Industrial Engineer Career Assessment
Making work flow better in factories, hospitals, and offices
Welcome
Industrial engineers make work flow better. They look at how a factory, a hospital, or a warehouse actually runs and find the waste, the waiting, and the wasted steps.
Of the four engineering careers in this group, this is the one most people reach from a job they already have. You will explore whether it fits you.
This takes about 15 minutes.
What is a Industrial Engineer?
An industrial engineer studies a whole system of people, machines, materials, and information, then redesigns it so it works better. They time how long each step takes. They map where material travels and cut the trips that are not needed. They rearrange a plant floor so parts move in a straight line instead of zig-zagging. They set how many people a shift needs. They build the quality checks that catch bad parts early. Much of this work is called lean or continuous improvement — a set of methods for cutting waste out of work, one step at a time.
The Reality: The engineer title takes a four-year degree with real math: calculus, statistics, physics, and engineering economics. Statistics matters here more than in most branches, because you are always measuring and comparing. But be honest about the other side too: this is the most transferable of these four careers. Industrial engineering is used in factories, hospitals, banks, warehouses, airlines, and state agencies, so your skills are not locked to one industry the way petroleum is locked to oil. Many people reach this field from manufacturing experience — a machine operator, a lead, or a supervisor who already knows how the plant really runs goes back for the degree and comes out far ahead of a graduate who has never worked a line. If that is you, your years on the floor are an asset, not lost time.
Your Responsibilities:
- Watch and time how work actually gets done
- Map how material and information move through a plant or office
- Redesign a plant floor or a work area so fewer steps are wasted
- Use statistics to find out why quality varies
- Figure out how many people and machines a job really needs
- Build quality checks into the process instead of at the end
- Train supervisors and workers on the new way of doing the job
- Show in numbers what a change saved in time, money, or scrap
You make the whole system work better for the people in it.
A Day in the Life
7:30 AM — Walk the plant floor at shift change. Ask the crew what slowed them down yesterday.
8:30 AM — Stand at one work station with a stopwatch and a notepad. Time the steps.
10:00 AM — Enter the times in a spreadsheet and find where the line backs up.
11:30 AM — Sketch a new layout that cuts 40 feet of walking out of each part.
12:00 PM — Lunch in the break room with the operators.
1:00 PM — Run a short improvement meeting with a supervisor and two operators.
2:30 PM — Pull quality data and run the statistics on a part that keeps failing.
4:00 PM — Write up the numbers for the plant manager: what the change saves per year.
A real mix of floor time with people and desk time with numbers.
Training in North Dakota
The engineer title takes a four-year degree. Related plant jobs open up sooner. You need a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering, industrial and manufacturing engineering, or manufacturing engineering. Pick an ABET accredited program. ABET is a national group that reviews engineering degrees. NDSU is the North Dakota school with these programs.
Training Pathways:
- Straight to the university (4 to 5 years): Start at NDSU in Industrial Engineering and Management, or in Manufacturing Engineering. Both are ABET accredited.
- Two years here, then transfer (4 to 5 years total): Take your math and science at a North Dakota two-year college first, then finish at NDSU. This is cheaper and keeps you close to home at the start.
- Working adult route (varies): If you already work in manufacturing, keep the job, start part-time on the transfer courses, and move up inside the plant as you go. Lead, supervisor, quality technician, and continuous improvement roles all sit on this path and all count as real experience.
Where to Train in North Dakota:
- North Dakota State University (Fargo) — Industrial Engineering and Management, BS. NDSU lists Industrial Engineering & Management as accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET. NDSU says students learn to optimize productivity in manufacturing and service industries, and names industrial engineer, process engineer, quality engineer, packaging engineer, and production engineer as jobs graduates take — ndsu.edu/oira/resourcesresearch_links/accrediting_agencies and ndsu.edu/programs/undergraduate/industrial-engineering-and-management
- North Dakota State University (Fargo) — Manufacturing Engineering, BS. NDSU also lists Manufacturing Engineering as accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET — ndsu.edu/oira/resourcesresearch_links/accrediting_agencies
- Bismarck State College (Bismarck) — Liberal Arts Engineering Pathway, AS. BSC says students who graduate, finish the recommended coursework, and earn the AS will likely meet junior standing when they transfer into engineering at UND or NDSU — catalog.bismarckstate.edu/catalog/degrees/liberal-arts-sciences-transfer/engineering
- United Tribes Technical College (Bismarck) — Pre-Engineering, AS. UTTC says the degree is designed for transfer into an ABET accredited bachelor's program at schools like UND, NDSU, South Dakota School of Mines, and Navajo Technical University — uttc.edu/academics/programs/pre-engineering
Before You Start: High school diploma or GED. You must be ready for college math, especially statistics later on. Take algebra 2, trigonometry, and pre-calculus if you can. If your math is rusty, take a placement test early and plan a catch-up class. Real work experience in a plant is a big plus for hiring.
Tip: Start with financial aid and scholarships. Fill out the FAFSA, ask the school’s financial aid office what you qualify for, and ask an employer whether they help pay for school. That is where the money starts. After that, ask a career counselor or Job Service North Dakota whether WIOA or other programs can help with what is left over, like tuition, books, a laptop, or exam fees. What can be paid for depends on the program and on your own situation, so ask before you enroll rather than after. Worth asking about specifically: two-year degrees that train you for a job, like civil engineering technology, land surveying, mechatronics, electronics, or instrumentation. North Dakota two-year colleges also cost far less than a university. Ask about paid summer internships too — engineering firms, plants, and survey crews hire students while they are still in school.
