Industrial engineers use the basic factors of production - including people, machines, materials, information, and energy - to make a product or service. Their main goal is to find ways to increase productivity by managing people, methods of business organization, and technology.

Applicants for most entry-level engineering jobs should have a bachelor's degree in their chosen specialty, but some research-oriented positions require a graduate degree. In addition, any engineer who works with the public must obtain the proper license.

During 2008, there were about 1.6 million engineers throughout the nation, with about 214,800 of those positions belonging to industrial engineers. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of industrial engineers should grow by 14 percent by 2018.

Employment of industrial engineers in the Denver area is expected to increase from 1,486 workers during 2009 to 1,747 workers by 2019, resulting in 261 additional jobs and an average yearly growth rate of 1.6 percent, according to the Colorado Department of Labor & Employment.

The top 10 industries that employed industrial engineers in the Denver area during 2009 were:

1. Professional and technical services - 29.9 percent
2. Telecommunications - 13.7 percent
3. Management of companies and enterprises - 9.6 percent
4. Computer and electronic product manufacturing - 7.2 percent
5. Transportation equipment manufacturing - 7 percent
6. Miscellaneous manufacturing - 4.1 percent
7. Machinery manufacturing - 3.9 percent
8. Fabricated metal product manufacturing - 3.7 percent
9. Nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing - 1.6 percent
10. Food manufacturing - 1.2 percent

During 2009, the average wage for industrial engineers in the Denver area was $38.48 per hour or $80,030 per year, while the average entry-level wage was $28.24 per hour or $58,737 per year and the average experienced-level wage was $44.48 per hour or $92,509 per year.

Some related occupations include: aerospace engineers; materials engineers; mining and geological engineers, including mining safety engineers; petroleum engineers; industrial engineering technicians; and mechanical engineering technicians.

This summer MIT hosted the You GO Girl! program for the 13th consecutive year. The program, which is sponsored by the NASA Summer of Innovation program and the MIT Edgerton Center, is aimed at helping middle school-aged girls become more interested in science, technology and engineering.

"The middle-school years are traditionally when girls begin to lose interest in science, or when peer pressure steers them away from the science fields," Amy Fitzgerald, program coordinator for the Edgerton Center Outreach Program, told MIT News.

This year's program included 26 ninth-grade girls who participated in a week worth of hands-on activities in mechanical engineering, biology, chemistry and electronics. The program is meant to encourage students to continue studying science, technology and engineering as they get older.

Students this year were able to participate in such activities as using LEGO blocks to build genes and chromosomes and model the steps of cell division and reproduction in LEGO fish. They also assembled small circuit boards with the ability to simulate a traffic light.

In addition to learning about science and engineering, students participating in the program were allotted time to talk about their lives and the upcoming transition into high school. They even learned about college and job possibilities.

The main responsibility of an aerospace engineering and operations technician is to operate and maintain the equipment used to test aircraft and spacecraft. This may include calibrating test equipment, programming and running computer simulations, and recording and interpreting test data.

Most employers prefer to hire candidates that have at least a two-year associate's degree in engineering technology, which can be obtained at a technical institute, community college, college, university, vocational-technical school, or in the Armed Forces.

There were about 497,300 engineering technicians throughout the United States during 2008, and about 8,700 of those were aerospace engineering and operations technicians, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The occupation is expected to grow by 2 percent nationwide by 2018.

Although employment in Dallas is expected to remain even during the near future at about 150 workers, employment throughout Texas should increase from 900 workers during 2006 to 1,000 workers by 2016, making for 100 additional jobs and a growth rate of 11.10 percent.

According to the Texas Workforce Commission, the top five industries that employ aerospace engineering and operations technicians are:

1. Aerospace product and parts manufacturing - 65.80 percent
2. Architectural, engineering, and related services - 13.94 percent
3. Scheduled air transportation - 6.75 percent
4. Navigational, measuring, electromedical, and control instruments manufacturing - 4.58 percent
5. Technical and trade schools - 3.27 percent

During 2009, aerospace engineering and operations technicians in Dallas earned an average wage of $28.50 per hour, while those in Texas earned an average wage of $29.97 per hour and those throughout the country earned an average wage of $28.76 per hour.

The basic task of an industrial engineer is to determine the most effective ways to use the elements of production - including people, machines, materials, information, and energy - to make a product or provide a service.

They are mainly concerned with increasing productivity by managing people, methods of business organization, and technology. Industrial engineers study product requirements and then use math and models to design manufacturing and information systems to meet those requirements.

The majority of employers require a bachelor's degree for all entry-level engineering jobs. In addition, any engineer who plans to work with the public must obtain the proper license, according to the Texas Workforce Commission.

In Texas, students wishing to be licensed must graduate from a school approved by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, and pass the eight-hour Fundamentals of Engineering and Principle and Practice exams.

Applicants for industrial engineering jobs also must have at least four years of engineering experience and obtain 15 hours of continuing education each year.

