Operations Research

What is an operations research analyst? What type of work does an analyst do? You may also wonder what skills and education would be necessary for such a position.

Those who work in operations research assist management with many functions, including policy formulation. They create and apply mathematical methods to interpret and develop information. Such analysts were at first employed by the military. During wars, they have searched for enemy submarines, deployed submarines, and provided supplies where they were most needed. During peacetime, operations research analysts have analyzed business operations for companies and planned business ventures. They use computer modeling, statistical analysis, simulation, data mining, a variety of mathematical techniques, and linear programming.

Analysts work in every private field, in addition to the military. They need to effectively manage people, money, equipment, materials, and time. By using engineering, science, and math, operations research analysts help companies make the wisest decisions, solve complicated problems, and improve efficiency. Examples of tasks they could be involved with include determining the best ways to organize products in supermarkets and establishing sports leagues.

If you would take an aptitude test to determine if you would like working as a research analyst, you would learn that the field is for the highly educated. Those go the farthest have a master’s degree or higher. Usually only entry level work can be found with a bachelor’s degree. You would be more likely to succeed if you like math and science. Because you might work with personnel schedules, you should like people. You might need to work with large databases, so you might enjoy the work more if you like working with computers. Those who have a keen analytical mind might do well as operations research analysts. You should know you would mostly work in an office, and you might face tight deadlines. You might be required to work more than 40 hours a week. A career assessment might tell you more about whether this kind of work is for you.

You might work for research and testing service companies. A bank might offer you a job as an analyst. You might work for data and computer processing services companies. The median salary for someone beginning such a career is a little more than $48,000, but the salary can vary greatly, with those in the Federal Government earning more than $100,000, and those in banks earning about $37,000.