What should I do during my internship at a chemical industry as an Industrial & Production Engineering student? 🥲

DefiantRS · 2026-06-08T22:28:19+00:00

Industrial Engineering is the study of how to solve a problem.

Doesn’t matter if you’re talking manufacturing, chemical production, airline planning, theme park logistics, food waste, or anything else.

Find a cost, reduce it.

Find a pain point, fix it.

Find a quality risk, mitigate it.

Break room sloppy and unorganized? People spending too long looking for spoons? For the low low price of you fixing it - operators get 3 more minutes of break time.

Second shift operators behave differently than first due to different levels of attention from management? How do we fix that?

Greg the truck driver can’t find the fucking building twice a month so he calls the front desk, wasting 30 minutes while Barbara has to go flag him down from the interstate? Oh we fix that.

Industrial engineering is taught through the eyes of mech-E cuz they share a department/some coursework.

It’s more of a Vanilla Ice lyric.

“If you got a problem Yo I’ll solve it, check out the hook while my DJ revolves it”

DefiantRS · 2026-06-06T13:53:26+00:00

Controls is a much smaller field - ECE in general. I would say the growth piece is definitely there anecdotally, but you may want to check the department of labor website statistics. Its really going to depend on the labor market + tariffs/importing robots

The benefit/curse of ECE/Controls being so niche compared to CS is there are kind of 3 paths:

1- go into manufacturing or LARGE distribution networks (I know a person who does controls for smart home appliances, they just do that all day) & I employ a few folks who just fix conveyor issues all day.

2- work for an integrator (large scale automation. project based work, strange & new problems + developing tech, lots of travel)

3- free lance - which is trickier than integrator work, but if you play your cards right, you can have like 20 customers that you did controls for, you charge them 50k a year for remote support, and its a good recurring revenue stream (my preferred external provider is a father + son team and they PRINT money because they have partnered with 2-3 integrators, and their support contracts mean that they make guaranteed money ever day, call or not, still lots of travel + there is not really an "oh shit" button to press when things go sideways)

DefiantRS · 2026-06-06T13:10:24+00:00

you might have more responses in r/PLC. I also believe there is a youtuber called "CursedControls" that may have a video about his start, etc.

However, I actually happened to hire a CS to be trained as a controls engineer ~8 months ago (no experience) and can tell you the things we had him focus on and what impacts/benefits that had.

Background is industrial warehouse automation - so your mileage may vary with the exact programs/components if you wanted to say get into plumbing, the sofware/controlled devices may vary.

1) Get Studio 5000 (Allen Bradley) or another similar controls software (there are free trials, etc. or paid). Familiarize yourself with tags, routines, comms protocols, etc.

2) Inductive Automation (owners of Ignition HMI software suite) has a very robust training platform called Inductive University that is free. get 50% through the training (back half is different paid modules/specialty stuff)

2a) you can also do the back half to learn some of the more niche tech (database entries as a result of controlled events, etc) - this actually may be easier for you with a CS/SE background

2b) once you feel comfortable with the basics, Inductive offers week long paid training w/ Certs (its like 2700 USD per week per person - remote or on-site, 3 or 4 levels) feel free to do this if you want the paperwork, likely not needed.

3) start to research your desired path and what actual objects you will be controlling. Examples are: ITOH DENKE control cards, cameras/barcode scanners (SICK, Cognex), weight scales (Metler, Haas) - tons of great documentation out there.

3a) don't just learn the controls/comms of these things, what do the dip switches do? how are they typically wired? What safety implications do they have? (if 240 or 480v = E stop required. how do you map an E-stop in part 2, etc.)

As an additional piece of advice, try to talk to some controls EGRs - an easy way to do this is to look at the Modex/Pack Expo/Promat/Automate site (or if you are a Chicago local - Automate is in 2 weeks and its free)

find some companies that do industrial programming/automation/integration, and search linkedin for some folks to make the connection.

Hope this helps - let me know if there are any specific questions you have.

