I am looking into civil or industrial engineering. Could you tell me the main differences between the two?

Industrial engineer deals with people and processes. So when a company needs to produce a product, then the Industrial Engineer usually in some companies will lead the development of the processes, developed the staff required, and how long it will take to build it. So in my experience in the automotive, aerospace, and distribution, I have been tasked in developing the process along with the team members who physically build the products. Then I am also tasked in ensuring the facility or assembly line is set-up, so that involves preparing a project plan to ensure all the equipment and facility is prepared. Then as an IE you will be required to developed labor standards and standard work, which requires estimating the time it will take to product a certain product. So when you look at a product, i.e.: a car, a computer, an iPhone, etc, or a company like Amazon (warehousing or distribution) an IE, Manufacturing Engineer or a Process Engineer probably was involved in building the product or processes.

As an IE, we can work in any field or industry because if there is a process, then an IE can definitely help in making it efficient.

As for a Civil Engineer, some of my friends who are in that career, usually works for a consulting company and they deal with buildings, roads, construction, or environment.

I think the first comment here addressed IE tasks very thoroughly, and think the follow up comment addressed some good differences as far as indoor work vs. outdoor work.

I debated these 2, as well, and was lucky enough to get an internship in high school, which mostly involved shadowing civil engineers. As noted above, we were in the field a lot, since I helped gather data from the field related to the irrigation water for the city.

I quickly found out that I enjoy the business side of things and wanted to be more involved with that, which is why I ended up studying industrial engineering.

I think some major differences to highlight might be the type of math or problem solving you'd be doing for one versus the other. Industrial engineering courses involved basics of the many different types of engineering, but really emphasize differential equations & optimization (think of solving algebra problems with multiple variables), as well as a strong emphasis in understanding statistics (note: I hated statistics in high school, but still ended up loving industrial engineering). IEs typically are involved in solving broader, system-wide or process problems. In my experience, I've found myself needing to consider both what my IE analysis tells me based on numbers, but balancing my recommendation for solutions with considering more qualitative considerations, such as human factors.

Civil engineering curriculums are usually more focused on mechanical engineering (think physics - for example, understanding how weight and forces are distributed in structures). Typically, civil engineers are focused on solving more detailed or specific problems. I'd consider people in this field to be much more specialized in a particular area (for example: designing structures, designing A/C systems, designing freeways).

So I guess a big difference to consider is whether you'd enjoy being more of a generalist and having broad problems to solve, with quite a bit of variety (in which case I'd recommend industrial engineering), or if you like more detailed math work and/or the thought of specializing and becoming an expert in a more technical arena (in which case I'd recommend civil).

Hope that helps! If you have any more follow-up questions or need more clarity on anything I said, please let me know!

Shellie:

As a long-time Civil Engineer I can tell you that this Discipline deals with the design and construction of a very broad variety of utilities that are essential for modern living. These include water supply, wastewater treatment, stormwater management and flood control, road and highways, bridges and tunnels, structures of all types such as buildings and high rises. Industrial engineering deals with optimizing industrial manufacturing and processes. Both are challenging occupations. Civil Engineering has far higher numbers of practitioners and, I suspect, greater job satisfaction, given its direct contributions to quality of life for communities (but I may be partial on this aspect).

Industrial Engineers mainly focus on establishing processes to establish and improve efficiencies in the organizations. They can also build a nice connection between the technical world and the financial aspects as they incorporate Business Administration know how into their practice.

Civil Engineers are trained in many infrastructure disciplines (roads, soil mechanics, hydraulics, structures, construction, construction management, etc...) and are also trained in planning and managing projects of different calibers as they grow professionally.

It ultimately depends on the type of person that you are too...both careers will give you avenues to grow but as everything in life, you need to put the time to differentiate yourself from the pack. Consider going for an MBA later on and a couple of courses in quality improvement such as Lean Sigma...and learn another language...

Good luck in you decision.