Engineering is one field that is involved in industrial specializations. It examines and improves manufacturing production processes to develop more effective and lucrative systems.
It is worth noting that it is not every industrial engineering career that offers the highest salaries.
In this article, we will list and explain the 15 best highest paying jobs in industrial specialties.
Table of contents
Who is an Industrial Engineer?
An Industrial Engineer is an expert who designs and evaluates the processes that go into manufacturing a product.
His goal is to streamline production processes and eliminate wastefulness.
Where does an Industrial Engineer work?
- Transportation manufacturing companies
- Computer manufacturing companies
- Technical service companies
15 Best Paying Jobs in Industrial Specialties in 2023
- Plant Engineering Manager
- Standards Engineer
- Industrial Engineering Manager
- Production Engineer
- Plant Utility Engineer
- Manufacturing Engineering Manager
- Plant Engineer
- Manufacturing Engineer
- Plastics Engineer
- Manufacturing Project Engineer
- Vibration Analyst
- CNC Field Service Engineer
- Packaging Designer
- Outside Plant Engineer
- Fabrication Engineer
- Vibration Engineer/Technician
Plant Engineering Manager
Salary: $100,000 to $132,500 annually.
The first on this list of best paying jobs in industrial specialties is a Plant Engineering manager.
A plant engineering manager is in charge of all technical and engineering tasks.
Your primary responsibilities include managing the development of engineering projects and enhancing plant energy efficiency through the optimization of HVAC, electric, steam, water, hydraulic, and compression air systems.
Additionally, you’ll need to negotiate contracts with contractors and other important service providers in person.
Assisting with capital budgeting and performing internal, technical, and cross-site root cause analyses to comprehend plant occurrences are among your other responsibilities.
Again, you’ll need to help with hiring, training, and defining important performance goals for your employees.
Plant Engineering Managers typically make $46.59 per hour and $96,000 a year.
They need to be well versed in key areas, including continuous improvement, capital projects, plant equipment, plant safety, and project management.
You also need to have excellent communication abilities.
For the educational requirements, a bachelor’s degree in an engineering discipline, such as mechanical engineering or electrical engineering is necessary.
See also: 15 Best Paying Jobs in Computer Manufacturing in 2023
Standards Engineer
Salary: $68,500 to $131,000 annually
The standards and specifications of projects and assuring compliance with them are fundamental to the work of a standards engineer. You’ll monitor manufacturing ensuring they adhere to quality standards.
This professional may also be in charge of the development of technical and engineering apps and specification of their requirements in terms of design, processes, and materials.
It will be your job to ensure that standard engineering processes are followed. You will educate field employees on engineering specifics.
Communication, creativity, and teamwork are fundamental abilities required for this position.
Additionally, you should pay close attention to detail and be well-versed in technical standards.
For this position, a bachelor’s degree in engineering is the minimal educational need.
An average standards engineer makes $99,000 per year. If we are to say, this is one of the best paying jobs in industrial specialties.
Industrial Engineering Manager
Salary: $91,000 to $122,500 annually
An Industrial Engineering Manager is responsible for supervising project operations and planning in a manufacturing or industrial plant.
In this line, you can be responsible for leading a group of engineers, finding and assigning resources for projects, and guaranteeing productivity and quality across the entire production cycle.
To ensure everything goes smoothly, you could make changes as an engineering manager during the design and manufacturing phases.
In some roles, you are in charge of selecting the engineering team, creating a budget for each project, and corresponding with clients or business management to discuss budget requirements or project progress.
All parts of industrial engineering activities are planned and managed by these specialists. Operations, work measurement, procedures, material consumption, work station, and material handling design are all improved with their assistance. They keep an eye on productivity and process optimization.
You must have a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering and at least five years of experience in a related industry to be considered for this position. You need to have leadership, problem-solving, and analytical skills.
Industrial Engineering managers must know work measurement, standard data, and the creation, implementation, and upkeep of accountability programs to be successful in this position.
Managers of industrial engineering make, on average, $105,795 per year.
Production Engineer
Range of salary: $83,500 to $116,500 annually
Each week, these experts work between 40 and 60 hours to ensure production operations and procedures run well. In industrial environments, production engineers optimize efficiency by streamlining procedures.
They produce excellent items that generate fantastic revenues using low-cost raw materials. Additionally, these best paying jobs in industrial specialties oversee and improve output in factories, plants, and industries.
Their main responsibilities include:
- Creating plans to increase productivity and efficiency.
- Assisting engineering teams.
- Escalating problems to higher authorities.
- Creating safety measures.
One of the responsibilities of a production engineer is to evaluate the effectiveness of present practices and processes, spot areas for improvement, and create plans to cut waste and increase efficiency.
For this position, you will need a strong problem-solving and observational ability as well as the capacity to explain intricate, highly technical ideas to non-technical coworkers and upper management.
Jobs as a production engineers are available in the manufacturing sector and with governmental organizations.
