What is fashion Merchandising?

What kind of jobs should I consider if I earn a degree in Industrial engineering and fashion merchandising?

• I currently attend New Mexico State University and double majoring in Industrial engineering and Clothing, Textiles, fashion merchandising. I will be a junior this coming Fall 2012 and would like to know of some good-paying jobs with these type of majors.

• Answer:

  Interesting combination. Once upon a time, when clothes were actually made in America, any of the clothing manufacturers or their suppliers in fibers and textiles would have been the answer. But they are mostly gone. So clothing distribution and retail and THEIR suppliers are the remaining choices. Unless you want to move to China. And distribution and retail are notoriously cheap in pay. Try those US clothing and shoe design firms which still manage their businesses from the US and not from the Asian supply end. This is a shrinking list. Manufacturing is the dog that wags the tail, and one by one, companies are relocating their brain centers to the their sources of supply. Or either find a niche which still exists (like geotextiles, kevlar or non-wovens... Dupont?), go off-shore or rely more on the IE degree and get with a successful manufacturer who's not dying from Chinese competition if possible.