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Logistics Engineer
When you walk into a Target, Walmart, or grocery store looking for a certain item and find that it's out of stock, does it frustrate you?  When you see all the hundreds of different products and brands each store stocks and sells, do you ever wonder what it took to get them there?  If you love Math, Science, and solving problems and would particularly like to solve the problem that frustrates you and other shoppers, then you will likewise enjoy a career as a Logistics Engineer.

Logistics Engineers apply the scientific and mathematical principles of engineering to the process of moving/transporting and distributing raw materials, parts, and consumer (finished) goods.  They are in charge of designing and analyzing the systems (typically called supply chains) employed in moving and distributing goods with the ultimate goal of improving efficiency, thus generating higher profits for their employers.  Because the relationship between supplier, distributor, and customer is paramount to their industry, Logistics Engineers strive to use their knowledge of Science, Math, and business practices to construct the most streamlined, efficient method of product distribution possible.

Duties include but are not limited to:  handling and managing inventory; processing and determining the size of orders; planning/designing warehouse layouts; helping to design product packaging to maximize shipping efficiency; and coordinating the movement of parts and products within the walls of the manufacturing plant, from suppliers to the plant, and from the plant to stores or directly to customers.

All US military branches use Logistics Engineers to coordinate the movement of troops, their weapons, and their equipment, especially during wartime deployment.  In manufacturing, Logistics Engineers' two categories are based on scope, and they are:  internal logistics (movement of products within the four walls of a warehouse and/or manufacturing plant--from receiving dock to raw materials warehouse to production line, through the production line, and back to the finished goods warehouse and shipping dock) and external logistics (movement of products from suppliers to manufacturing plant to distribution centers to stores or directly to end customers).

Students interested in studying Logistics Engineering should take high school courses in Mathematics, such as Algebra, Geometry, Trigonometry, and Calculus; Computer Science; and Sciences such as Chemistry and Physics.  Those entering Industrial Engineering Bachelor's of Science programs from high school with no previous Logistics Engineering training should expect a period of 4 to 5 years to complete said program.  A Professional Engineer's license (or PE) is required for those who wish to establish their own Logistics Engineering consulting firm and provide services directly to the public.  Industrial Engineering is usually the license of choice, since no Logistics Engineering license is offered.

Products and produce have always needed and always will need to find its way to the marketplace and ultimately to consumers' households.  Because the world has become and is growing more of a true global economy, Logistics Engineers will always be in high demand.  Gas prices are ridiculously high.  And as more companies are educated on the values of logistics engineering in saving inventory and transportation costs, expect their demand to skyrocket as a result.
Job Description
Median Salary & Range
​Median Salary:  $87,110

Salary Range:  ~$51,380 - $122,830+
College Majors & Attainment Routes
​The normal routes to becoming a Logistics Engineer have been to major in Industrial Engineering, Transportation Engineering and Logistics Studies, Manufacturing Engineering, Engineering Physics, Applied Mathematics, Supply Chain Management, Transportation and Urban Infrastructure Studies (Logistics), Industrial and Logistics Technology, or Information and Logistics Technology.  Note: Logistics Engineering itself as a major is typically only offered as Master's Degree programs.

For those who pursue a Bachelor's Degree in Supply Chain Management and wish to obtain engineering licensure, earning a Master's Degree or a second Bachelor's Degree in one of the engineering majors can only make that a possibility.
Colleges That Provide Above Majors
​Colleges and universities that have Manufacturing Engineering and related majors are:  North Carolina A&T State University (Greensboro, North Carolina); Alabama A&M University (Normal, Alabama); Morgan State University (Baltimore, Maryland); Florida A&M University (Tallahassee, Florida); Howard University (Washington, DC); Tennessee State University (Nashville, Tennessee); Tuskegee University (Tuskegee, Alabama); Benedict College (Columbia, South Carolina); Oakwood University (Huntsville, Alabama); Savannah State University (Savannah, Georgia); Virginia State University (Petersburg, Virginia); and Florida Memorial University (Miami Gardens, Florida).​
Available Scholarships