Overview of Online Industrial Engineering Degrees
Faculty design industrial engineering (IE) programs to provide a foundation in the subject through classes on manufacturing practices, mathematics, physics, logistics, and quality control. A degree in industrial engineering technology (IET) is similar but focuses more on the technical components and specifications of manufacturing systems. Though they qualify graduates for different jobs, IE and IET programs share some of the same curriculum and may require an in-person internship.
Engineering and engineering technology bachelor's degrees usually consist of 120-128 credit hours and take four years to complete at a full-time pace. Some fully online programs feature eight-week courses, allowing students to take more credits per year and finish faster. However, working students may find it difficult to complete the degree early. These students may want to consider a part-time degree that takes longer but allows for more flexibility. Most of these programs feature asynchronous online courses in which students log in to a learning management system at convenient times to view lectures, submit assignments, and interact with classmates.
Admission Requirements
An IE or IET degree application is similar to any other online college application. Most candidates must submit the following:
- Official transcripts from high school or a GED showing a minimum GPA that's usually in the 2.5-3.0 range
- ACT or SAT scores that differ by school, though an increasing number of colleges are dropping entrance test requirements
- Letters of recommendation from teachers or guidance counselors
- A personal essay on a given topic
Applicants can improve their prospects by demonstrating a record of extracurricular activities. Colleges often favor well-rounded candidates with experience in math or science clubs or community service.
The Importance of Accreditation
Accreditation signifies that a college offers high quality education, and it allows students to receive federal financial aid. Institutions can earn accreditation at either the national or regional levels. Both statuses mean that an independent organization has verified the school's educational standards, but regional accreditors tend to have higher academic standards than national accreditors. Also, attending a regionally accredited college allows for easier credit transfers between colleges because these schools usually only accept credits from others with the same type of accreditation. Students can find institutional accreditation information on the U.S. Department of Education's website.
Some employers may prefer candidates from ABET-accredited programs, and ABET accreditation is necessary for students who want to eventually earn a license.
IE and IET students should also consider programmatic accreditation, which the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) grants to individual degrees in the engineering field. Some employers may prefer candidates from ABET-accredited programs, and ABET accreditation is necessary for students who want to eventually earn a license. So it's important to understand that ABET does not currently accredit any fully online programs in industrial engineering. However, ABET accredits a few online industrial engineering technology programs, including Kennesaw State University and the University of Southern Mississippi. Graduating from a program that's not ABET-accredited may negatively affect a student's career. Prospective students can search this database for ABET-accredited programs.
Common Courses in an Industrial Engineering Program
Both IE and IET curricula highlight systems design, materials science, and advanced mathematics to help students understand process improvement. In addition, IE degrees often contain team and project management classes, while IET students typically spend time learning to use technical tools in a lab. Some degrees also contain concentrations that students can funnel electives toward, such as computer science or quality assurance.
We've listed several common courses below to help prospective students understand what they might study in an IE or IET program.
Electrical Engineering Fundamentals
Technologists take this course to learn important aspects of electrical power, resistance, and conduction. Professors may discuss alternating and direct currents, electronic components, and mechanical controls for logic circuits. Most courses include a lab component, where students build and test circuits.
Engineering Economics
This class introduces economic principles as they relate to industrial engineering. Enrollees aim to learn about the time value of money, cost-benefit analysis, the effects of taxes on manufacturing projects, and the rate of return.
Human-Machine Systems Engineering
Future engineers and technologists take this course to understand how people interact with industrial technology. Lessons often cover human intellectual and motor performance, systems design, statistical analysis for decision-making, and ideal human work environments. Students typically design data collection processes to test in a lab.
Machine Automation
Students learn the history and current state of automation technology in industrial settings. Faculty may introduce the principles of robotics, process control, sensors and actuators, artificial intelligence, and programmable logic controllers. Students often need to apply lessons from other courses to analyze the cost of automation and its effect on workers.
