Day in the life
A Day in the Life of an Industrial Engineer
What industrial engineers actually do from the start of a shift to the end: the tasks, tools, schedule and realities of the job.
What is a typical day like for an industrial engineer?
Time-study a station. From there, the day usually includes study production processes, design layouts, and set time standards. Full-time hours, with some time on off shifts.
Hour by hour: a typical shift
No two days are identical, but this timeline reflects a realistic day for an industrial engineer working full time.
- Time-study a station.
- Analyze cycle time data.
- Design a new cell layout.
- Meet production about a bottleneck.
- Run a simulation.
- Present savings to managers.
- Write standard work.
Where industrial engineers work
Industrial engineers work in offices and on factory, warehouse and hospital floors.
Hours and schedule
Full-time hours, with some time on off shifts.
Tasks you’ll do most often
- Study production processes
- Design layouts
- Set time standards
- Reduce waste
- Improve quality
- Analyze data
- Lead improvement projects
Tools you’ll use every day
- AutoCAD
- Simulation software
- Minitab
- Excel
- ERP systems
- Stopwatch and video
The best and hardest parts of the job
What people like
- Much faster-than-average growth
- Work in many industries
- Good pay
- Mix of office and floor
What’s hard
- Pushback on change
- Deadline pressure
- Noisy plant floors
- Some off-shift work
You’ll likely thrive if…
- I love making things efficient
- I like data
- I like being on the floor
- I can lead change
- I like math
- I want many industry options
Not sure? Take the free Industrial Engineer fit quiz or the Career Match Quiz.
Staying safe on the job
- Design ergonomic workstations
- Follow plant safety rules
- Include safety in layouts
- Reduce repetitive strain