I had the privilege of interviewing current teacher and former Industrial Engineer and Logistician, Mrs. Barnett. She worked at UPS and was a part of the UPS Logistics group.
1) What are five things that you are required to do at your job?
1.Travel
2.Collect & Analyze Data
3.Train Employees
4.Create Efficient Networks (minimizing or maximizing parameters like cost, time, etc.)
5.Present & Implement Proposals
2) Describe the training/ education needed for this job:
Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering
3) What is a typical day like?
At my last job as a project manager my days varied a lot. If we were working on a proposal my day might include office work at a computer screen and discussions with other engineers about how to create an integrated solution design.
If we were implementing a solution, my day might entail working in another city (away from home) to either train new employees or test a new software system in a warehouse.
4) What pieces of writing are required for your occupation?
As an industrial engineer, I had to write industrial reports, dissertations, and journal articles and most importantly, grant proposals.
5) what was required from you in each piece of writing? Can you provide any specific examples?
Each piece of writing required clear and concise formatting. In an industrial report, one must record the details of an experiment and record any equipment that was used. It also required an analysis of the final result of the experiment in comparison to the hypothesis. A dissertation is similar to the persuasive essays one writes in graduate school. The purpose of a dissertation is to convince faculty members that you have done research that it worthy of a degree in industrial engineering. Journal articles required professional workmanship and specific siting of sources. Grant proposals were persuasive pieces of writing that served the purpose of convincing a funding organization that the grant money will be put to good use.
6) What method of writing do you consider most important to an industrial engineer? Why?
It is very important for an industrial engineer to be comfortable with all writing types. However, if I were to name a most important mode of communication for industrial engineers, I would have to say that your ability to create a persuasive piece is the most important. This is because as an industrial engineer, it is crucial to develop the ability to present ideas in a clear, logical structure and persuasive pieces do just that.
7) As a Logistician, how does writing play a role in your daily routine?
It is pertinent for Logisticians to remain as organized as possible. It is our job to plan, direct, and distribute purchases as well as work with customer services. I am writing constantly, mostly analysis pieces. Even when I don’t have to write, developing good writing skills can allow you to apply these same skills in an everyday work environment.
7)What led you to choice these jobs?
I always enjoyed figuring out how things worked and trying to solve problems. When I learned that is what engineers do, I knew I wanted to become an engineer.
8)what was your perception of this job before you started working?
I had a good idea of what engineers do because my college included a cooperative work program. I worked the whole time I was in college. When I first started, I worked in a manufacturing environment. I thought I would follow a path from quality control to management. However, I shifted to a new industry and followed a completely different career path. The biggest misconception I probably had involved networking. While it is important to work hard, networking is probably just as important.
9)How has this perception changed?
Because I changed industries, my responsibilities changed and the career path I planned for myself also charged. My biggest change in perceptions was about how much networking matters.
10)Any advice to a person who is considering this occupation?
I would highly recommend a cooperative work program so that you get an opportunity to see what engineering entails.
Analysis:
I was surprised to learn the extent of writing that was required of an industrial engineer. It didn’t even occur to me that they may have to write as much as other professions. I was also astonished to hear that persuasive writing had the largest role in their careers. It seems like being able to write well is a terminate factor in how well you are able to do your job. I was also shocked at the amount of variety of different writing pieces that an industrial engineer must be versed in: scientific journals, persuasive writing, analysis, dissertations-the list seemed to go forever!
The largest take away from the interview I got was that good writing skills can even improve your quality of your work when you are not writing. I was intrigued to discover how often good writing skills can help you in other aspects of your life, even when you are not physically writing a paper.
Alyssa reflects 