Quality Assurance
Professors often define "quality" in this course and offer a range of quality assessment and improvement methods in industrial contexts. They may also introduce students to statistical process control, quality cost, Pareto optimization, and sampling reliability.
Interested in learning about similar degrees? Explore online bachelor's degrees in mechanical engineering, systems engineering, and civil engineering.
Funding an Online Industrial Engineering Degree
In general, online students pay lower tuition rates than in-person students because schools can enroll more of them with fewer infrastructure upgrades. However, tuition isn't the only factor students should consider when budgeting for college, as expenses may also include fees, books, and supplies. Fees vary by institution, but distance learners typically pay a technology fee each term. Still, they generate significant savings by not paying for room and board.
Financial aid provides another opportunity for considerable savings. Prospective students should apply for as much aid as possible, especially grants and scholarships that don't require repayment. They start by completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which helps the government understand how much aid they qualify for. States and private scholarship funders use this form for the same purpose. To help applicants, we've listed a few private scholarships below for industrial engineering students.
Incoming first-year students may qualify for this $1,500 award if they enroll in an ABET-accredited engineering program. Applicants must demonstrate a 3.75 high school GPA and extracurricular participation in STEM activities.
The National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering (NACME)
Through private endowments, NACME awards minority industrial engineering students amounts ranging from $5,000-$15,000 per year. Recipients may be able to renew scholarships for up to five years. Applicants must have a minimum 2.8 GPA to qualify.
Each year, SWE awards a total of more than $1 million in scholarships to engineering students who identify as female. Candidates must be enrolled in an ABET-accredited program on a full-time schedule.
Careers with an Industrial Engineering Degree
Industrial engineering students can gain skills and knowledge that prove useful in a variety of engineering and technical specializations. Such skills include problem-solving, deductive and inductive reasoning, cost-benefit analysis, and project management. Alumni might find themselves working in fields as diverse as manufacturing, aerospace and defense, technology, or government.
Below, we've listed several career opportunities that bachelor's graduates in industrial engineering can pursue. The Bureau of Labor Statistics provided the median annual salaries and job growth data. Some of these occupations have more positive growth rates than others, which might be important to consider when applying for jobs.
Industrial Engineers
Median Annual Salary: $88,950
Job Outlook: 14%
Industrial engineers aim at improving efficiency while monitoring overall workflow in production settings, such as factories. They use their knowledge of human-machine interaction to design safe, effective systems, often working with an industrial engineering technologist who helps oversee their work. This discipline is sometimes called manufacturing engineering or industrial and systems engineering.
Industrial Engineering Technologists
Median Annual Salary: $57,320
Job Outlook: 4%
Industrial engineering technologists partner with industrial engineers to implement solutions to problems with production systems. They oversee a facility's technological and human elements and collect data on workflow, process changes, supply chain pressures, and anything contributing to operations research.
Cost Estimators
Median Annual Salary: $66,610
Job Outlook: 1%
Cost estimators calculate expenses for complex projects using data about material prices, available labor, and historical timelines. Manufacturing and heavy industry employers use estimators to plan budgets and help submit bids on contracts. An engineering student may use their knowledge of industrial processes and engineering economics in this role.
Health and Safety Engineers
Median Annual Salary: $94,240
Job Outlook: 6%
Health and safety engineers strive to create and maintain safe environments that encourage employees to thrive. They design industrial settings that account for human fallibility to keep everyone safe despite mistakes. These jobs sometimes carry titles, such as ergonomics engineer or human factors engineer.
Management Analysts
Median Annual Salary: $87,660
Job Outlook: 14%
Management analysts help employers improve efficiency, much like industrial engineers in a different context. As such, students of industrial engineering might be suited to help businesses, government agencies, or non-profits cut costs, create sustainable budgets, and improve productivity. Some management analysts work for consulting firms that assign them to clients on a contract basis.
