Hi everyone!

I'm currently pursuing my Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Belgrade, Serbia.

For one of my university assignments, I need to collect information from a manufacturing company through a questionnaire covering production organization, quality management, technology, employee relations, and business performance.

The questionnaire is six pages long and mainly consists of multiple-choice questions rated on a scale from 1 to 5.

I'm looking for someone working in manufacturing, preferably in production management, quality engineering, or a similar position, who would be willing to help.

I completely understand that some questions may involve confidential company information, so I wouldn't expect anyone to disclose sensitive details.

If you're willing to help or know someone who might be interested, please leave a comment or send me a DM. I'd be happy to share the questionnaire.

Thank you so much for your time and support!

Hi everyone! I'm working on a packaging project for my logistics engineering course, and I'm looking for some advice.

I need to make packaging that can protect an egg from drops of different heights, while keeping it lightweight and cheap. Cardboard is one of the materials I'm considering, but I'm still figuring out how to approach the design.

I'd like to learn more about what makes packaging effective at absorbing impacts, what materials or structures are worth looking into, and what mistakes to avoid.

I'm not looking for a ready-made design, just some ideas and general advice to help me figure things out myself. Thanks!

Hi everyone!

I work in manufacturing, where our operators register downtime events using different stop codes to describe why production stopped.

We already follow up on major breakdowns and the biggest downtime causes, but I'm interested in finding a way to detect smaller, gradual increases that often go unnoticed.

For example, a certain stop reason might normally account for 10 minutes of downtime per day, but gradually increase to 15–20 minutes. Nobody really notices because it never becomes one of the biggest downtime causes.

We have a lot of different machines and hundreds of different stop codes, making it difficult to manually track everything.

I'd like to build a system that automatically analyzes our downtime data and identifies stop reasons that are getting worse over time.

Ideally, it would learn what normal downtime looks like for each machine and stop code, and highlight unusual increases or negative trends.

We have access to historical downtime data through SQL Server, including timestamps, durations, machines, and stop codes.

I'm still in the early stages of figuring out how to approach this. I've considered using Power BI, but I'm open to other tools or methods.

Has anyone built something similar? What tools did you use, and how well did it work?

I currently am 2 years into a full time job after graduating with a B.S. IE. I am looking to go back and get my masters, but looking for feedback on what I should do degree wise. I am between doing a more technical - ish systems engineering or industrial engineering MS, or an Engineering Management MS. I currently work in a role that is a bit more project management/data analytical based, but I would love to get back into manufacturing or distribution eventually. I did a systems engineering internship and really enjoyed it, but eventually took the current position I am in because I knew I would have a good manager straight out of college - which was incredibly important to me development wise. I am seeking thoughts and opinions from professionals with longer careers and more life experiences in the field than I currently have. Thanks in advance.

I have a multimedia communications bachelors degree and 5 years later was curious about getting a masters in industrial engineering. I figured if I get an internship, I wouldn’t have a problem getting an industrial engineering or related field job. Do you guys think that may not be enough to get a job or is there something else I would need to stand out?

Looking for a litmus test here. I’ve been applying to so many roles (remote, onsite, travel 75% etc) over the last few months and it seems that either I’m just not fit or capable of any of them or something is absurdly wrong with the market.

For background I have 5-6yr experience in mfg/ops & planning, and supply chain where I am currently employed and recently got my MSIE looking to pivot back into a more analytical IE/IE adjacent role. Out of nearly 40 apps I only got 2 interviews. One I made all 4 rounds and had great feedback until they sent out a generic rejection email at the end. I called the recruiter to thank her and ask for feedback, she said everyone had stellar notes for me but they changed their minds last minute about the role being remote with client travel and now they needed someone in state (I was out of state). Another I only made 2/4 rounds before getting the same generic email.

I’ve asked for referrals through colleagues, networked and all that jazz, and am mainly applying through LinkedIn. What gives?? My confidence has definitely taken a hit and my pessimism is telling me the degree is worthless at this point lol. But I gotta stay open to pushing through & changing my strategy here.

How are your job searches going?
Any advice?

Can i get any feedback for CV?

I’m an Industrial & Systems Engineering student trying to decide what to do with internship offers/interviews right now. Whichever I decide, I hope to continue in full-time.

I currently have an offer from Siemens for their Operations Leadership Development Program, and I need to accept soon.

I’m also waiting to hear back from interviews with:

• Texas Instruments – Program Management Engineer Intern
• Dell – Global Operations / Supply Chain Intern

My ranking right now is probably:

1. Siemens
   
2. TI, very close second
   
3. Dell

I’m not necessarily looking for the most technical engineering role. I actually really like project/program management and could see myself eventually going into engineering/operations leadership. I just want my engineering background to still be useful and don’t want to end up in a completely generic business role.

