ID 13' here (Service contracts for Pads) Dad was 80'(Landman)

Have done anything and everything there is to do with supply chain in both public and private Oil and Gas, from transmission lines to Jet Fuel Refineries. Contracts, negotiations, sales (inside and outside), asset reallocation, inventory management, ERP SME, CMMS, Six Sigma, KPIs, all the reports stuff, automation, etc.

ID is a really great, and yes broad, degree but it gives you the freedom to pursue anything you want.

Hospitals, Tech companies, oil and gas, military, logistics, grocery stores, Amazon, you name it, it will always need someone to wheel and deal, count inventory, purchase, as well as be a more useful bean counter (love you, accountants)

The sky is the limit. I just applied for a job at Lockheed Martin that needs Top-secret clearance as well as a job for a major hospital. Perk is that you can find jobs that interest you and get paid well.

Like others have said you are getting an engineering degree with a basis in accounting and finance. It's hard to beat understanding the lingo of both the field and the "ivory towers".

Evan is a great resource and probably the person you want to chat with who can give you more details. Jay Johnson, Norm Clark, Malini, and many of the other professors have made a huge impact. I don't know of any other school at A&M whose faculty keep relationships with their students outside of the classroom much less after the graduate.

Last I heard, it is becoming a much more engineering-heavy program too. Hard to beat that degree and one from A&M.

GIG EM and good luck with y'alls search!

*I'm not biased*

OnlyForNow said:

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ID is now super desired as supply chain logistics.

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My son in law, a GT grad works in supply chain consulting. He started out working for Manhattan Corp. right out of college, for about 10 years, then with a consulting company. He recently went to work at a company started by some guys he worked with at Manhattan. I think his degree is Industrial Engineering

My nephew is an IE grad, he runs and install food processing and packaging lines. It pretty crazy how much he knows, he just purchased and installed a liquid packaging machine and bottle capper for his company. He flew to Italy and Germany to look at and eventually purchase the packaging machines / lines

What about MMET?

Thank you for all the comments. I emailed Evan and in less than 24 hours had a response and am planning a visit. What a great resource the OB is!! Always here for each other.

DVM

Not sure if it's still the same, but in terms of job placement, it was the 2nd most sought after major when I was at A&M. It was at 108% job placement, more jobs available then graduates. I graduated with an ID degree in 2000, so may have changed since then, but I doubt it.

It's a very broad degree that opens a lot of pathways in a lot of industries. Consulting, Sales, management, operations, supply chain. Really worth it.

I was ID and I design and sell hydraulic systems and added electric systems the past few years. Mostly mobile equipment like O&G, mining, construction but also some industrial stuff. For around a decade I had some helicopter customers where we helped design test stands, pretty cool stuff.

fightintxaggie10 said:

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Industrial Distribution and Industrial Engineering are two entirely different degrees.

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This. And if he's gets the latter, he'll have Engineer in his CV throughout his life. No brainer IMO.

Not sure I'd say it's a no brainer. Depends on what he wants to do. Just because ID isn't an engineering discipline doesn't mean it's worthless. The classes on sales management, logistics, etc are worthwhile for practical purposes.

It's also in the school of engineering so technically he would be an engineer…

I've never introduced myself as an engineer but it did help taking some of the engineering classes.

Nor I, but it helps to have a B.S. from the school of engineering when you're out getting out of the program.

TheVarian said:

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It's also in the school of engineering so technically he would be an engineer…

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I disagree. I didn't take all the engineering coursework, I wasn't bestowed with a degree in engineering. Hence, I would never call myself an engineer. I think that's insulting to real engineers.

AJ02 said:

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TheVarian said:

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It's also in the school of engineering so technically he would be an engineer…

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I disagree. I didn't take all the engineering coursework, I wasn't bestowed with a degree in engineering. Hence, I would never call myself an engineer. I think that's insulting to real engineers.

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Very true.
I do have an engineering degree, but didn't work in engineering or get a PE. I'm NOT an engineer.


My roommate junior and senior years was an ID major.
Drove me nuts that he was able to engineer () his schedule to get Fridays off both years. And the ******* still got a job at graduation!

AJ02 said:

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TheVarian said:

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It's also in the school of engineering so technically he would be an engineer…

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I disagree. I didn't take all the engineering coursework, I wasn't bestowed with a degree in engineering. Hence, I would never call myself an engineer. I think that's insulting to real engineers.

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It's severely abused, but in Texas it's illegal to be referred to as engineer without a PE. Even if you have an engineering degree. I don't know much about ID or IE, but definitely would want IE so you have the ability to even obtain your PE.

Certainly not saying we are full on "engineers" but I'd take a BS from an engineering school over a BA in business.

ID '82. Distribution conveyor systems & material handling equipment for 40 years. Pivoted into bottling conveyors & associated equipment for milk processing facilities nationwide. Fantastic opportunities - highly recommended major.

One thing I just remembered - when I was an freshman, it was difficult to get into my required classes because so many sophomores dropped out of engineering degrees but wanted to stay in the school of engineering and they got access to signing up for the classes before me.

Dan Tinker is an Aggie ID grad and CEO of SRS Distribution, which is being acquired by Home Depot. I believe he will be a billionaire or at least a hundred millionaire after the acquisition.