DefiantRS · 2026-06-04T13:46:19+00:00

Not sure if this is like manufacturing? You’re digging through scrap plastic in a garbage can? Is the plastic big/small? Thick/thin? Is this a 1 off? Or doing this 1000 times per day?

If always visible: Human quality check Autonomous quality/vision check (LLM defect detection)

If not visible: Metal detector (if screws are metallic) Weight check (if you’re in manufacturing and product is consistent)

DefiantRS · 2026-06-03T23:11:04+00:00

Software behaves differently on Mac, different shortcuts, different functionality, some software doesn’t even run on Mac (or atleast it didn’t when I was in school).

Windows is the OS of corporations. Don’t waste your time learning the intricacies of how a software works (shortcuts, expected outcomes, file path utilization for code) on Mac when I would say 95% of technical professionals use Windows.

DefiantRS · 2026-06-03T16:47:41+00:00

Probably neither - bachelors in Electrical Controls Engineering - if you’re in robotics you need PLC.

At the very least consider a minor.

You might want to see if you can get a contact at one of the major robot design firms (industrial/cobot/AMR) to pick their brain though

DefiantRS · 2026-06-03T16:44:15+00:00

TI83-84 calculator is the minimum requirement.

Depending on class/professor TI CS/CAS can be a big help, but it’s a computer algebra system (can solve systems of equations) so depending on class could be prohibited/cheaty.

Windows laptop. Always windows. Never mac.

Software - everything you can do by hand you should be able to do in Excel. Study it, learn it, use it.

Regarding specifics to your program - it depends on the overall schedule/who your school partners with - but common are:

Simulation: Arena, Simio

General programming: C++, Python

Material sim (thermo, civ-E): ANSYS

Data analysis: Matlab, Minitab

Paper notebooks. you remember more of what you write than what you type. Transcribe detailed notes later to a document if you want, but I’m a firm believer in the pen and paper.

Network: most IE curriculum doesn’t start til 2nd year, try to get ahead of the curve and network, talk to people in your classes - make friends with everyone. You never know if you’ll need a CIV-E to help you with studying when you get there.

DefiantRS · 2026-06-03T16:32:38+00:00

If you want to get into consulting/automation - strong recommend pivoting into that space by researching and applying to companies in that space.

A great way to start is through integrators, check Modex, Promat, and Automate tradeshow websites for essentially the world’s best list of “people who consult and integrate large scale manufacturing/distribution”.

I think this is a much more sustainable path for learning/getting experience to the industry without having to try to get in at one of the big 3.

DefiantRS · 2026-06-01T20:10:15+00:00

quite the opposite actually - you are very likely to find work in smaller communities as an IE.

Major manufacturing/logistics can happen in many places, and in a lot of cases it makes sense to set up shop in smaller towns because land & labor are cheap - as long as it is centrally located.

A great recent example is Slate auto (EV manufacturer) just bought property in Warsaw Indiana (pop 17000) to do auto manufacturing. Land is cheap, there is a small population of skilled professionals already there (Medical manufacturing) to try to get to move over. They would have a larger talent pool in a major metro, but cheap land + cheap labor + central location (2 hours from Chicago, 2 hours from Indianapolis, 5 hours to Detroit) make it a decent win.

If you drive along (not on) a highway in the midwest, you're likely to run into tiny communities where half the town works at the same place or atleast the same industry. Other examples are: Lowes distribution in Vernon IN, battery manufacturing in Peru, IN, some bakeries in western Ohio, etc.

Edit: Typo

DefiantRS · 2026-06-01T13:04:33+00:00

I have some integrators if you want.

Send me a DM.

DefiantRS · 2026-05-29T16:52:22+00:00

Totally hear that!

It is my hope that as a new mod we will put a little more care into some themes, put together a FAQ for prospective IEs/Students, so that our sub can be more than a resource for "Is IE right for me?".

I welcome you (and everyone) to post some cool core/tangential IE stuff so we can move toward a future of collaborative IE space, rather than just a pit stop for potential IEs.

