Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Industrial / Production engineering

Industrial/Production engineering is the branch of engineering which deals with the study to develop, improve, implement and evaluate the integrated systems of people, money, knowledge, information, equipment, energy, material and as a whole the industrial process.

Industrial Engineering can also be termed as Operations management, Production Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering or Manufacturing Systems Engineering depending on the viewpoint or motives of the user.

Production or industrial engineers’ work includes planning, measuring and controlling all activities within the organization, besides designing the production process for a product. An industrial or production engineer is responsible for the overall industrial production and management. He is moreover involved with the human and organizational aspects of developing the desired system.

Courses & Eligibility

An aspirant of industrial or production engineering must start his/her academic career in Science at intermediate level i.e. plus two (with Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics). After completion of plus two or class 12th in science stream he/she has to sit for entrance examinations conducted both at national and state level (e.g. IITJEE, AIEEE, BITSAT etc.). After qualifying the entrance exam he/she would take up BE/BTech in production/industrial engineering which is of four years duration.

The Institution of Engineers (India) also offers AMIE course which is equivalent to BE/BTech offered by other institutes/universities.

One, who still wants to study further after completing BE/BTech, can pursue MTech program offered by Indian Institutes of Technology and few other engineering colleges/universities across the country. For doing M.Tech the candidate needs to qualify the GATE examination.

Individuals with interests in research and development can take up PhD program after his/her post graduation studies.

Career Prospects

Industrial and production engineers find ample job opportunities in manufacturing companies. They can also be absorbed in several other organizations including banks, hospitals, finance, agriculture, public utilities, wholesale and retail trade, transportation, construction and government.

Both public and private sectors require industrial and production engineers for the smooth functioning of their Instrumental Manufacturing Industries and Industrial automation units. Those who have higher degrees and adequate managerial expertise can get top positions in the industrial/management field with attractive remuneration and incentives.

Industrial Engineers can also work as plant engineers, manufacturing engineers, quality engineers, process engineers and industrial managers in different industries, management and service sector in the middle management cadre. Most of the opportunities are in the private sector.

The recruitment in government sector is conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) which holds Engineering Services Examinations every year to appoint engineers in its various Central services. There are large numbers of openings waiting for industrial/production engineering graduates in the Railways, Armed Forces and in other Government departments as well as in most PSUs.

Pay-Package

Industrial and production engineers receive excellent pay packages. The average starting monthly salary of production/industrial engineering graduates in India ranges between Rs. 15,000 – Rs.25, 000. The pay-package in foreign countries is much higher as compared to India. Fresh graduates from elite technological institutions like Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), National Institutes of Technology (NITs) and Birla Institute of Technology get more remuneration as compared to others.

Institutes/Universities

Here is a list of top institutions offering courses in industrial and production engineering. You can also check list of vast number of engineering colleges/universities located in various states and major cities of the country which might be offering courses in industrial and production engineering.