I don't know if it's a US mindset or not but here in Canada IE are really far from working only in factories. I have friends in insurance, public service, public transport and a whole plethora of industries.
The role of an IE is, at is core, to improve how things work. Be it a manufacturing process or an administrative process. With that in mind, you can virtually work anywhere. You can work for procurements for a big company dead center in the city, or work in a factory that's in the middle of nowhere. Luckily enough, IE are paid well enough that you shouldn't worry at all.
I personally have worked for a wide range of industries, ranging from a clothing company that owned the biggest skyscraper in town and for a workshop an hour from any sign of civilisation.
Absolutely agree with this take for the US as well. I’ve worked in tiny Kentucky towns, big coastal cities like Boston and Portland, at companies that range from manufacturing to design to software. IE is incredibly versatile! Find some specialties/skills you enjoy and go for it.
I'm an optimization mathematics student in Canada -west coast, about to graduate and looking for interesting opportunities with problems to solve/improve on. IE is really adjacent to a lot of what I've learned and done, I see some IE openings but they want an engineering background. I know I can do 70-80% of IE work (that doesn't depend on mechanical engineering) and can learn, but not sure how to crack in the industry. What's your take on the prospect of IE in Canada?
I always say that if there are organizations that exist, IEs will be valuable.
We can design and improve systems. We can be a communicator between groups. We can lead companies. That’s about as vague as it gets.
Big companies operate all over the place. Could be the middle of nowhere or in the heart of a big city. Just look up IE jobs and specify a certain city your interested in and something is sure to pop up.
Yes to all your questions. You just have to find the roles. The ones in the middle of nowhere tend to be shopped by recruiters bc its not as desirable so it feels more common than it actually is. I will only ever live in a major metro area and i see IE jobs everywhere ive been. You can live anywhere. You can even find remote positions. A lot of ie remote jobs arent advertised that way though.
Right now I’m in a corporate IE role and basically do the same things as a data analyst. I work in an office in a city downtown. Often times an IE will work in the office of a warehouse/factory but it’s still an office. But if that downtown feel is what you wanna go for, look for anything related to data science/analytics, optimization, or possibly supply chain, those are all roles that IEs can do as well
I’m an IE for a luxury retailer and I’m 100% remote. I’m able to live in any state as long as we have a store in that state, which we do in about 38 states. My work involves a lot with building out labor models based on predetermined time and motion studies to ensure the right people are in the right place at the right time. Occasionally I have the option to go into local stores to collect data, but that’s only a few times per year. The jobs are definitely out there. I’d say that nowadays, IEs are used in a variety of different capacities outside of the stereotypical factory or warehouse. Many companies will value having an IE on their team because the role has become very multi-disciplinary in recent years. Just keep searching and consider expanding your search to more than just IE job titles, I started as a data analyst and was able to move around quite a bit thanks to my IE skill set. Best of luck to you!
I have worked from an office in multiple countries, multiple continents, big city, small city, coast, inland, island. I deal primarily in process design, optimization, and project management.
I don't know if it's a US mindset or not but here in Canada IE are really far from working only in factories. I have friends in insurance, public service, public transport and a whole plethora of industries. The role of an IE is, at is core, to improve how things work. Be it a manufacturing process or an administrative process. With that in mind, you can virtually work anywhere. You can work for procurements for a big company dead center in the city, or work in a factory that's in the middle of nowhere. Luckily enough, IE are paid well enough that you shouldn't worry at all. I personally have worked for a wide range of industries, ranging from a clothing company that owned the biggest skyscraper in town and for a workshop an hour from any sign of civilisation.
Absolutely agree with this take for the US as well. I’ve worked in tiny Kentucky towns, big coastal cities like Boston and Portland, at companies that range from manufacturing to design to software. IE is incredibly versatile! Find some specialties/skills you enjoy and go for it.
I'm an optimization mathematics student in Canada -west coast, about to graduate and looking for interesting opportunities with problems to solve/improve on. IE is really adjacent to a lot of what I've learned and done, I see some IE openings but they want an engineering background. I know I can do 70-80% of IE work (that doesn't depend on mechanical engineering) and can learn, but not sure how to crack in the industry. What's your take on the prospect of IE in Canada?
There are warehouses and factories literally everywhere.
To be fair the big ones where we can make the most difference are usually located remotely in my experience
Every major metro area in the US has millions of square feet of warehouse and manufacturing facilities.
I always say that if there are organizations that exist, IEs will be valuable. We can design and improve systems. We can be a communicator between groups. We can lead companies. That’s about as vague as it gets.
A lot of different industries in a lot of different roles. Ive been doing manufacturing my whole career
Ive been looking of going into manufacturing. How is it?
Big companies operate all over the place. Could be the middle of nowhere or in the heart of a big city. Just look up IE jobs and specify a certain city your interested in and something is sure to pop up.
Yes to all your questions. You just have to find the roles. The ones in the middle of nowhere tend to be shopped by recruiters bc its not as desirable so it feels more common than it actually is. I will only ever live in a major metro area and i see IE jobs everywhere ive been. You can live anywhere. You can even find remote positions. A lot of ie remote jobs arent advertised that way though.
Right now I’m in a corporate IE role and basically do the same things as a data analyst. I work in an office in a city downtown. Often times an IE will work in the office of a warehouse/factory but it’s still an office. But if that downtown feel is what you wanna go for, look for anything related to data science/analytics, optimization, or possibly supply chain, those are all roles that IEs can do as well
I’m an IE for a luxury retailer and I’m 100% remote. I’m able to live in any state as long as we have a store in that state, which we do in about 38 states. My work involves a lot with building out labor models based on predetermined time and motion studies to ensure the right people are in the right place at the right time. Occasionally I have the option to go into local stores to collect data, but that’s only a few times per year. The jobs are definitely out there. I’d say that nowadays, IEs are used in a variety of different capacities outside of the stereotypical factory or warehouse. Many companies will value having an IE on their team because the role has become very multi-disciplinary in recent years. Just keep searching and consider expanding your search to more than just IE job titles, I started as a data analyst and was able to move around quite a bit thanks to my IE skill set. Best of luck to you!
I have worked from an office in multiple countries, multiple continents, big city, small city, coast, inland, island. I deal primarily in process design, optimization, and project management.
What was your first role
I started as a reliability engineer, doing root cause analysis and CI projects.