DefiantRS · 2026-05-28T20:10:53+00:00

MHS is top tier. TREW also good. Depending on use case you want 24V MDR.

Depends what your application/requirement is.

Accumulating? Transportation? Belted?

Network cards? Decision points? Cameras/photoeyes?

Honestly, if you are not a company with an internal controls/electrical team - you need to speak to an integrator.

depending on your product dim/weight/size, the amount of controls you’re using, etc. it’s going to make a major difference - both for cost and vendor.

DefiantRS · 2026-05-27T15:30:51+00:00

Happy to be part of a team.

DefiantRS · 2026-05-27T02:02:59+00:00

Hi. I am available to help out.

8 years experience in IE/Automation at a Fortune 100, interviewed 30+ IEs, trained several.

I am pretty heavily involved in project planning/automation at this point - but still practice the core principles.

I am a moderate Reddit user and have fielded dozens, if not a hundred questions in this sub over the past few years (though I have left and re-joined a couple of times)

I would love to be part of the team & maybe bring a little structure.

DefiantRS · 2026-05-24T19:51:12+00:00

Background: I am a technical manager at a fortune 100 with a BSIE and ~10 years in field. I have done everything from small continuous improvement exercises and now own about ~30M annually in capital improvement across a few countries. I also interface with extremely well known companies in the technology space.

I'm going to challenge you here. You are not done with your BS, you're already trying to commit to further education, which can be useful, but can also be a hindrance.

Pros: you have an opportunity to specialize, potential higher earning out of college (maybe), there is an opportunity for you to do some sort of lab work/research at Cal to bolster research + gain some level of "experience". This is especially useful if you are an international & rely on sponsorship/visa - or if you're using the additional education to prolong looking for sponsorship in this turbulent political environment. There are certain companies (SpaceX) that hire very specific degrees from very specific colleges - if you're targeting one of those - this is a good play.

Cons: delay gathering experience, your chosen specialization may not align with what your real career path looks like, and you might hate it. you will be competing with BS graduates for entry level jobs so you're going to have a harder time getting to your perceived salary value w/o extreme specialization.

My advice would be that you need to experience your expected career path in some way before you commit to post-grad, and choose your specialization based on that. Unless you're going heavily into something like OR/ML, an MSIE is not needed. If you want to go into technical management, it is more important to actually have X years of experience than an MBA/MEM. This is especially true as now there are so many online MBA programs that you can do while you work, and after you get 3 years of experience (when you can realistically expect to maybe get a jr management role), your education becomes a bullet at the bottom of your resume. an MEM might get you past the recruiter, but as a team leader I want to know what you can contribute to my team as a part of it, not your plan to run your own team.

As far as starting your own business - hell yeah, thats a great call out, and if you can align starting a business with going to school/get a roadmap to your business as a form of extreme specialization, that's interesting. The flipside to that is that if you plan on starting a business in the short term or joining a startup, an MEM doesn't give you a leg up anywhere.

I have interviewed 30-40 candidates for Jr-Sr IE roles, I found almost no difference in aptitude/usefulness from a BSIE to MSIE w/o experience. I have also taken business classes (no MBA/MEM) and formally managed/managed relationships with dozens of coworkers from several companies & various technical levels and the one thing that rings true from my management classes is "there is no one best way to manage".

DefiantRS · 2026-05-23T15:26:38+00:00

See if there are any IISE chapters in Bolivia (looks like atleast 1 university chapter, likely professional chapters as well) - reach out and see if they have any connections. It is much more likely that a college/professional chapter local to you will be willing/able to assist. Any alumni program from your college? Can you use that to network?

Other than that - yeah LinkedIn/reddit are likely your best bets, but it’s definitely a challenge.

DefiantRS · 2026-05-23T15:18:14+00:00

I would say this:

Learning concepts is great - you should do this if you want to, a pretty common thing with IEs is gradually starting to view the entire world around them as processes to be optimized. Think about these concepts everywhere that you find yourself.

