Production Engineering Career Path: Skills, Specialisations, and Growth Prospects

Are you someone interested in hardcore manufacturing technologies? Well, production engineering can be the perfect career stream for you that combines technical expertise with innovation. Production engineers study design, manufacturing processes and product management. They become the experts who can optimise production to maintain quality and make the process more economical and efficient.

To put it clearly, production engineering is primarily an engineering domain that deals with multiple core engineering backgrounds. Today, it is a fast-growing career stream in the job markets of the US, India, Germany, and UAE that offers abundant opportunities for career growth, and high-paying jobs. The average salary of a product engineer in India ranges between INR 6LPA and INR 15LPA.

In this blog, we will discuss what production engineering is, what production engineers do, their skill sets, the potential job roles and their salaries.

What is Production Engineering?

Production Engineering is an emerging engineering domain that uses advanced manufacturing techniques to improve product quality and make the production process more cost-effective. The best part is this career stream deals with multiple core engineering backgrounds, which makes it highly demanding across various industries. These are industrial engineering, manufacturing process, operations management, tool design and fabrication, automation, quality control and energy management.

Great news! Isn’t it?

It offers the freedom to professionals to explore and integrate new technologies into production, along with sustainable practices. Production engineers play a crucial role in improving efficiency, reducing costs, and enhancing the overall quality of products across sectors such as automotive, aerospace, electronics, and consumer goods. It is all about making the manufacturing or production process economical, advanced, sustainable, user-friendly, and automated.

How Good is Production Engineering as a Career?

Wondering how rewarding production engineering is as a career? Well, production engineering is a fantastic career option for someone with a strong knowledge background in manufacturing engineering or industrial engineering. Here, professionals use engineering skills to improve the manufacturing of products.

Statistics show the projected production engineer job growth rate is 10% from 2018-2028. Production engineer salaries have increased by 6% in the last 5 years. It is currently one of the most in-demand engineering streams worldwide, you know why?

• This stream integrates at least 10 other core engineering fields and thus becomes a highly dynamic and interdisciplinary career path for multiple industries.

• According to current statistics, the global engineering industry is experiencing severe talent shortages in multiple industries. Thus, production engineering has become a candidate-driven market; where there’s more growth rate and negotiating power for skilled professionals.

• It is a relatively new domain, compared to the already existing core engineering backgrounds. Thus, the job market is not overly competitive.

• The field requires a blend of engineering expertise and a creative approach to designing. It provides flexibility to professionals to switch industries or specialise in sectors that align with their interests or evolving market trends.

What Does a Production Engineering Do?

A production engineer is responsible for setting quality standards for machinery and implementing effective ways to improve productivity and maintenance. The goal is to ensure that production runs smoothly and efficiently while keeping costs down. Although, specific tasks of individuals may vary depending on the industry or company. However, some of the typical duties of a production engineer are as follows:

• Set production standards and select the right machinery for the job.

• Plan, organise and schedule production schedules.

• Develop strategies and methods to reduce cost, improve productivity and boost profits.

• Troubleshoot and resolve issues that arise during production.

• Manage inventory, perform quality checks and analyse results.

• Identify unsafe practices and ensure that safety guidelines are being followed.

• Work closely with suppliers, team members and management to meet the management requirements.

What Skills Do You Need to Become a Production Engineer?

As a skilled production engineer, you must have a good grip on core engineering concepts and manufacturing processes. But that’s not all. To succeed in this field, you must also possess strong problem-solving abilities, a keen eye for detail, and other skills.

Let’s discuss some key skills one might need to become a Production Engineer.

Hard Skills for Production Engineers

• Process optimisation and Lean manufacturing

• Product quality control techniques

• Supply chain management

• Using CAD (Computer Design) and CAM (Computer Manufacturing) Tools

• Automation and robotics

• Statistical Process Control (SPC)

• Operating manufacturing systems and tracking

• Understanding materials and metallurgy

• Energy management and sustainable practices

• Using data analytics (statistical data) to improve processes

Soft Skills for Production Engineers

• Problem-solving and critical thinking

• Teamwork and collaboration

• Adaptable and flexible to changes

• Leadership and people management

• Time management and setting priorities

• Attention to details

• Continuous improvement and learning

• Conflict resolution

• Emotional intelligence

Also Read: How to Become a Design Engineer?

Production Engineering in India

Speaking of the job market in India, it is growing rapidly due to the country’s expanding manufacturing sector. With initiatives like “Make in India” and the adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies, there is a rising demand for skilled production engineers in the country.

It involves job sectors like automotive, aerospace, electronics, consumer goods and more. Interestingly, the market size for the Indian Construction Equipment Market was at US$ 7.2 billion in FY23 and is forecasted to grow at a CAGR of 15% for the next 5 years. This serves as a strong base for its engagement across sectors such as Engineering, Construction, Infrastructure and Consumer goods, amongst others.

So, production engineering will be ruling the future job market!

The Government’s Vision Plan 2030 proposed an action plan to become a manufacturing and export hub for construction equipment and manufacturing.

And this means more job roles and salary growth for production engineers!

Production Engineer in India with less than 1 year of experience to 8 years get ₹ 1.7 Lakhs to ₹ 6.2 Lakhs. However, the experienced and skilled professionals earn an average of ₹18.3lakhs. This shows that the job market for production engineering in India is very promising, with a total of 11,000+ Production Engineer jobs. Furthermore, looking at India’s future goals, it is quite clear that it is going to be one of the most hyped and in-demand career fields in the coming years.

Also Read: Your Guide to Become a Quality Engineer

Career Opportunities in Production Engineering (with Salary Info)

Production engineering has a wide job market in terms of diversity, offering opportunities across various industries like automotive, aerospace, electronics, consumer goods, and energy. From entry-level positions to senior management, this domain offers versatile job roles with competitive salaries.

Some of the popular job roles for production engineers and their salaries are as follows:

Key Takeaway

It is clear that within a few years, the production engineering profile will be the most talked-about domain in the job market. As there is a rise in consumer demands, more consumer goods and appliance and machinery production are needed. This is gradually pulling more production engineers into sectors like automotive, aerospace, electronics, and consumer goods. If you too are an aspiring production engineer, then now is the perfect time to build a strong foundation in this field. Enrol in a production engineering program today and start shaping your career.