As ISyE celebrates its first ISE Day (September 15) we are shining a light on the many paths that lead students to industrial engineering. For some, it’s the flexibility to shape a career around their passions. For others, it’s the problem-solving mindset or the real-world impact they can make. Together, they show that there are countless answers to the question: Why IE? 

Finding Flexibility and Purpose
For Amanda Ehrenhalt, a fourth-year student from the east coast, the path to IE and Georgia Tech wasn’t straightforward.

"I'm originally from Philadelphia and I didn't know a ton about Georgia Tech, I didn't know a ton about IE, or anything. I have always been pretty sustainability, change and impact-driven. And when I came to Georgia Tech, I came in hoping to make my difference through sustainability as an environmental engineer. I quickly realized that the lab side of things was not my calling! So I changed majors to IE and what I tell everyone is that it is the best thing that I could have ever done for myself. It allows me to lean into the technical side of large-scale issues and topics. So things like optimization, efficiency, systems, all of these learnings can be applied to any interest and have intersection to everything in the world. I want to use the education I'm receiving and apply that to what I'm really interested in — making a change in this world through energy. I like that I get to use all the technical pieces of my degree towards a future career where I can make an impact.”

A Mindset for Problem Solving
Like Ehrenhalt, Andrew Pietkiewicz, a fourth-year IE, started his college journey in another discipline before finding his fit.

"Originally, coming into Georgia Tech, I wasn't sure what I wanted to study. I knew that I wanted to major in engineering. I knew that I liked math, I was interested in coding. But above all else I was interested in problem solving and trying to find a degree where I felt I really could make an impact on the world around me. I came into my first semester Georgia Tech as a chemical engineering major and then I enrolled in our introductory engineering seminar course and was introduced to industrial engineering, and I was really excited by it. I think industrial engineering is special because it's so broad and rather than just being a discipline it’s also really, a skill set, and honestly, a mindset for tackling a variety of different problems, for thinking about the world around you, and identifying ways to improve it, make it more efficient, and to make it better. That’s kind of what drew me in. In my four years here as an industrial engineer, I'm happy about the decision I've made. I've loved the breadth of my curriculum and the flexibility."

Early Interest, Big Goals
For some, like Bryce Cannon, IE was the clear choice from the beginning.

“I knew I wanted to major in engineering in college, and I looked at each of the types of engineering [schools] at Georgia Tech. I saw that ISyE was business related, and I want study data analytics. And I also saw that ISyE ranks as the number one undergraduate program, so that's why I came here.”

Amelia Lemmon, a fourth-year student, connected the dots between event planning in high school and the analytical problem-solving skills she found in ISyE.

"As a high school student, I had the opportunity to plan a large-scale event for around 500 people, and it truly ignited a passion for me. Finding the best way to make the event run smoothly, and ensure that no one was ever bored, hungry, or had to wait in a line gave me such rewarding challenges to solve. From then, I worked to find a field that I could solve those problems but still heavily use analytical thinking. And IE has given me exactly that ever since! Studying IE has equipped me with a toolkit I can use to solve a variety of problems in both my personal and professional life. I would love to work in a supply chain or manufacturing role after I graduate, and ISyE has equipped me with the education and network to get there. More than anything, I want to land in a career that truly embodies Progress and Service.”

Paths of Discovery
For others, IE was a discovery they didn’t expect at first.

Tanijoluwa “Tani” Alofe, a second-year student, explained, “I did not know about IE when I first arrived to Tech, as I originally applied as a biology major. I am interested in entrepreneurship, and I took the S1301 course, and IE piqued my interest. I love computer science and so now I'm on a concentration for data analytics. I'm hoping to one day have my own business.”

Transfer student Brian Castro shared how his family’s background shaped his decision.
“I found out IE is like ‘business’ engineering. When I was growing up, my dad owned a landscaping business. He wasn’t the most fluent in English, so I was a sixth grader helping him communicate with clients. And I felt always smart enough to be an engineer, so I figured why not major in something I've grown up around.”

And for David Baker, a first-year IE, it’s the versatility of the major that stands out.
“IE is sort of the broad scope of engineering; in terms of the things you can do. Whether working with different companies to solve problems, like supply chain, or tackling real-world challenges that are facing our community, as I’ve seen capstone projects that worked with food banks. I am not quite sure what I want to do yet, but it’s the interdisciplinary approach with the major that interests me.”