An operation research analyst solves complex organizational problems through the use of advanced mathematical and analytical means. You are responsible for the collection and organization of data like sales histories or customers' feedback. You also have to examine and analyze the obtained information to decipher an effective way to deal with problems. A research analyst makes use of simulations, predictive models, and various statistical analyses to come up with practical business solutions. You have to regularly write reports to communicate your analysis and recommendations to your managers and the company's executives.
The least educational requirement for this role is a Bachelor's degree in business, engineering, management science, or any other related field. Although, some employers might prefer higher degrees like Masters. You need to have exceptional presentation skills in addition to good written and oral communication skills. It is also important that you are a critical analyzer and a problem solver. The average annual salary of an operations research analyst is $86,200.
How to Become an Operations Research Analyst
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being an operations research analyst. For example, did you know that they make an average of $38.01 an hour? That's $79,064 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 26% and produce 28,100 job opportunities across the U.S.
What Does an Operations Research Analyst Do
There are certain skills that many operations research analysts have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed math skills, writing skills and interpersonal skills.
How To Become an Operations Research Analyst
If you're interested in becoming an operations research analyst, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 67.1% of operations research analysts have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 21.6% of operations research analysts have master's degrees. Even though most operations research analysts have a college degree, it's impossible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become an operations research analyst. When we researched the most common majors for an operations research analyst, we found that they most commonly earn bachelor's degree degrees or master's degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on operations research analyst resumes include associate degree degrees or doctoral degree degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become an operations research analyst. In fact, many operations research analyst jobs require experience in a role such as research assistant. Meanwhile, many operations research analysts also have previous career experience in roles such as internship or teaching assistant.
Operations Research Analyst Career Paths
In addition to switching up your job search, it might prove helpful to look at a career path for your specific job. Now, what's a career path you ask? Well, it's practically a map that shows how you might advance from one job title to another. Our career paths are especially detailed with salary changes. So, for example, if you started out with the role of business analyst you might progress to a role such as manager eventually. Later on in your career, you could end up with the title senior finance manager.
Average Salary for an Operations Research Analyst
What Am I Worth?
Top Colleges for Operations Research Analysts
1. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
2. SUNY Stony Brook
Stony Brook, NY • Private
3. New York University
New York, NY • Private
4. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Champaign, IL • Private
5. Georgia Institute of Technology
Atlanta, GA • Private
6. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Troy, NY • Private
7. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
8. University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA • Private
9. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
10. Pennsylvania State University
University Park, PA • Private
Top Skills For an Operations Research Analyst
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 15.1% of operations research analysts listed operations research on their resume, but soft skills such as math skills and writing skills are important as well.
Choose From 10+ Customizable Operations Research Analyst Resume templates
Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Operations Research Analyst templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Operations Research Analyst resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.
Operations Research Analyst Demographics
Operations Research Analyst Gender Distribution
After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
- Among operations research analysts, 31.8% of them are women, while 68.2% are men.
- The most common race/ethnicity among operations research analysts is White, which makes up 58.9% of all operations research analysts.
- The most common foreign language among operations research analysts is Spanish at 37.2%.
Online Courses For Operations Research Analyst That You May Like
This course presents critical concepts and practical methods to support planning, collection, storage, and dissemination of data in clinical research. Understanding and implementing solid data management principles is critical for any scientific domain. Regardless of your current (or anticipated) role in the research enterprise, a strong working knowledge and skill set in data management principles and practice will increase your productivity and improve your science. Our goal is to use these mo...
Master One of the Most In-Demand Skills for Data Analysts in 2020!...
Academic Research Business Research Thesis & Dissertation Report Research Paper / Journal...
Best States For an Operations Research Analyst
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as an operations research analyst. The best states for people in this position are New Jersey, Illinois, Washington, and Virginia. Operations research analysts make the most in New Jersey with an average salary of $97,392. Whereas in Illinois and Washington, they would average $92,493 and $91,165, respectively. While operations research analysts would only make an average of $90,826 in Virginia, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.
1. District of Columbia
$105,529
Avg. Salary
2. Oregon
$88,259
Avg. Salary
3. North Carolina
$87,541
Avg. Salary
How Do Operations Research Analyst Rate Their Jobs?
Top Operations Research Analyst Employers
Most Common Employers For Operations Research Analyst
| Rank  | Company  | Average Salary  | Hourly Rate  | Job Openings  |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McKinsey & Company Inc | $157,720 | $75.83 | 131 |
| 2 | ZS | $135,793 | $65.29 | 105 |
| 3 | Apple | $116,806 | $56.16 | 88 |
| 4 | Ernst & Young | $116,649 | $56.08 | 1,882 |
| 5 | Pwc | $114,503 | $55.05 | 69 |
| 6 | JPMorgan Chase & Co. | $106,427 | $51.17 | 56 |
| 7 | Credit Suisse | $104,571 | $50.27 | 40 |
| 8 | Amazon | $104,349 | $50.17 | 43 |
| 9 | KPMG LLP | $101,570 | $48.83 | 46 |
| 10 | Bank of America | $92,160 | $44.31 | 127 |
Operations Research Analyst Videos
Becoming an Operations Research Analyst FAQs
What degree do you need to be a research analyst?
You need a bachelor's degree to be a research analyst. Typical fields of study that research analysts have included business, economics, and mathematics.
Research analysts can be found everywhere and in any industry, not just the financial sector. Therefore, nearly any academic background could viably serve a prospective researcher, as long as the researcher has the requisite technical, mathematical, and analytical skills.