Mechanical or chemical engineering bachelor’s and master’s degrees will prepare you for a career in production engineering.
It is one of the best paying jobs in industrial specialties where one can earn up to $44.91 per hour.
You can be employed in the plastic, automotive, apparel, and electronics industries.
See also: 15 Best Paying Jobs in Medical/Dental Instruments in 2023
Plant Utility Engineer
Salary: $67,500 to $105,500 year
The mechanical machinery of a utility plant is maintained and run by a plant utility engineer.
Plant Utility Engineers are in charge of operating, maintaining, and fixing various electrical and mechanical devices. Water heaters, ventilators, electrical distributors, and other devices are tested, repaired, and calibrated by them safely and effectively.
While some plant utility engineers do a variety of tasks, others could focus on a particular discipline, such as plumbing, electrical work, or air control systems.
A plant engineer could also be required to instruct fresh hires on how to maintain the machinery that belongs to them.
To be considered for this position, you must have an engineering degree in addition to years of work experience. Along with keeping an eye on energy initiatives, you’ll also understand energy usage and suggest more effective ways to use and produce it.
It is one of the best paying jobs in industrial specialties.
Manufacturing Engineering Manager
Pay: $90,000-$120,500 year
An organization’s manufacturing engineering manager is in charge of developing and enforcing its manufacturing procedures. You are responsible for ensuring that the engineering team and other manufacturing departments work well together.
Your work responsibilities also include:
- Managing budgets.
- Supervising development projects.
- Approving equipment updates, planning, and operating integrated systems.
- Creating machinery to assist in manufacturing.
You must also review, consider, and put into practice engineering changes and specification demands. The daily appraisal of the junior personnel is another responsibility of yours.
You must guarantee that projects are completed while working within the authorized budget.
A bachelor’s degree in engineering and at least five years of experience are prerequisites for a career as a manufacturing engineering manager. Both technical expertise and teamwork abilities are required. You must be a strong leader.
The average salary of this best paying jobs in industrial specialties is on average $105,839.
Plant Engineer
Range of salary: $73,500 to $104,000 annually
In a manufacturing facility, you work as a production plant engineer to make sure that daily activities go without a hitch, especially tools and machinery.
Your duties will involve creating new systems or pieces of equipment, instructing plant workers on how to use them properly, carrying out or supervising preventive maintenance and repairs, and more.
Planning and managing engineering projects, creating layouts for manufacturing equipment, and ensuring compliance with safety and environmental regulations are all possible additional work responsibilities.
A bachelor’s degree in industrial design or an engineering subspecialty like chemical, mechanical, nuclear, or electrical engineering is the primary requirement for a job in plant engineering.
Employers may prefer candidates with professional certification, such as the Certified Plant Engineer (CPE) designation from the Association for Facilities Engineering (AFE), which attests to their skills.
Manufacturing Engineer
Salary: $70,000 to $102,000 annually
Designing and enhancing manufacturing systems is the responsibility of manufacturing engineers. They collaborate with commercial or industrial designers to remodel the items to be more cost-effective and durable.
As a result, you will troubleshoot and offer ongoing improvement strategies to raise the product’s quality and efficiency.
Utilizing your understanding of fabrication techniques, tooling, production equipment, assembly, and quality control, you will design and install the manufacturing equipment.
To set standards and validate the process to improve the current process, you will also test the procedures and final products. Then, to assist other production team members, you will either train them in the established processes or document them.
Manufacturing engineers adhere to environmental laws and health and safety rules.
Your annual salary as a manufacturing engineer will be around $70,000. It is one of the best paying jobs in industrial specialties.
You must be proficient in the necessary computer software and possess several necessary abilities, such as problem-solving and project management.
For this position, an engineering degree is essential, while a postgraduate degree would be advantageous.
Plastics Engineer
Salary: $73,000 to $99,000 annually
You create and develop items and products using plastic as a plastics engineer. You work with plastics engineers and other colleagues to enhance manufacturing procedures, cut manufacturing costs, design molding for plastic items, set parameters and requirements for new designs, and improve manufacturing processes overall.
A bachelor’s degree in engineering technology or plastics engineering and a professional engineering (PE) license are requirements for a career as a plastics engineer.
To work in plastics engineering, you must have a solid grasp of mathematical concepts and plastic properties.
This is one of the best paying jobs in industrial specialties.
See also: 15 Best Paying Jobs in Packaged Goods/Cosmetics
Manufacturing Project Engineer
Pays: $69,000-$95,000 annually
They play a crucial function in the factory. As a result, manufacturing project engineers have recently been integrated into modern manufacturing and production processes.
Engineers working on manufacturing projects ensure that project expenses stay within predetermined budgets and that schedules follow the project plan. They organize and manage daily operations according to a project plan.
They oversee project changes and guarantee that production is conducted in accordance with quality and safety standards.
Engineers working on manufacturing projects resolve any commercial and technical issues.
