Industrial Technology Career Overview

Professionals of industrial technology use fabrication and engineering skills to create a streamlined production process. The domain employs technically proficient and creative individuals who could help a firm achieve profitable and efficient productivity. Let's learn more about the field.

A Brief Insight

Industrial technology is basically using manufacturing and engineering technology to improve production speed, besides making the process simpler and much efficient. The field includes a myriad of job opportunities or career options and takes on-board professionals having expertise in a range of disciplines. For instance, professionals in the field could end up operating heavy machinery that's used for manufacturing products or configuring equipment to create molds that make different product components such as lanterns, buckles and even cars.

Professionals are often expected to think laterally or out of the ordinary for creating and applying more efficient production and manufacturing techniques. Irrespective of preferred career paths or education, any qualified individual with creativity and passion has space in this industry.

Education Details

An industrial technology career typically requires formal college or university-level education. As aforementioned, opportunities are aplenty for the right candidates regardless of their educational background. Candidates with an associate degree would usually qualify for base-level technologist and technician positions - the primary job responsibility being machinery maintenance and operation.

Candidates with a bachelor's degree could lap up engineering and management positions: production supervisor, plant manager, quality systems engineer, to name a few. A graduate degree could land up individuals in teaching, research and senior management jobs.

Degree programs and online courses in the field are good options for people who cannot completely dedicate their time to campus-based learning.

Career Options

Degree program graduates have the highest and most diverse career options. Some opportunity areas include cost estimation, industrial production management and sales management.

i. Industrial Production Manager: Industrial production managers utilize administrative and logistic skills to supervise goods production. Their job responsibilities include ensuring on-time production that doesn't exceed set budgets. They may follow or institute quality control programs for ensuring safety and meeting government or industry standards.

ii. Cost Estimator: A cost estimator has extensive industry-specific pricing knowledge. This know-how is used to assess cost of materials, parts and labor required for production. As per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), employers prefer hiring cost estimators who have relevant job experience and a bachelor's degree. Individuals with a graduate degree program would have to gather some construction materials experience prior to entering this domain.

iii. Sales Manager: A sales manager deploys programs for increasing a business or organization's revenue. These professionals have services and products training and keep a close watch on market trends for maximizing company profits. Individuals with a background in industrial technology may find opportunities in the manufacturing sector. Visit our website for more information.

Employment Details

Though industrial technology provides several career options for degree graduates, a few occupations in the industry are likely to experience slow or no growth at all in the nearest future. Between 2012 and 2022, employment opportunities for industrial production managers are likely to plummet by 2 percent. This is courtesy automated technology advancements in recent years. Despite the job market decline, firms are still looking to hire qualified industrial production managers for delegating and supervising employee responsibilities.