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The differences between decision analysts and operations research analysts can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a decision analyst has an average salary of $79,900, which is higher than the $74,424 average annual salary of an operations research analyst.
The top three skills for a decision analyst include data analysis, SQL and SAS. The most important skills for an operations research analyst are operations research, DOD, and python.
| Decision Analyst | Operations Research Analyst | |
| Yearly salary | $79,900 | $74,424 |
| Hourly rate | $38.41 | $35.78 |
| Growth rate | 23% | 23% |
| Number of jobs | 62,744 | 154,380 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 64% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
A decision analyst helps companies make decisions using different research strategies and mathematical equations based on relevant data. Although their duties vary upon their industry or company of employment, it usually includes understanding the company's vision and mission, conducting market research and analyses, gathering and interpreting data, analyzing consumer feedback, developing sales forecasts, performing risk assessments, and studying the competition. Through their research findings, a decision analyst comes to a conclusion and develops recommendations that will not just help make decisions but also be vital in optimizing procedures and solving existing issues.
Operations research analysts are responsible for assisting organizations in making better decisions. These professionals work to develop solutions that will aid businesses to operate more efficiently using advanced techniques such as data mining, optimization, and mathematical modeling. They work closely with key organizational stakeholders to stay up-to-date on short-term and long-term business goals. They also conduct research that will give them insights they need to guide decision-makers and develop solutions using predictive modeling, simulations, and statistical analysis.
Decision analysts and operations research analysts have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Decision Analyst | Operations Research Analyst | |
| Average salary | $79,900 | $74,424 |
| Salary range | Between $57,000 And $110,000 | Between $48,000 And $113,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | Washington | Maine |
| Best paying company | Meta | The Citadel |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Professional |
There are a few differences between a decision analyst and an operations research analyst in terms of educational background:
| Decision Analyst | Operations Research Analyst | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 64% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Most common major | Business | Mathematics |
| Most common college | Columbia University in the City of New York | University of Southern California |
Here are the differences between decision analysts' and operations research analysts' demographics:
| Decision Analyst | Operations Research Analyst | |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 53.3% Female, 46.7% | Male, 68.2% Female, 31.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.9% Unknown, 5.9% Hispanic or Latino, 12.9% Asian, 13.7% White, 55.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% | Black or African American, 13.9% Unknown, 5.9% Hispanic or Latino, 12.4% Asian, 12.9% White, 54.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 9% |