Example Career: Industrial Engineering Technologists

Career Description

Assist industrial engineers in such activities as quality control, inventory control, or material flow methods. May conduct statistical studies or analyze production costs.

What Job Titles Industrial Engineering Technologists Might Have

• Associate Product Integrity Engineer
• Materials Planner/Production Planner
• Planner/Scheduler
• Senior Quality Methods Specialist

What Industrial Engineering Technologists Do

• Interpret engineering drawings, sketches, or diagrams.
• Plan the flow of work or materials to maximize efficiency.
• Develop or implement programs to address problems related to production, materials, safety, or quality.
• Modify equipment or processes to improve resource or cost efficiency.
• Oversee or inspect production processes.
• Analyze, estimate, or report production costs.
• Compile operational data to develop cost or time estimates, schedules, or specifications.
• Monitor and control inventory.
• Conduct time and motion studies to identify opportunities to improve worker efficiency.
• Analyze operational, production, economic, or other data, using statistical procedures.
• Develop or conduct quality control tests to ensure consistent production quality.
• Collect and analyze data related to quality or industrial health and safety programs.
• Prepare layouts of machinery or equipment, using drafting equipment or computer-aided design (CAD) software.
• Prepare schedules for equipment use or routine maintenance.
• Prepare reports regarding inventories of raw materials or finished products.

What Industrial Engineering Technologists Should Be Good At

• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
• Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Information Ordering - The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
• Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.

What Industrial Engineering Technologists Should Be Interested In

• Investigative - Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.
• Realistic - Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.

What Industrial Engineering Technologists Need to Learn

• Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
• Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
• Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
• Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.