Industrial Engineer
Industrial engineers are professionals who deal with complex systems and processes with the aim of optimizing them and minimizing wastage as far as possible. They create innovative industrial systems which combine major industrial components and human resources, in other words, manage workers, machines, information, and energy, to ensure an economically viable and cost-efficient functioning. Nowadays, industrial engineers also use the tools of data science and machine learning while developing different production models and implementing them. Industrial engineers are employed in a wide range of industries. This occupation is versatile both in the nature of the work it involves and in the industries in which its expertise can be put to use.
Quality Engineer
Quality engineer is an engineering professional who is concerned with the principles and practice of product and service quality assurance. Quality engineers create and implement strategies for quality assurance in product development and production as well as software development. If anything goes wrong, it’s the quality engineer’s job to meticulously document the problem and work with other engineers to find a solution.
Employment for industrial and quality engineers is projected to increase by 10 percent by 2026 which is faster than the average for all occupations.
Supplier Quality Engineer
Supplier quality engineers are professionals who hold speciality in the fields of manufacturing, supply chain, and logistics. Their main responsibility is to assess the quality of supplied products, and by doing so, they ensure that the products received are free from defects. Compliance with regulatory standards is ensured by regular audits performed by them. A large portion of their working hours is spent travelling to and visiting different supplier facilities in order to perform these audits and analyze their procedures which helps them identify the areas that can be improved. Supplier quality engineers carry out detailed tests of received supplies to weed out potential failures which stem from manufacturing defects common in the industry.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics does not provide specific employment outlook data for supplier quality engineers, its findings indicate that that supply chain related roles will grow by 7 percent between 2016 and 2026.
Supply Chain Manager
Supply chain managers are the professionals who make sure that the manufactured goods reach their suppliers and customers. They supervise and closely monitor the products through each and every stage of the production - right from the purchase of raw materials till the delivery of the final product. A good foresight and inventory management skills are indispensable when it comes to mobilizing manufactured goods from warehouses to customers. A supply chain manager is in direct communication with suppliers and should be able to analyze cost effectiveness of current contracts. They work across all areas in the employment sector such as manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, and retail.
Quality Engineer (Medical devices)
Quality engineers for medical devices are responsible for all aspects of quality assurance in the design and production of medical devices. In other words, we can say that they are the quality engineers who specialize in the field of medical device manufacturing. They design and implement tests that effectively and efficiently monitor the quality of the medical devices in each stage of the production process. Due to the vital nature of the medical device field, the role of quality engineers becomes very important.
Job prospects
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the employment of industrial engineers is projected to grow at 10 percent from 2016 to 2026 which is faster than the average for all occupations. Industrial engineers are employed in a wide range of industries such as manufacturing industries, consulting services, R&D firms, and wholesale trade. The current growth in healthcare and changes in the way healthcare is delivered is set to accelerate the demand for industrial engineers. Graduates of masters in industrial and systems engineering are sure to find better prospects for employment in this field.
