The Profession

Everything needed in modern society is manufactured.Manufacturing engineers design, direct and coordinate the processes and production systems for making virtually every kind of product from beginning to end. As businesses try to make products better and at a lower cost, they turn to manufacturing engineers to find out how.

Manufacturing engineers apply scientific principles to the production of goods. They are key team members in production of a wide range of products: automobiles, airplanes, tractors, electronics, surgical instruments, toys, building products, foodstuffs, sports and recreational equipment, and more. In all cases, manufacturing engineers design the processes and systems to make products with the required functionality, to high quality standards, available when and where customers prefer, at the best possible price and in ways that are environmentally friendly.

The Program

As a graduate of manufacturing engineering, you will have the opportunity to design systems and processes that improve the quality and productivity of an organization’s business activities. You will employ a strong base of fundamental engineering and management skills to effectively integrate people, technology, machines and money to create positive change. Quite simply, you will design and implement the best way to make things.

Career Opportunities

The IME programs at NDSU can help you to open the door to various opportunities for starting your professional career in a wide range of industries or to seek advanced degrees at NDSU or another institution. The IME programs will help you to develop a strong basis in general education and engineering fundamentals that provide the foundation for a very wide range of career choices and for a lifetime of growth. IME programs will help you develop industry-standard skills you can use to open the door to many career opportunities that can offer you financial rewards and exceptional professional success.

Manufacturing engineering graduates have become a source of talent working in industries that produce such products as biomedical devices, microelectronics, transportation and construction equipment, aircraft and spacecraft, and processed foods. Recent IME graduates command starting salaries in the top rank of engineering disciplines. The 2015 Annual Employment Report data provided by the NDSU Career Center show an average salary of $57,000 for manufacturing engineering graduates.