Employment throughout Texas is expected to increase from 12,200 workers during 2006 to 16,300 workers by 2016, accounting for 4,100 additional jobs and an overall growth rate of 33.60 percent. During 2008, industrial engineers earned an average wage of $38.69 per hour.

Employment across America is anticipated to grow from 201,311 workers during 2006 to 242,263 workers by 2016, making for 41,000 additional jobs and a growth rate of 20.40 percent. Industrial engineers throughout the nation earned an average wage of $36.41 per hour during 2008.

The top industries that employ industrial engineers include:

• Semiconductor and other electronic component manufacturing - 14.57 percent
• Aerospace product and parts manufacturing - 8.59 percent
• Communications equipment manufacturing - 6.77 percent
• Basic chemical manufacturing - 6.16 percent
• Computer and peripheral equipment manufacturing - 5.08 percent
• Oil and gas extraction - 4.41 percent
• Industrial machinery manufacturing - 3.92 percent
• Agriculture, construction, and mining machinery manufacturing - 3.09 percent
• Electrical and electronic goods merchant wholesalers - 2.33 percent
• Architectural, engineering, and related services - 2.29 percent
• Professional and commercial equipment and supplies merchant wholesalers - 2.24 percent
• Non-residential building construction - 2.22 percent
• Navigational, measuring, electromedical, and control instruments manufacturing - 2.11 percent

Sargent Aerospace & Defense recently announced its plans to expand the company's operations in Marana, a nearby suburb of Tucson. The company will build a new, 70,000-square-foot facility next to its existing, 60,000-square-foot structure along Interstate 10.

Sargent also was considering expanding in Torrance, Calif.; Miami, Fla.; Franklin, Ind.; and Montreal, Quebec. However, many factors convinced the company to remain in Marana, including the availability of aerospace workers in the metro Tucson area.

Since the local aerospace industry was forced to lay off some employees during the economic downturn, the Tucson area has plenty of available workers. Sargent has not yet announced how many workers it will hire, because the company is still realigning its operations, but Tucson will end up with a net gain of jobs.

The new positions will be in aerospace design, manufacturing, test engineering and other fields. And while many of the jobs Sargent plans to create will require engineering or other degrees, there will be some positions for those with short-term training.

Other factors that contributed to Sargent's decision include an aggressive proposal from Marana, as well as Pima County's commitment to provide job-training assistance when necessary, including potential Workforce Investment Act funding.

Company officials anticipate that the project will be complete in about one year, according to an article by the Arizona Daily Star. But the speed of the project will ultimately depend on Town of Marana officials, who are responsible for such critical things as approving plans and completing inspections.

Samsung Electronics Company recently announced its plan to invest $3.6 billion in expanding the company's biggest Austin plant and creating 500 jobs by 2011. The majority of the new positions will be for engineers and technicians who will work to keep production up and running.

The expansion will account for the largest private investment in the history of Austin, exceeding the $3.5 billion investment made by the company in 2007 for its Fab 2 plant. Samsung has invested more than $9 billion in Austin since 1996, according to an article by the Austin American-Statesman.

Half of Fab 2 was set aside for expansion and will now house Samsung's new chip factory. The new facility will manufacture "systems on a chip" that can be used with many electronic devices, as opposed to memory chips, which are produced in most of Samsung's existing Austin locations.

This is all great news for Samsung, which eliminated 552 jobs - or about one-third of its Austin workforce - last year. The company also closed its older Fab 1 factory and converted it into an auxiliary for Fab 2. Once the new expansion is complete, Samsung will employ about 1,500 people in Austin.

The company also plans to build an engineering center in Austin that will employ 50 people and be used to develop new chip designs.

Samsung officials estimate that the company's Austin payroll will increase by 50 percent, to $105 million per year, once the expansion project is ready to begin production. Roughly 3,000 people will work in the factory at its peak, including those in construction and equipment suppliers.

Samsung received $219 million in incentives from Austin, Travis County and the Manor Independent School District to build Fab 2, most of which was from 20-year property tax breaks that cover both the construction of the plant and new equipment.

The new expansion project could provide the company with an additional $7.5 million in county property tax breaks, with the majority of the investment to be used for purchasing advanced manufacturing equipment.

Network systems and data communications analysts work to analyze, design, test and evaluate network systems, such as local area networks, wide area networks, Internet, intranet, and other data communications systems.

On a day-to-day basis, these employees are typically responsible for performing networking modeling, analysis and planning; as well as conducting research and recommending network and data communications hardware and software. They also may supervise computer programmers.

Not only are network systems and data communications analysts throughout Arizona paid well, according to the Arizona Workforce Informer, but they also can expect plenty of employment opportunities during the near future.

During 2007, the average wage for network systems and data communications analysts in Arizona was $29.91 per hour, while the average entry-level wage was $18.67 per hour and the average experienced-level wage was $35.53 per hour.