Certification & Licensing
No license is required. Certificates in lean and quality are what employers actually ask about. The North Dakota State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors licenses engineers, and an Industrial version of both exams exists. But industrial engineers rarely stamp drawings, so most never get licensed. What employers ask about instead are short certificates in lean and quality methods, which you can start long before a degree is finished.
What Employers Look For:
- Lean or Six Sigma Green Belt — a short course and a project in cutting waste and variation. Many employers pay for it and some run it in-house
- Six Sigma Black Belt — the deeper version, usually after a Green Belt and a few real projects
- Certified Quality Engineer or Quality Technician — quality certificates offered through professional societies
- Engineer Intern (EI) — pass the NCEES FE exam. With an ABET accredited degree the ND board asks for no work experience for this step (ndpelsboard.org)
- Professional Engineer (PE) — optional here. NCEES offers an Industrial version of the PE exam, and the ND board asks for 4 years of work after an ABET degree (ncees.org, ndpelsboard.org)
- Plain experience — years on a plant floor, and a record of changes that saved real money, carry a lot of weight in hiring
The Exams: The FE exam has 110 questions. The appointment is 6 hours, with 5 hours and 20 minutes of test time, on a computer at a Pearson test center, offered year-round (ncees.org). Lean and Six Sigma belts are usually earned through a course plus a real project at your workplace, not a state exam.
Cost: NCEES lists the FE exam fee at $225 and the PE exam fee at $425. Lean and Six Sigma course prices vary a lot, and many employers pay for them, so ask your employer first.
Keeping It Current: If you do get the ND license, personal licenses run on a two-year cycle and need 30 Professional Development Hours, with 20 technical and 1 in ethics (ndpelsboard.org). Lean and quality certificates each have their own renewal rules.
Salary & Job Outlook
North Dakota Industrial Engineer Pay (May 2025):
- Starting out (bottom 10–25%): $27.29–$37.93/hour ($56,770–$78,890/year)
- Middle (median — half earn more, half earn less): $46.61/hour ($96,940/year)
- Experienced (top 25–10%): $51.07–$63.51/hour ($106,220–$132,110/year)
What that means: North Dakota numbers were published, so these are real ND figures. The middle ND industrial engineer earns about $46.61 an hour, or about $96,940 a year, close to the national middle of $49.25. The bottom tenth, about $27.29, is mostly new graduates and people just moving up from a technician job. Notice the range is tighter than in oil work: ND pay here does not swing with an oil price, which is part of why this career is steadier. The biggest pay jumps usually come from moving into plant management, not from a license.
Jobs in North Dakota: About 540 people do this work in ND today. By 2034, that should be about 630 (about 18% growth). Expect about 40 job openings every year in ND from growth and people retiring or changing jobs. Across the U.S., the change is about 11% growth — much faster than average.
Outlook: Strong, and the best outlook of these four. About 540 industrial engineers work in North Dakota today, growing to about 630 by 2034, with roughly 40 openings a year. That is about four times the ND openings of petroleum engineering. ND growth of about 18% is well above the national 11%. Manufacturing, food processing, and health care systems all keep hiring for this skill.
Who Hires in ND: Manufacturing plants, farm and construction equipment makers, food and agricultural processors, aerospace and defense suppliers, hospitals and health systems, warehouses and distribution centers, banks and insurers, and state agencies. Fargo, Grand Forks, Jamestown, Wahpeton, and Bismarck all have employers who hire for this.
Work Setting: A mix of a plant or hospital floor and an office with a computer. Floors are loud and require safety glasses and steel-toed boots. Most jobs are regular weekday hours, though you may come in on an off shift to watch how night crews work.
Physical Demands: Low to medium. A lot of standing and walking on hard floors while you observe work, then sitting at a screen. Little lifting. Many roles can be adjusted so observation is done from a fixed spot or from video.
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, North Dakota, May 2025 (SOC 17-2112); North Dakota and U.S. long-term employment projections 2024–2034, via O*NET OnLine. Numbers are rounded.
Where This Leads
Path 1: Production or Quality Technician — A two-year-degree or on-the-job role collecting the data.
Path 2: Continuous Improvement Specialist — You run lean projects without an engineering degree.
Path 3: Industrial or Process Engineer — The four-year-degree role redesigning how work is done.
Path 4: Quality Engineer — You own the systems that keep the product good.
Path 5: Operations or Plant Manager — You run the plant and the people in it.
Path 6: Supply Chain or Logistics Manager — You run how material moves in and out.
The Real Talk
What's Great:
- The most transferable of these four careers
- Works in factories, hospitals, banks, and warehouses
- Best job growth of the four in ND
- Pay does not swing with oil prices
- A great fit if you already work in manufacturing
- You see your changes make real work easier
What's Hard:
- Still a four-year degree with calculus and statistics
- People resist change, and you are the change
- Loud plant floors and safety gear
- Some off-shift visits
- You must prove savings in numbers
- Less money than petroleum engineering
Be Honest: Do you notice waste and wasted steps when you watch people work? Can you handle people pushing back on your ideas without taking it personally? Can you commit to four years of college, even part-time while you work?