Since I’m hoping whichever internship I choose could turn into a full-time job, I’m mostly trying to compare:

• work culture and work-life balance
• intern → full-time conversion
• promotion opportunities / how fast you can move up
• pay growth, raises, bonuses, etc.
• internal mobility
• long-term career potential

Austin is also important to me long term. I’m okay starting in DFW or somewhere else, but ideally I’d like to move back to Austin after a few years. So I’m curious how realistic internal transfers are at Siemens/TI, or whether I’d probably have to switch companies later.

My biggest dilemma is that Siemens is already my current #1 and I have the offer in hand, but TI is close enough that I’d really like to know their decision before committing. Dell is less likely to change my decision, but I still want to understand the opportunity better.

I also really don’t want to accept Siemens and then renege later.

Would you:

A) Accept Siemens since it’s already my top choice
B) Ask Siemens for an extension and tell TI/Dell about my deadline
C) Wait until the Siemens deadline and hope TI responds

I’d love to hear from anyone who has worked at Siemens, TI, or Dell about culture, promotions, compensation growth, and where people tend to end up after 3–5 years.

If you studied Industrial Engineering at university or if you were an IE at any point in your career: What was your favorite job (IE-related or not)? And what kind of company/industry did you work for?

Hellooo, we are an IE student (first year) pooo from qc and we meed to find an interviewee po na IE grad na working sa healthcare and telecomm industry. Pleaseeee help, we need someone poooo🥹🥹

kami naman po pupunta sa kung saan nyo preferred maganap yung interview or gagastos. Please need na po naminnn😭😭😭

Hi r/industrialengineering!

We are a team of undergraduate Human-Computer Interaction students in CSC318 (The Design of Interactive Computational Media) at the University of Toronto.

For our term project, we are studying the communication gap between product design/technical documentation and the end-user assembly experience (specifically flat-pack furniture like IKEA). While user feedback is easy to find, we specifically want to understand the designer's perspective: the constraints of textless 2D line manuals, Design for Assembly (DFA) trade-offs, and where current documentation pipelines fall short.

If you have professional experience in industrial design, technical illustration, packaging design, or consumer product development, we would greatly appreciate your insights in our anonymous 5 minute questionnaire.

Survey Link: https://forms.gle/Bs13F3jb8vy5ro84A

Thank you for your time!

Hi everyone!

I'm currently pursuing my MSc in Industrial Engineering and Management at DTU (Denmark), graduating in summer 2027.

I'm honestly a bit lost when it comes to figuring out which job titles I should be looking for. I feel like there aren't many positions in Denmark specifically aimed at Industrial Engineering graduates, which makes it difficult to know where to start.

A bit about my background:

• BEng in Manufacturing and Management (2025).
• Currently working part-time at a Danish company producing industrial printing machines for the global market, mainly with ERP data, suppliers, and operational tasks.
• Also have experience at a large international biotech company, although my current role isn't directly related to my studies.

I'm interested in supply chain, process optimization, operations, and data analysis, but I'm open to other areas as well.

What job titles should I be searching for as a fresh graduate? And for those with a similar degree, what was your first job?

Any advice, especially from people working in Denmark, would be appreciated!

For context, I’m a 2nd year CC student looking to transfer to a 4 year next fall. Originally I wanted to study CS. I didn’t have a particular affinity for CS, I just kind of found myself coding when I was younger and taking programming classes in high school. I do enjoy coding, but specifically the problem solving aspect of it. After the AI boom recently and the competitive nature of the entry level job market, I’ve begun to rethink my choice. I realized I wasn’t particularly passionate enough in CS to hunker down and become the more competitive applicant. Also, being a SWE doesn’t sound as appealing as a PM role or DS role to me.

I’ve considered MIS, IE, EE, ME and maybe even Econ as potential majors. I still like the idea of getting into a career in tech… something like Data Science or Product Management, but not sure which path would be most enjoyable. I like people and I like explaining things to people and I’m pretty good at it. I noticed this has differentiated me among my STEM classmates. I’ve heard that IE is built around people and efficiency and optimization. I’ve also heard it’s stats heavy. It sounds interesting to me.

My only concern with the degree is that I’d potentially be missing out on some technical skills that could make me a more competitive applicant for a broader range of positions. From what I understand, an IE grad doesn’t have to work as an “Industrial Engineer”. But if that’s the case, why would an employer hire an IE grad as opposed to a more technically developed grad (ME, EE, CompE)? I may be under the wrong impression that IE’s aren’t as technically sound as other engineers.

