Ladies and Gents, I need some OB help. My son who is currently a senior is looking at this option as a major. Can anyone help ME understand what the job market is and what industries ID majors generally "do" in terms of careers.

He is also interested in the Walton School of Business at the Univ. of Arkansas (couldn't get into the A&M Business School), we visited this past weekend and he really enjoyed it. I'm trying to find any "advantage" or information to share with him that will help with choosing ID as a major choice, and of course have him choose A&M. He loves A&M, and I feel comfortable he will likely attend here, but I must admit Univ. of Arkansas campus is nice and Fayetteville is a nice small college town.

Thank you in advance

DVM

All my friends who were ID back in the 90's got into technical/industrial sales or construction management.

He could become the owner and senior publisher of Texags.

I know a young man graduating in May with an ID degree from Mays, he's going to work for John Deere where he will be making sure the supply chain is taken care of for one of their product lines. Essentially, looks at scheduled production and makes sure the supply chain can meet production, if there is a problem part that can't meet production he finds a new source for the part, and then as time goes on works on being more efficient at getting the part at a better price and/or quality to improve the bottom line.

ID major = 98% chance he will always have jobs options
It's hard to explain bc the field/opportunities are so vast. He'll figure it out in school. I think the best way to explain is he will help make the world function outside of tech, medical, entertainment industry.

I know one that has made a killing selling lumber the last 20 years.

Context is from the '90s, but ID majors meant little to no studying to make good grades. IE has you taking the engineering 200 classes and labs on Friday mornings.

I am an ID grad. Both my brothers are ID grads. One of them has the masters in it they now offer.

I've worked in Telecom network design and engineering for 23 years, plus a stint working in offshore Oil & Gas supply chain and rig warehouse management.

My middle brother has taught history and coached sports for a couple of decades with a couple of years working in O&G doing lad based directional drilling support.

My youngest brother had worked in industrial process management, worked for years offshore O&G in various roles, supply chain, engineering support, operations, worked in gas turbine applications and support, and now he is back offshore managing rig engineering and rig operations.

I have a college ID buddy that manages operations at a regional airport.

I have another buddy that was an Industrial Engineering technologies grad and he went into power plant construction and operation.

I know the major has "broad" possibilities, and anything that moves on a boat, plane, vehicle or train is a form of distribution.

Thank you for the replies!

DVM

ID grad of 2016. Last I heard about 60% of grads went into sales (usually industrial or technical type) and 40% went into supply chain roles.

I'm an acct manager in oil and gas. Feel free to DM for more info. Evan Vestal is the guy you want to talk to in the dept. A huge advocate for the program

Phone: 979-862-1786
Email: evanv@tamu.edu

I'd sit down with him and have a really honest conversation about what he wants for a career. Hands dirty kinda job or white collar, office or field, etc...going to be lots of opportunities for technical trades to make boatloads of money in the very near future.

I know the airlines are going to need certified mechanics for one, commercial pilots too.

Law361 said:

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ID grad of 2016. Last I heard about 60% of grads went into sales (usually industrial or technical type) and 40% went into supply chain roles.

I'm an acct manager in oil and gas. Feel free to DM for more info. Evan Vestal is the guy you want to talk to in the dept. A huge advocate for the program

Phone: 979-862-1786
Email: evanv@tamu.edu

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Seems project management would be a decent chunk as well.

Supply chain seems to be a fairly safe route to go as far as a career. Can also offer a decent amount of work remote options as well, although average salary probably lags Engineering majors and MBAs.

I'm ID, class of '04

I finished my degree and didnt want to go into sales, so I worked on my masters in Construction Management. Went to work for a large private homebuilder and now I'm running the purchasing department in our Austin division. While I initially didn't intend on using my degree in the traditional sense, I feel like my ID background really came in handy and helped me understand and navigate all the supply chain mess of 2020-2022....and the mix of engineering and business classes has helped me in the construction world and the business world.

ID '13

Industrial Sales. Electrical

Most of my classmates are in sales of some kind. Every different industry you can think of.

Have a buddy that did ID at Arkansas - he now works for Callaway in the DFW area at their main distribution hub.

Apparently there is a room of stuff that's "fallen off a lift" or gotten bumped a little too hard, that they can't sell, so it's all just up for grabs. I keep asking to "drop" a new set of irons for me, but he won't... some friend.

Law361 said:

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ID grad of 2016. Last I heard about 60% of grads went into sales (usually industrial or technical type) and 40% went into supply chain roles.

I'm an acct manager in oil and gas. Feel free to DM for more info. Evan Vestal is the guy you want to talk to in the dept. A huge advocate for the program

Phone: 979-862-1786
Email: evanv@tamu.edu

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Both of my youngest boys were ID and both got great jobs in sales/ distribution roles - class of '15 and '19. They are both in electrical component sales for Square D. And the recommendation to talk to Evan Vestal is the best option. They have a tremendous record of job placement out of schools and a lot of industry options. It is pretty much an engineering light major with a sales / supply chain slant.

That said, an engineering degree from UA is also a great option if he isn't accepted into the school of engineering at A&M.

As an ID grad, the only ID grads that don't graduate with a job offer are the ones who don't apply for a job. Extremely versatile degree. I have worked in a couple different industries and in each I have benefitted from the degree. So if you are looking for an applicable degree ID is the way to go. (Of course I am a little biased.)

