Industrial Design

Lakemom
Tue, 05 Apr 2011 04:19:34 +0000

While one would think ID and Mech Eng are counterparts as Arch and Civ Eng are, they are unfortunately not in terms of schooling. ID is mostly an art degree. The only school here in the US that puts ID in their engineering school is Western Washington in Bellingham. I have heard some people become Mech Eng and then do a masters in ID. However as Simbot noted, if you are a design oriented ME, you probably don’t need the ID degree.

The question really is what side of the design process do you want to be on? The “how it looks” or “how it works” role. ID is a 4 year degree then you are done, no internship, no licensing and so not as high paying.

ID programs are also not taught as as many tier one type schools so they may not be as hard as Arch. There are about 60 programs here in the U.S. and 20 are in art schools. Art schools are more about your portfolio and less about grades. Go to the IDSA [Industrial Designers Society of America - IDSA](http://www.idsa.org/) and click on education to find schools.