Industrial Engineering VS Civil Engineering: Salary, Job Outlooks, Requirements

There has been a lot of arguments about which is better between civil and industrial engineering. This is what this article is aimed to achieve: to help you understand the difference between industrial engineering vs civil engineering.

In every firm, someone will have to check to ensure that all resources are properly put in use without waste. In the same vein, someone too will have to ensure the maximum productivity of the staff of the company. These and more are some of the duties of an industrial engineer.

In this article, you’ll learn more about industrial engineering and we’ll also evaluate and weigh which of industrial and civil engineering is better.

But meanwhile here below is the table of contents to help you have a quick look into our discussion.

What is Civil Engineering?

Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment. This includes public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewerage systems, pipelines, structural components of buildings, and railways.

Generally, it is simply everything we see that’s been built around us. The field of Civil engineering is one of the oldest branches of engineering.

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What is Industrial Engineering?

Industrial engineering is the branch of engineering that involves figuring out how to make or do things better in industries and factories.

Basically, Industrial engineers study how workers perform their jobs and the goal is to increase general work efficiency, improve the quality of products and services, ensure workers’ health and safety, protect the environment, increase overall productivity.

Part of what they do is to ensure there is nothing that brings delay and waste of time at work. They also ensure to conserve money, materials, energy, and other resources.

Are there any similarities between Civil Engineering and Industrial Engineering?

The only known similarity between civil engineering and industrial engineering is that both of them are engineering careers.

In addition, one of the notable similarities between civil engineering and industrial engineering is that both disciplines involve solving real and complex problems by manufacturing products and building structures that meet the ever-changing needs of the people who use them.

Furthermore, civil and industrial engineers are also similar in that their training allows them to work in various industries, such as the private sector, nonprofit organizations, and government agencies. 

What are the differences between Civil Engineering and Industrial Engineering?

Having seen some of the similarities between these two careers, the two jobs are very different.

There are many differences between Industrial engineering and civil engineering. In this part, we’ll explore some of the differences between these two careers. (Ambien)

The main difference between civil and Industrial engineers is that civil engineers are more like in the designing of infrastructure. In contrast, Industrial engineers specialize in the making and implementation of workplace policies for maximum productivity.

Civil engineers work mostly on large-scale projects, which require the design, construction, and maintenance of the infrastructure of cities and countries. The systems that civil engineers implement include roads, bridges, dams, airports, buildings, water supply systems, and sewage and waste treatment plants while Industrial engineers put emphasis on efficiency and safety to ensure the systems they construct run smoothly to minimize risks to public use.

Additionally, Industrial engineers are responsible for implementing control systems to manage production schedules and flow, resolve production issues, and analyze costs and spending. They are also into work safety and are considered “efficiency experts” who maximize efficiency and minimize costs in production environments.

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What are the career requirements to become a Civil engineer?

Budding civil engineers generally begin their college careers by enrolling in chemistry, physics, and advanced mathematics courses in high school. Additionally, students may take courses in engineering statistics in order to develop their computational skills.

Generally, a civil engineering career begins with need a bachelor’s degree. It could be in any one of its specialties, or in civil engineering technology. Students will be exposed to coursework like maths, statistics, engineering mechanics and systems, and fluid dynamics, among other courses, depending on the area of specialization. Courses include a mix of traditional classroom learning, work in laboratories, and fieldwork.

After the undergraduate course work, a civil engineering student may need to also acquire a master’s degree. Although this is not compulsory, it is still important.

A degree from a program accredited by the ABET is needed in order to earn a professional engineer (PE) license. In many states, a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering technology also will suffice as an academic requirement for obtaining a license.

What are the career requirements to become an industrial engineer?

Industrial engineers need at least a bachelor’s degree to obtain entry-level positions.

Industrial engineers typically major in courses like degrees in electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, industrial engineering technology, or general engineering are also applicable.

In both fields, completing a master’s degree is essential to pursuing a senior-level position within the industry.

Which of these two careers is in more demand?

The employment of civil engineers is projected to grow 6 percent over the next ten years. As infrastructure continues to age, civil engineers will be needed to manage projects to rebuild, repair, and upgrade bridges, roads, levees, dams, airports, buildings, and structures.

 According to the BLS, civil engineering career is expected to increase by 11% between 2016 and 2026.

In the same vein, industrial engineers are projected to grow 10 percent between 2016 and 2026 due to the increasing demand by major organizations for efficiency and reduced production costs.

Who earns better between an Industrial Engineer and a Civil Engineer?

Industrial engineers and civil engineers earn salaries almost within the same range. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the national average salary for civil engineers is $87,060 per year while the average salary for Industrial engineers is $85,880.

From this report, we can deduce that civil engineers earn salaries a Lil bit higher than industrial engineers.

Conclusion

Pursuing a career either in Industrial engineering is usually very demanding but can be very rewarding too. However, from the article, we could possibly deduce that working as a civil engineer will take you more time and commitment and will, at the same time, pay you more. We could see obviously that civil engineers earn a little higher than industrial engineers. We hope this article on civil engineering vs Industrial engineering helps you make an informed choice on the next step in your career.

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