and optimize complex processes and systems. Basically, the aim of industrial engineering is to devise efficient systems and also improve the quality and productivity of systems in the most economic, efficient and effective way. In order to do the same, industrial engineers employ specialized knowledge and skills associated with mathematics, physics and social sciences, along with the principles and methods of engineering analysis and design to predict, and evaluate the results obtained from systems and processes.

An industrial engineer is a dynamic, versatile and skilled professional that engages in activities that are relevant to a variety of businesses, governments and organizations. Industrial engineering aims to improve the production of an item, product or system through tweaking the product design or developing better processes. Generally, most of the engineer’s work can be done from an office, but some aspects of the industrial engineering job requires periodic visits to the manufacturing sites and factories. Following article provides a more informed understanding of how to become an industrial engineer, what does an industrial engineer do and what degree do you need to become an industrial engineer. 

The role of an industrial engineer depends on the educational background, experience, skill sets and area of specialization. Generally,  it comprises of the following tasks:

• Automate an industrial facility through computer integrated technology
• Identify the most cost-effective material handling alternative.
• Establish a better facility layout alternative for an industrial company
• perform cost-benefit analysis
• Design economic, industrial processes to improve product quality
• Operate computer-aided design tools and software to design and produce products and systems
• Diagnosing faults in the product design and industrial process

An industrial engineer must have specific requisite skills and inclinations and relevant educational background to excel in the field. Aspirants are expected to be excellent problem-solvers, have great communication skills and have a sharp, analytic mind. An Industrial engineer also tends to work in highly challenging work environments with individual project work and team interaction which is why aspirants must have leadership skills,  team working skills and the ability to work well under pressure. In addition, industrial engineering jobs require a fair contribution of Mathematics, creativity, innovation and logical concepts, and thus, candidates must exhibit these traits to at least some extent.

In order to enrol into a Bachelor’s program at an esteemed university, aspirants are expected to clear the JEE main and subsequently, the JEE Advance exam which makes the aspirant eligible to apply anywhere in India. It is a very difficult and challenging exam to crack that requires hard work as well as rigorous and consistent preparation. Some states have their own entrance exams that are admissible in their respective universities. Many educational institutes conduct their own entrance tests. 

With a relevant educational background, appealing attributes and preferably with the experience gained during an internship, aspirants may apply for the following industrial engineering job profiles: 

• Production manager
• Quality Manager
• Engineering manager
• Engineering Plant Production Manager
• Foundry Production Engineer and Manager
• Asst. Production Manager
• Production Engineer
• Management Engineer
• Production Support Engineer
• Operation Analyst