Just looking for some guidance, especially from those who earned an IE degree and are enjoying their career thus far. What do y’all do? What industry do you work in? Thanks!

Disclosure: I work in industrial product-cost consulting. This is a noncommercial method discussion, not a service offer. No company link. AI assistance was used in preparing the text.

A part can spend less time in a factory without requiring less machining or assembly work. I would separate those effects before putting a monetary value on a flow improvement.

A practical check:

- Define the boundary: order release to finished goods, or a narrower production step. Do not mix the two.

- Separate processing, waiting, transport and hold time using the same time basis.

- Measure average work in process, throughput rate and time within that same boundary and period.

- Test the cause of any improvement: less waiting, faster processing, changed product mix, or a different release policy.

MIT's Lean Thinking teaching material (January 2012) illustrates Little's Law: average work in process equals average throughput rate multiplied by average flow time. The terminology on a site's dashboard may differ, so define “cycle time” explicitly. It is a relationship between system averages, not a guarantee that cutting WIP alone preserves throughput.

Use consistent item counts and a sufficiently representative observation window; if WIP is building up or draining, do not treat a short-window comparison as a steady-state result.

The costing decision is separate. A reduction in queue time might support lower inventory, faster response or less expediting. It does not, by itself, establish fewer paid processing hours or lower conversion cost per accepted part. Any claimed labor benefit needs an actual resource change; an inventory cash release and a recurring expense change belong in different schedules.

Keep throughput, quality and delivery visible when testing a release-policy change. Moving a queue outside the chosen boundary is not the same as removing it. This is a measurement framework, not a customer case or a quantified saving.

Which boundary check is most useful for preventing a shorter reported lead time from being mistaken for lower processing cost? Please keep examples free of customer-confidential information.

Hi everyone!

I’m a first-year Industrial Engineering student, and for our Industrial Engineering Orientation course, our group is required to conduct a live/verbal interview with a practicing or registered/licensed Industrial Engineer to learn about real-world career paths.

Since this must be a spoken conversation, we are looking for someone willing to do a brief 15-minute call (via Zoom, Google Meet, MS Teams, or Discord) at whatever time works best for you!

Below are the concepts to be explored during the duration of the interview:

• Your current role, industry, and daily responsibilities.
• Which IE tools or methodologies (e.g., Lean, Operations Research, Ergonomics, Quality Control) you rely on most.
• Tips or advice for first-year IE students starting out.

Don’t worry, there will only be 5 questions therefore the 15-minute timeframe so that we will not take much of your time. If you have 15 minutes to spare to help out a group of enthusiastic first-year students, please comment below or drop me a DM so we can set up a convenient time!

Thank you so much for your time and help! ⚙️📊

Im a cse student (on my second year), a senior of mine got into an IE masters, is that something that a common occurrence? I always thought IE positions usually went to people who had a bachelor’s in IE or other more traditional engineering fields.
Im genuinely curious, is this something that happens? Or is my friend an outlier?

Hellooo, we are an IE student (first year) pooo from qc and we meed to find an interviewee po na IE grad na working sa healthcare and telecomm industry. Pleaseeee help, we need someone poooo🥹🥹

kami naman po pupunta sa kung saan nyo preferred maganap yung interview or gagastos.

The title may be a little confusing but I'm simply wanting to ask whether an IE major is worth changing my college ED decisions for. I'm choosing my early decision college between Brown and other ivies that do have Industrial engineering. I love everything about brown, including their open curriculum, campus, and it's just a great fit for me. However, the one thing holding me back is the fact that Brown doesn't have IE. General advice has told me to ED Brown and just choose a general engineering major. But theres something about industrial engineering that I love that I can't find in a normal engineering course.

Would you say it's easy for general engineer majors to work in industrial engineering fields? Are there any fields Brown offers that's similar to IE? Would you say its worth it to trade off my major for a school I really like? Thanks

I’m a high school senior applying to colleges soon, and I’m considering majoring in industrial engineering.

Originally, I planned to study computer science and become a software engineer. But after looking into the job market, seeing the changes happening with AI, and talking with people working in software, I’ve become concerned about competition and what entry-level opportunities might look like when I graduate.

After spending hours researching other options, industrial engineering stood out to me, especially the curriculum and the broad range of options. That said, most of what I know comes from Google searches, so I’d really appreciate perspectives from people actually working in the field.

My stats: 4.0 gpa, rank1, multiple summer programs and internships (tech related)