What They Do: Industrial engineering technologists and technicians assist industrial engineers in creating systems that integrate workers, machines, materials, information, and energy to make a product or provide a service.
Work Environment: Most industrial engineering technologists and technicians work in manufacturing industries. Most work full time.
How to Become One: Industrial engineering technologists and technicians typically need an associate’s degree or a postsecondary certificate. Community colleges or technical institutes typically offer associate’s degree programs, and vocational–technical schools offer certificate programs.
Salary: The median annual wage for industrial engineering technologists and technicians is $60,220.
Job Outlook: Employment of industrial engineering technologists and technicians is projected to grow 3 percent over the next ten years, slower than the average for all occupations.
Related Careers: Compare the job duties, education, job growth, and pay of industrial engineering technologists and technicians with similar occupations.
Industrial engineering technologists and technicians assist industrial engineers in devising efficient systems that integrate workers, machines, materials, information, and energy to make a product or provide a service. They prepare machinery and equipment layouts, plan workflows, conduct statistical production studies, and analyze production costs.
Industrial engineering technologists and technicians typically do the following:
Industrial engineering technologists and technicians study the time and steps workers take to do a task (time and motion studies). To set reasonable production rates, they consider how workers perform operations such as maintenance, production, and service.
The versatility of industrial engineering technologists and technicians allows them to be useful in a variety of projects. For example, they work in supply chain management to help businesses minimize inventory costs, in quality assurance to help businesses keep their customers satisfied, and in the growing field of project management to control costs and maximize efficiencies.
Industrial engineering technologists and technicians generally work in teams under the supervision of industrial engineers.
Manufacturing engineering technicians are a type of industrial engineering technician whose work improves manufacturing processes to raise product quality and profitability. They plan, test, and custom make industrial products, and thus assist the engineers in implementing improvements in production and output. Specifically, they may assess prototypes, analyze performance of machinery, or try new methods of plant production.
Industrial engineering technologists and technicians hold about 64,200 jobs. The largest employers of industrial engineering technologists and technicians are as follows:
| Computer and electronic product manufacturing | 20% |
| Transportation equipment manufacturing | 14% |
| Professional, scientific, and technical services | 10% |
| Machinery manufacturing | 7% |
| Chemical manufacturing | 6% |
Industrial engineers usually ask industrial engineering technologists and technicians to help carry out certain studies and make specific observations. Consequently, these technicians typically work at the location where products are manufactured or where services are delivered.
Industrial engineering technologists and technicians usually work standard schedules. Most work full time.
Get the education you need: Find schools for Industrial Engineering Technologists and Technicians near you!
Industrial engineering technologists and technicians typically need an associate’s degree or a postsecondary certificate to enter the occupation. Community colleges and technical institutes generally offer associate’s degree programs, and vocational–technical schools offer certificate programs.
High school students interested in becoming industrial engineering technologists and technicians should take courses in math, science, and drafting, where available. Courses that help students develop computer skills are helpful when the students later need to learn computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing software, known as CAD/CAM.
Postsecondary programs in industrial engineering are offered at vocational–technical schools, technical institutes, and community colleges. Vocational–technical schools and technical institutes serve local students and emphasize training needed by local employers. These programs generally award a certificate. Community colleges offer programs similar to those in technical institutes, but usually include more theory-based and liberal arts courses. Students who complete these programs earn associate's degrees.
ABET accredits engineering and engineering technology programs.
Generally, prospective industrial engineering technologists and technicians should major in applied science, industrial technology, or industrial engineering technology.
Analytical skills. Industrial engineering technologists and technicians must help industrial engineers figure out how systems should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
Communication skills. Industrial engineering technologists and technicians receive instructions from industrial engineers. They must clearly understand and follow instructions and communicate problems to their supervisors.
Critical-thinking skills. Industrial engineering technologists and technicians must help industrial engineers figure out why certain processes or operations are not working as well as they might. They must ask the right questions to identify and correct weaknesses.
Detail oriented. Industrial engineering technologists and technicians must gather and record measurements and observations needed by industrial engineers.
Math skills. Industrial engineering technologists and technicians use the principles of mathematics for analysis, design, and troubleshooting in their work.
Observational skills. These technicians spend much of their time evaluating the performance of other people or organizations and then make suggestions for improvements or corrective action. They must gather and record information without interfering with workers in their environments.
The median annual wage for industrial engineering technologists and technicians is $60,220. The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $37,790, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $85,530.
The median annual wages for industrial engineering technologists and technicians in the top industries in which they work are as follows:
| Chemical manufacturing | $61,740 |
| Professional, scientific, and technical services | $61,010 |
| Computer and electronic product manufacturing | $60,360 |
| Transportation equipment manufacturing | $60,220 |
| Machinery manufacturing | $59,970 |
Industrial engineering technologists and technicians usually work standard schedules. Most work full time.
Employment of industrial engineering technologists and technicians is projected to grow 3 percent over the next ten years, slower than the average for all occupations.
Despite limited employment growth, about 6,600 openings for industrial engineering technologists and technicians are projected each year, on average, over the decade. Most of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire.
An emphasis on cost control through increased efficiency, along with industrial engineering technologists and technicians' role in assisting with automation, is expected to sustain demand somewhat for these workers.
However, overall employment growth of industrial engineering technologists and technicians in manufacturing—the industry in which most of them work—is projected to be slow.
| Occupational Title | Employment, 2021 | Projected Employment, 2031 | Change, 2021-31 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Percent | Numeric | |||
| Industrial engineering technologists and technicians | 64,200 | 66,300 | 3 | 2,100 |
For more information about industrial engineering, visit
Institute of Industrial & Systems Engineers
For more information about manufacturing engineering, visit
Society of Manufacturing Engineers
For information on general engineering education and career resources, visit
American Society for Engineering Education
Technology Student Association
For more information about accredited programs, visit
A portion of the information on this page is used by permission of the U.S. Department of Labor.