The average annual income for manufacturing project engineers is $79,188. The requirements for this best paying jobs in industrial specialties are excellent IT abilities, exceptional organizing, and decision-making skills, and communication skills.
Vibration Analyst
Payscale: $69,000-$86,500 year
A vibration analyzer examines and pinpoints machine breakdown in many industrial and manufacturing environments.
For instance, if a machine malfunctions even slightly while it is running, a vibration analyst’s job is to notice and fix it before a production halt happens.
You’ll be expected to use vibration analyzers to monitor machinery, diagnose mechanical components, examine machine sensors, and write reports outlining your findings.
Vibration analysts must complete certification programs with the knowledge and abilities needed to diagnose broken machinery by looking for spinning unbalance and other problems.
Working knowledge of simple machinery, superior communication abilities, and computer familiarity is required.
The average pay for this best paying jobs in industrial specialties is $76,733.
CNC Field Service Engineer
Pay: $63,500-$79,500 year
CNC machines are tools field service engineers use for CNC Field Service Engineers (Computer Numerical Control).
You install, evaluate, and fix these machines in this position while documenting your efforts in technical reports. You visit the project site most days, study the drawings, install new CNC machines according to instructions, and test them to ensure they are operating properly.
Additionally, you can perform maintenance on existing equipment, investigate problems and make any necessary tweaks or repairs to have them operating at their best for your customers.
You must instruct customer service engineers on how to use new product lines and install them.
In the US, a CNC Field Service Engineer makes an average salary of $70,798 per year.
Packaging Designer
Salary: $50,500 to $74,000 per year
A package designer develops visual and physical packaging for various products, including toys, food and drink, and cosmetics.
Their responsibilities include creating 2D and 3D representations with product development and graphic design experts. They frequently handle the entire project, from the design specifications to final production, ensuring that the packaging is consistent with the brand.
A package designer’s other duties include selecting the material type for the packaging and modifying samples before mass production.
Although requirements for this employment can differ, a bachelor’s degree in graphic design or a related discipline is often required.
It is one of the best paying jobs in industrial specialties.
In the US, a packaging designer makes an average salary of $67,235 per year.
Outside Plant Engineer
Pay: $55,500-$90,500 year
This is another best paying jobs in industrial specialties.
An OSP, or outside plant engineer, works in the communications industry. Your main duties in this profession center on building, inspecting and maintaining plant infrastructure.
This entails checking cables and conduits and examining fiber optic installations above, below, and in the air.
As an OSP engineer, you spend a lot of time outside taking field notes and conducting observations, but you also have obligations beyond analysis. You must also ensure that everyone who reports to you abides by industry standards and that your projects adhere to those standards.
The average annual wage for outside plant engineers in the United States is $85,603, or $41 per hour.
Fabrication Engineer
Pay: $44,500-$90,500 year
An industrial engineer with a particular understanding of developing and enhancing manufacturing processes is called a fabrication engineer.
You supply financial information according to each project’s requirements and work in various industries, such as optoelectronics and the automobile.
Your work responsibilities include:
- Arranging the production schedule.
- Making sure there is enough time to finish a project.
- Estimating the cost of things such as metal and other costs.
There is a need for organizing and research skills, and practical work experience is desired.
To pursue a career as a fabrication engineer, you must possess certain formal credentials and training, often at least a bachelor’s degree in engineering or a closely related discipline, and the ability to pass state exams and receive the necessary licenses.
The typical wage for this best paying jobs in industrial specialties is $61,833.
See also: 15 Best Paying Jobs in Catalog/Specialty Distribution in 2023
Vibration Engineer/Technician
Salary: $51000 to $86500 per year in salary
Your duties as a vibration technician often change depending on the industry you choose to work in. You frequently test products or designs and identify vibration-related issues.
Collecting vibration data may be one of your responsibilities. After this, you might have to work on fixing or replacing any equipment or mechanical and electrical parts that don’t adhere to safety, performance, or efficiency criteria.
Other tasks could require specific troubleshooting abilities, including understanding how to rotate components to correct a problem.
These technicians make an average yearly pay of $72,628.
Conclusion
An industrial engineer examines intricate manufacturing processes and discovers ways to boost output.
These are the highest and best paying jobs in industrial specialties.
We hope you enjoyed reading this article.
FAQS on 15 Best Paying Jobs in Industrial Specialties
An Industrial Engineer is an expert who designs and evaluates the processes that go into manufacturing a product.
Plant Engineering Manager
Standards Engineer
Industrial Engineering Manager
Production Engineer
Plant Utility Engineer
Manufacturing Engineering Manager
Plant Engineer
Manufacturing Engineer
Plastics Engineer
Manufacturing Project Engineer
Vibration Analyst
CNC Field Service Engineer
Packaging Designer
Outside Plant Engineer
Fabrication Engineer
Vibration Engineer/Technician
References
- Forbes – 15 Best Paying Jobs in Industrial Specialties
- Investopedia – Best Paying Jobs in Industrial Specialties
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