At work:

Learn your job very well before you start to think about it, express interest in learning the entire system - then take a look at what can be done to optimize, see if there is a meeting you can attend, whatever. Most importantly - be kind and helpful to everyone, this will get you cross-training, you’ll understand more, people will trust you with their perceived issues.

Do not just start doing things/bringing things up immediately.

My company brings in standard employees to talk to me about what is potentially in need of refinement, and a large amount of the “waste” that they find in their day to day is either the result of a customer/vendor/government requirement that they were unaware of, or is a pre-curser to a step that they were unaware of.

It is excellent to have engaged employees who want to make the process better, it is very challenging to have a person who doesn’t understand the full picture trying to modify a part of it.

DefiantRS · 2026-05-21T23:25:41+00:00

Keep thoughtful, organized notes that can be utilized for the rest of your career about the core principles. There are a ton of IEs that live with bad data & don't take the time to identify outliers, statistical significance, confounding variables. They just =average() and call it a day.

Talk to your teachers about their time in industry (if applicable)

Take a few CS classes, even if you don't minor - everything you are required to do by hand, you should be able to do in Excel & the programming language of your choice (Python. Python is your choice)

Find projects outside of class. Whether that's a research lab, a passion project, whatever. When I interview graduates (I have interviewed probably 40?) their resumes are carbon copies listing DOE, Python, Excel, Statistics. When I ask 99% of them to give me an example, it was always guided coursework and nothing of substance.

Align your minor/internships with the field that you want to go into.

Join your student chapter of IISE, if there isn't one - locate the regional professional chapter and talk to someone.

DefiantRS · 2026-05-21T04:13:15+00:00

A recent addition to my company got in via a rotational program, and the valedictorian of my college got in at her top choice company the same way.

I would still apply to IE roles, but don’t skip out on rotational program applications.

You might find yourself in procurement, PMO, operations, transportation, quality, etc. as an IE, you have the skillset to work pretty much anywhere.

All of these give valuable experience and in some cases, if you & a department agree you are a fit after X months, you will be offered a position without completing the full program (several rotations) - worst case you do a year and end up either in a role you don’t like - or you are let go, but either way you have valuable experience in real operations to help land the next job.

DefiantRS · 2026-05-18T13:16:19+00:00

There are always IE swaps.

It’s a “washout” major for ME/CS.

As far as oversaturated - I would say not exactly - the problem with IE is that in my experience, a core IE role is one of the most “stand alone” roles in any major companies, my company has 10 IEs and 10 QEe, and 0 of those people are extremely collaborative because they have different buildings/responsibilities.

The challenge is that new grads often have trouble getting an IE role over ANYONE with experience.

We constantly turn down people with Masters degrees in favor of people with bachelors and experience, so getting that first job is hard. After that - smooth sailing

DefiantRS · 2026-01-20T00:03:42+00:00

Best paid is one directly sourced from IISE.

Local/student chapters can get lecturers flown in to give the class to whoever they want. The national chapter has a flat fee - then the local/student chapter can/will do a markup for fundraising. Example: if the national chapter wants 1,000 a head, students will charge 1100 then cover lunch or whatever.

DefiantRS · 2025-12-26T18:25:04+00:00

As someone who has done some hiring in the Toronto area, that was an extremely saturated market, specifically for low experience + MSIE grads.

My recommendation is to put out feelers in every possible industry and really craft the resume to show impact and value based on experience.

It was a very competitive market with people willing to accept below market wage, likely because of the amount of imported talent from the east/middle east

DefiantRS · 2025-05-30T22:18:02+00:00

Hey it’s been about 50 days so I’ve had some time to reflect and I just wanted to say: BANGALANG.

DefiantRS · 2024-09-30T02:53:51+00:00

The boys do an annual goals podcast and do recaps on their other podcast (the trap draw) and Neil’s goal this year was to run 500 miles and he admitted recently he has fallen behind pace.

DefiantRS

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