Industrial Engineer here.

I entered the workforce as a mech. designer for down hole exploration tools, then switched briefly to PM for GOM operations, then moved to CO to do PM, estimating & scheduling of on shore tank battery facility construction, now I'm an estimator for commercial general contractor.

I wouldn't be too worried, a degree in these fields is very job worthy.

Lots of great advice on this one. ID is a really solid program. One of my outfit buddies was ID back in '96. Currently leads a kick ass outfit known as the Texas A&M Foundation.

'07 ID major here. Started as a "Sales Engineer" for a Swiss industrial equipment/components manufacturer. It was a outside technical sales role w a 4 state territory. Moved on to an ESCO(energy service company) after a few years doing energy efficiency upgrades for big companies all over North America. Role included everything from sales, account management, energy audits, project development, project management, procurement etc. Did a little of everything in that role as I was one of the first employees. The company was based in Boston but I was the only employee between Atlanta and LA so I helped manage anything going on in this part of the country. We eventually grew to about 100 employees and got acquired by a french energy company w 165,000 employees. It was all downhill from there. Somewhere along the way I started a side business and was able to quit my job during covid and now run my own company in a completely non related field.

ID 2009 grad here that started as an IE major. I switched after freshman year. Frankly the physics and calculus classes weeded me out.

I'm extremely happy i switched to ID. It's a better fit for my personality, and I'm much happier being in sales than i would be as an engineer. I've been selling industrial parts my whole career and genuinely enjoy what i do. And i absolutely feel that my major contributed to my success instead of just checking a "has a 4 year degree" box.

You'll start out making less than engineers, but if you're a good sales rep you can definitely catch up to what most engineers make. And i enjoy the freedom that a sales job gives me and my family. Can't imagine doing anything else.

I would suggest that picking a degree like this is dependant on your personality. If you like technology, are self motivated, and enjoy building relationships with people, then ID into sales may be a really good fit.

Supply chain management is a great career option too, and will only be more important in the future. Just not my cup of tea.

abileneag09 said:

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ID 2009 grad here that started as an IE major. I switched after freshman year. Frankly the physics and calculus classes weeded me out.

I'm extremely happy i switched to ID. It's a better fit for my personality, and I'm much happier being in sales than i would be as an engineer. I've been selling industrial parts my whole career and genuinely enjoy what i do. And i absolutely feel that my major contributed to my success instead of just checking a "has a 4 year degree" box.

You'll start out making less than engineers, but if you're a good sales rep you can definitely catch up to what most engineers make. And i enjoy the freedom that a sales job gives me and my family. Can't imagine doing anything else.

I would suggest that picking a degree like this is dependant on your personality. If you like technology, are self motivated, and enjoy building relationships with people, then ID into sales may be a really good fit.

Supply chain management is a great career option too, and will only be more important in the future. Just not my cup of tea.

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Having worked around both I probably look at things a little differently since I don't have skin in the game.

Having a professional degree and license is a great accomplishment. Yet often doesn't necessarily have any bearing on the quality of the worker.

My honest take is too much emphasis these days is placed on whether someone has an engineering degree or not instead of if it actually applies to the work and role. If they aren't actively designing / calculating, it really doesn't matter. Some of the best managers I've seen weren't Engineers, but their personality was key in managing them and the projects.

In this case, I think it really comes down more to personalities and fits in roles. Maximizing strengths is more important to me. Stereotypes often exist for a reason. Engineers and non-engineers tend at the macro level to have big differences in pros and cons.

A lot of the roles ID grads are in wouldn't be a good fit for IEs. They just don't have the personalities or social skills needed. Sales and account management is generally a better fit for IDs. Engineering, quality, and technical work is often better for IEs. There's plenty of areas in the middle such as product line, project management, Operations, etc. where either could excel and it has more to do with the person, their abilities, and personality.

In the end I think success and salary has more to do with the individual than the degree. Unless it's an Engineering firm and the Engineer is an unicorn, it gets a little higher to reach the top leadership positions in corporate today because the social interaction, politicking and cheerleading just isn't natural for a lot of Engineers. On the other side it takes a non-Engineer that can grasp the high level technical as well to get to the same point.

And that comes from the odd ball that should have probably gone ID or IE if I knew anything about it and instead got an Architect undergrad because civil and mechanical was boring to me and later a MBA to try and overcome it in an Engineering world.

I studied IE and my wife studied ID. I went with a Fortune 50 company when I graduated in 2017 and am still with one today, just a different one. My wife took a job with a cell phone tower construction company. Her pay starting out was pretty low (45k) but she now blows my salary out of the water. I'm still an engineer and she's a national program director for a Fortune 500 company. You can't really go wrong either way. It's
more about the work ethic after college and who you network with along the way.

ID class of '14, here, and been in oilfield sales since I graduated. Shoot me a DM as I'm a huge advocate of the program, and I would be happy to talk to your son on any questions and what he can expect.

Both the department staff and PAID (professional association of ID) leadership do an exceptional job with connecting industry to the current students.

Evan Vestal is also one hell of an asset and resource, and I highly encourage your son to link up with him.