Licensure
Earning a license is optional for many types of engineers. In general, engineers who work on public projects must earn a Professional Engineer (PE) license. This is necessary for civil and environmental engineers, but industrial or health and safety engineers may not need a PE designation unless an employer calls for it. Licensure may also help engineers who want to become supervisors by adding a credential to their resumes.
Industrial or health and safety engineers may not need a Professional Engineer license unless an employer calls for it.
To earn a PE license, an individual must earn a bachelor's degree from an ABET-accredited college, pass the Fundamentals of Engineering exam, and work for four years under a licensed PE. After this period, they will need to pass the Principles and Practice of Engineering test. Because ABET accreditation is necessary at the beginning of this process, prospective students should carefully consider which programs they apply to.
Continuing Education
Bachelor's degree alumni may qualify for a variety of positions in engineering or engineering technology, but they can also pursue graduate education to improve their marketability and salary potential. Several schools offer online master's programs in industrial engineering, and master's graduates can often advance to managerial roles. Engineers who want to teach at the college level and conduct their own research can pursue a doctorate. However, online doctoral programs in industrial engineering are rare.
Many bachelor's-level engineers complete online certificate programs in fields relating to industrial engineering, such as Six Sigma or engineering management. Certificates can help professionals add specific skills or knowledge to their resumes, and they may be ideal for students who aren't interested in completing a full degree program.
Is an Online Industrial Engineering Degree Worth It?
Your financial, familial, and work circumstances should help you decide whether to study industrial engineering or industrial engineering technology online. But the pros and cons listed below may also help guide your decision.
Potential Benefits
An industrial engineering degree can qualify you for a number of high-paying fields. Of the occupations mentioned above, even the lowest paying features a median annual salary of about $15,000 over the national median wage for all jobs.
Industrial engineering is a potentially adaptable degree that imparts transferable skills. If you find that straight engineering work isn't to your taste, you may be able to pivot to cost estimation or management analysis in another industry. Industrial engineering students learn to offer solutions based on data from multiple sources, which is a skill set many employers crave.
Online learning may be more flexible and adaptable to your life than in-person learning. Most online degree programs let you watch lectures and complete coursework at convenient times as long as you respect due dates.
Potential Drawbacks
No online industrial engineering programs are ABET-accredited, and only a few industrial engineering technology programs are. Because a lack of ABET approval may negatively impact your future employment and licensure, you may decide that attending a traditional campus program is a better investment.
Both industrial engineers and technologists are relatively unsatisfied with their jobs. According to CareerExplorer, employees in both roles report their job satisfaction in the bottom quartile of all careers.
According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, industrial engineering majors have a relatively high unemployment rate. In 2020, 4.7% of recent graduates in the major were unable to find work.
FAQs
Can industrial engineering be done online? ›
It isn't usually possible to complete a Bachelor's in Industrial Engineering completely online, because of practical projects and requirements. However, there are colleges who offer a “2+2” program (a completion of the final two years online, with minimal on-campus time), and some who offer fully-online options.
Which certification is best for industrial engineering? ›- Project Management Professional (PMP) ...
- Certified Manufacturing Engineer (CMfgE) ...
- Six Sigma Yellow Belt. ...
- Certified Quality Engineer (CQE) ...
- Certified Six Sigma Greenbelt (CSSGB) ...
- Certified Product Manager (CPM) ...
- Certified Systems Engineering Professional (CSEP)
- Structural Engineering.
- Applied Engineering.
- Chemical engineering.
- Mechanical Engineering.
- Software Engineering.
- Civil Engineering.
- Computer Engineering.
- Biomedical Engineering.
As of 2019, there are 295,800 professional industrial engineers in America (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2021). In 2029, employment in this field is projected to grow to 335,800 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2021). This creates room in the job market for 40,000 aspiring industrial engineers.
Is a degree in industrial engineering worth it? ›Yes, industrial engineering is a good major for many undergraduate students. Jobs in the architecture and engineering field are projected to grow at a rate of 3% in the next 10 years (Bureau of Labor Statistics), as fast as the average job growth for all occupations.