Networking, group projects and having to present to an audience of your peers is a huge part of the program. Also even if he doesn't end up in ID make sure your son joins PAID (Professional Association for Industrial Distribution), you don't have to be an ID major to join the org. You will get free weekly catered lunches hosted by a corporate partner and get access to the bi-annual PAID career fair.

Edit to add different industries and roles I've seen and met other ID grads: Tech sales, insurance, home construction, supply chain, project management, inside and outside sales, operations, sales engineering, manufacturer rep.

Like the poster above said reach out to Evan Vestal. Great guy and will give you a great run down of the program. Lots of professors come from industry so they give you practical knowledge.

I'm ID. Started out in transportation/logistics with the railroad.

Then moved to purchasing, which is what I've done for most of two decades. Briefly did a stint in data analytics.

I've never had trouble finding a job. It's opened a lot of doors for me.

ID from 1995. Had more jobs than graduates during my time there and I've heard not much has changed. ID grads could've spent their whole senior year at the Career center interviewing. Most all I know went technical sales/engineering based careers and have done extremely well (well above average).
Many have worked for manufacturer Reps in the process instrumentation and analyzer fields in the oil & gas, chemical and petrochemical industries.

Industrial Distribution and Industrial Engineering are two entirely different degrees.

DVM97 said:

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Ladies and Gents, I need some OB help. My son who is currently a senior is looking at this option as a major. Can anyone help ME understand what the job market is and what industries ID majors generally "do" in terms of careers.

He is also interested in the Walton School of Business at the Univ. of Arkansas (couldn't get into the A&M Business School), we visited this past weekend and he really enjoyed it. I'm trying to find any "advantage" or information to share with him that will help with choosing ID as a major choice, and of course have him choose A&M. He loves A&M, and I feel comfortable he will likely attend here, but I must admit Univ. of Arkansas campus is nice and Fayetteville is a nice small college town.

Thank you in advance

DVM

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Our son looked at Arkansas before choosing Bama. As I recall they have some sort of reciprocal agreement with Texas where you pay in state tuition.

My company has a sales position open in electronics/electrical distribution sales that an ID grad would align with. A others have mentioned it is a broad degree with many options.

ID class of 04 and have been in the fluid power business since graduating. Apparently not as many people get into our industry as they used to but it has been a good career. Was in sales until 2009 and have been in management positions since.

Glad someone else pointed out that Industrial Engineering is completely different

ID is now super desired as supply chain logistics.

I know a few in electrical distribution sales and they all crush it financially

I know one ID guy. He did technical sales for drainage pipe/structures for a few years right after school. Then he went back to the surveying career he'd started as a field hand in high school. He is now a very successful RPLS with a big footprint under his direction in the state.

Bronco6Gen said:

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I know a young man graduating in May with an ID degree from Mays, he's going to work for John Deere where he will be making sure the supply chain is taken care of for one of their product lines. Essentially, looks at scheduled production and makes sure the supply chain can meet production, if there is a problem part that can't meet production he finds a new source for the part, and then as time goes on works on being more efficient at getting the part at a better price and/or quality to improve the bottom line.

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We have a ton of these folks in aerospace, too.

Pretty much what I do, but for O&G drill bits.

IE checking in. When I was in the technical field, I worked as an application engineer alongside a bunch of ME's, then as a PM in heavy equipment, and finally in a technical sales role in oil and gas. Plenty of career prospects in IE.

ID is a different degree which tend to steer its holders to more of the non-technical supply chain roles but there are plenty of exceptions. Plenty of opportunity with either path.

I agree on talking to Evan. He will have a really good feel for where most grads with ID go now days. I graduated ID in '12 and most went into sales/technical sales or supply chain/inventory of some kind.

I've always said ID is such a versatile degree and it really is. I can tell you all of our ID hires have been top notch and many have climbed the corporate ladder quickly. We love hiring ID grads.

Traditional ID would be working for a company that distributes, sells and services an original manufacturers products.

Let's take the energy industry as an example. You have manufacturers who make pumps, valves, compressors, turbines, instruments, etc. these manufacturers contract industrial distributors to stock, sell, and service their products in local & regional markets to get better localized coverage. Within these ID companies you can get into supply chain roles, sales roles, technical roles, operational roles and honestly you get a lot of leadership with ID degrees in their resume.

On the flip side I also see a ton of ID grads working for the manufacturer as well in similar types of roles mentioned above.

But you can take the energy industry example I gave and apply it likewise to Semiconductors, electronics, automotive, food & beverage etc. all have similar manufacturers/ID biz models to go to market.

National Association of Chemical Distributors recruits ID pretty hard. I have lots of customers in that space.

For me, I would think ID would be good to learn logistics and purchasing of a business, like in the chemical field, giving you the tools to start your own company.

I work for a large chemical manufacturer, but one day hope to start my own chemical distribution company.

Fayetteville is an awesome town and would be fun to live in the Ozarks, but hearing Woopigsoooiiiee makes my skin crawl.

AJ02 said:

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Pretty much what I do, but for O&G drill bits.

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What about ball bearings?

TarponChaser said:

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AJ02 said:

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Pretty much what I do, but for O&G drill bits.

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What about ball bearings?

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We buy many of them.