Employment of industrial engineering technicians is expected to grow 4 percent between 2010 and 2020, slower than the average for all occupations.
Industrial engineering is versatile because of its wide applicability in many industries. The growing emphasis on cost control through increasing efficiency is expected to sustain demand for industrial engineering technicians’ services in most industries, including nonprofits.
Like industrial engineers, industrial engineering technicians work in a wide range of industries, including major manufacturing industries, health care, consulting and engineering services, and research and development. This is because one focus of industrial engineering is reducing internal costs, which is valuable to even the fastest growing industries.
Industrial engineering technicians’ versatility allows them to be useful to a variety of businesses, governments, and nonprofits. 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.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2012-13 Edition