General IE

Types of Degrees General IE Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many general industrial engineering graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Bachelor’s Degree	5,205
Master’s Degree	2,737
Doctor’s Degree	346
Graduate Certificate	217
Basic Certificate	189
Associate Degree	28

What General IE Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to general ie and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.

Knowledge Areas for General IE Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in general ie should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

• Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
• Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
• Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

Skills for General IE Majors

general ie majors are found most commonly in careers in which the following skills are important:

• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.

Abilities for General IE Majors

A major in general ie will prepare for your careers in which the following abilities are important:

• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

What Can You Do With a General IE Major?

People with a general ie degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Architectural and Engineering Managers	5.5%	$140,760
Engineering Professors	14.7%	$101,720
Human Factors Engineers and Ergonomists	9.7%	$87,040
Industrial Engineers	9.7%	$87,040

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in General IE?

This major tends to be male dominated. About 65% of recent graduates are men.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of general ie majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	547
Black or African American	241
Hispanic or Latino	754
White	2,715
International Students	647
Other Races/Ethnicities	301

Geographic Diversity

General IE appeals to people across the globe. About 12.4% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to General IE

Some careers associated with general ie require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to general ie have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	0.1%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	5.9%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	6.3%
Some College Courses	11.3%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	10.9%
Bachelor’s Degree	42.7%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	4.3%
Master’s Degree	11.8%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	1.7%
Doctoral Degree	3.6%
Post-Doctoral Training	1.0%

Online General IE Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	1	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	8	1
Bachelor’s Degree	21	9
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	91	16
Post-Master’s	5	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	58	1
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020

More about our data sources and methodologies.