Employment is expected to increase from 4,180 workers during 2006 to 6,375 workers by 2016, accounting for 2,195 additional jobs and a growth rate of 52.5 percent.

The top 15 industries that employ network systems and data communications analysts in Arizona include:

1. Computer systems design and related services - 11.9 percent
2. Non-depository credit intermediation - 4.2 percent
3. Semiconductor and electronic components - 3.8 percent
4. Architectural and engineering services - 3.6 percent
5. Security and commodity investment activity - 2.7 percent
6. Electronic shopping and mail-order houses - 2.7 percent
7. Insurance carriers - 2.1 percent
8. Power generation and supply - 2.1 percent
9. Electric goods merchant wholesalers - 2 percent
10. Wired telecommunications carriers - 2 percent
11. Business support services - 1.8 percent
12. Employment services - 1.8 percent
13. Colleges and universities - 1.7 percent
14. General medical and surgical hospitals - 1.7 percent
15. Newspaper, book and directory publishers - 1.5 percent

Facebook recently announced its plans to open a new engineering office in Seattle and hire up to 30 employees by July. The expansion to Seattle will result in Facebook's first engineering office in the U.S. outside of the company's corporate headquarters.

"I am excited about Facebook’s decision to open a small office in Seattle," Mayor Mike McGinn said. "This move means new jobs for those in our software development community and is a strong testament to the talent in our region."

Mike Schroepfer, vice president of engineering for Facebook, told The Seattle Times that the city's quality-of-life; presence of Microsoft, Amazon.com, Boeing and other magnets of talent; and the University of Washington's well-regarded computer-science programs were all factors in the company's decision.

"We are looking to hire world-class software engineers to continue to build the best products to support our users, developers and advertisers," he said in a statement. "Seattle has distinguished itself as a city with an extremely deep technical talent pool as well as a high quality of life, which makes it the ideal place for an engineering office."

The range of Facebook projects to be worked on in the new office will depend on the talents and interests of the workers recruited. The company currently employs about 1,200 workers throughout the world and has a user network of more than 400 million people.

The news of Facebook's expansion to Seattle comes after Google's announcement that it plans to increase the company's presence in the city, as well as Microsoft and Yahoo's efforts to form a search partnership and relocate engineers from California to Seattle.

Mayor Sam Adams recently announced that the City of Portland Bureau of Transportation and Portland Development Commission have been awarded a federal Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery grant worth $23,203,988.

The funding will be used to support transportation the Portland Innovation Quadrant. The city's unique application faced off against 14,000 applications worth more than $60 billion for the $1.5 billion available throughout the country.

"This federal investment in our city could not have come at a better time for our economy," Adams said. "In addition to the immediate construction jobs, this project helps build the foundation for the City of Portland’s Innovation Quadrant, and our long‐term economic prosperity."

The funding in Portland will be used on the SW Moody Avenue reconstruction project in the South Waterfront district, which the application identified as a top priority. The area will be reconstructed as a green street with facilities to manage storm water and improve water quality and enhance watershed health.

"The Bureau of Transportation is ready to build this critical piece of transit infrastructure for South Waterfront," PBOT Director Susan Keil said. "We look forward to coordinating with our private and public sector partners to ensure this money is spent wisely and on time."

Construction on the project is expected to begin this fall. The project will generate more than 3,100 construction, design and engineering jobs. Of those positions, 1,000 will be directly funded by the grant and 2,100 will come from next year's construction of Oregon Health and Science University's Life Sciences Complex.

Officials recently announced that California will receive $2.34 billion from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for high-speed rail projects. That is the highest amount of funding any state received from the $8 billion to be spread throughout the nation, although it is lower than the $4.7 billion the state asked for.

However, it will cost a total of $42 billion for California to build the 800 miles of train tracks, causing some critics to question whether the cost will be worth the end result. But state officials think the plan will help promote electric transportation, reduce emissions, cut down on traffic and create jobs.

The California High-Speed Rail Authority estimates that the project could create 600,000 construction-related positions and 450,000 permanent jobs during the next 10 years. ARRA terms state all stimulus funds must be spent by 2017.

During 2008, California voters approved a $10 billion bond measure for the high-speed rail project, meaning the state will not need to use money from its general fund. More help may come in the form of additional federal support and funding from local authorities and public-private partnerships.

According to an article by The Wall Street Journal, the rail authority hopes to begin construction on a path from Anaheim to Los Angeles by 2012 and complete most of the network by 2020. Once completed, it will take two hours and 40 minutes to travel from San Francisco to Los Angeles, which is much quicker than the six hours it takes when traveling by car.

A total of four to eight segments could eventually run throughout California, from San Diego to Los Angeles, and north to Sacramento and San Francisco.

Overall, 12 other high-speed rail projects are slated to take shape throughout the country. So far, more than 30 rail-equipment manufacturers have agreed to help stock American facilities to provide supplies for the projects.