What is the difference between industrial engineering and industrial engineering technology? ›IET is an engineering technology field that implements and applies the principles of industrial engineering. Like industrial engineering, IET deals primarily with the process management of money, materials, and labor in a business and/or industrial environment.
Do Industrial engineers need a license? ›To become a Licensed Industrial Engineer in the Philippines, a graduate of Industrial Engineering needs to pass the Industrial Engineering Certification Exams.
What is the level 2 certification for industrial engineers? ›The Professional Industrial Engineer (PIE) or Level 2 certification is the designation for professional practice. The PIE applies and develops methodologies for analyzing, designing, testing, and evaluating systems.
How do I get certified as an industrial engineer? ›- An Active PIIE member.
- A Filipino citizen.
- A bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering from CHED-recognized school/university with an accredited B.S.I.E. program or an internationally accredited program.
- A passing score on the CIE written examination on IE Core Knowledge.
- Industrial Engineering.
- General Engineering.
- Computer Engineering.
- Environmental Engineering.
- Civil Engineering.
- Mechanical Engineering.
- Biomedical Engineering.
- Electrical Engineering.
Is industrial engineering hard? ›
Yes, industrial engineering is hard, but it is one of the easier engineering degrees. This is because industrial engineering is less based on pure math and more about understanding how businesses and machines function in the best way possible.
What is the fastest engineering degree? ›The fastest online engineering degree is the Master of Engineering in Civil Engineering from the University of New Mexico. This program can be completed in one year instead of two, through eight-week courses.
Where do industrial engineers make the most money? ›| State | Employment (1) | Annual mean wage (2) |
|---|---|---|
| Michigan | 25,640 | $ 89,290 |
| Texas | 21,970 | $ 101,120 |
| California | 21,150 | $ 109,460 |
| Ohio | 15,320 | $ 88,820 |
| Total Industrial Engineer Jobs: | 1,020 |
|---|---|
| Location Quotient: | 1.26 Location Quotient is a measure used by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to determine how concentrated a certain industry is in a single state compared to the nation as a whole. You can read more about how BLS calculates location quotients here |
- Systems Engineer. ...
- Electrical Engineer. ...
- Chemical Engineer. ...
- Big Data Engineer. ...
- Nuclear Engineer. ...
- Aerospace Engineer. ...
- Computer Hardware Engineer. ...
- Petroleum Engineer.
Some college is required for this profession. A Industrial Engineer will most likely earn wages that can range from $57,950 to $136,930 based on experience and domain knowledge. will normally receive a wage of ninety-three thousand six hundred and ten dollars yearly.
What is the hardest engineering major? ›| Top 3 Hardest Engineering Majors | Top 3 Easiest Engineering Majors |
|---|---|
| 1. Chemical engineering (19.66 hours) | 1. Industrial engineering (15.68 hours) |
| 2. Aero and astronautical engineering (19.24 hours) | 2. Computer engineering and technology (16.46 hours) |
Industrial engineering is an engineering profession that is concerned with the optimization of complex processes, systems, or organizations by developing, improving and implementing integrated systems of people, money, knowledge, information and equipment. Industrial engineering is central to manufacturing operations.
How can I learn industrial engineering? ›One great way to learn industrial engineering is by enrolling in a bachelor's or master's degree program. Your career path in this type of engineering will expose you to a variety of different fields. You may choose something nontechnical, like ergonomics, or a more technical position like a quality engineer.
What degree is industrial engineering? ›The Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering (IE) program is designed to prepare the student for professional work in the design, improvement, installation, and maintenance of integrated systems of people, materials, information, equipment, methods, and energy.
Where can I study industrial engineering in South Africa? ›
- Bachelor's degree.
- Johannesburg, South Africa.
- On campus.
Industrial engineers work to reduce any waste of time, money, materials, energy or other commodities by streamlining procedures and processes. This is achieved through the application of specialist knowledge and skills to specify, predict and evaluate results from processes and systems.