Operations Research

Stem Major

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Total Degrees​
Awarded in 2021
1,698
declining 3.52%
Median In-State​
Public Tuition
$9,500
growing 1.33%
Median Out-of-State​
Private Tuition
$54,020
growing 3.24%
Average Wage
$121,976
growing 5.37%
People in Workforce
4.65M
growing 4.66%
Average Employee Age
43.1
growing 0.0579%

About

In 2021, the locations with the highest concentration of Operations Research degree recipients are New York, NY, Ithaca, NY, and Berkeley, CA. In 2021, the locations with a relatively high number of Operations Research degree recipients are Wright-Patterson AFB, OH, Naval Academy, MD, and New London, CT. The most common degree awarded to students studying Operations Research is a masters degree.

learningInstitutions

Information about the types of higher education institutions that grant degrees in Operations Research and the types of students that study this field. Columbia University in the City of New York awards the most degrees in Operations Research in the US, but United States Coast Guard Academy and Air Force Institute of Technology-Graduate School of Engineering & Management have the highest percentage of degrees awarded in Operations Research.

Tuition costs for Operations Research majors are, on average, $9,500 for in-state public colleges, and $54,020 for out of state private colleges.

The most common sector, by number of institutions, that offers Operations Research programs are Public, 4-year or above institutions (24 total). The most common sector, by number of degrees awarded, is Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above (919 completions).

Institutions

Institution with the Most Degrees Awarded in Operations Research

The most common sector, by number of degrees awarded in Operations Research, is Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above (919 completions in 2021).

The following chart shows the share of universities that offer Operations Research programs, by the total number of completions, colored and grouped by their sector.

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Tuition Costs for Common Institutions

$9,500
Median In-State Public
$54,020
Median Out of State Private

Columbia University in the City of New York has the most Operations Research degree recipients, with 399 degrees awarded in 2021.

The following bar chart shows the state tuition for the top 5 institutions with the most degrees awarded in Operations Research.

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Specialized Colleges

Out of all institutions that offer Operations Research programs and have at least 5 graduates in those programs, United States Coast Guard Academy has the highest percentage of degrees awarded in Operations Research, with 17.1%.

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Degrees Awarded by County

Counties with the Most Degrees Awarded in Operations Research

This map shows the counties in the United States colored by the highest number of degrees awarded in Operations Research by year.

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Growth in Awarded Degrees

Counties with the Fastest Growing Number of Degrees Awarded

This map shows the counties in the United States colored by the highest growth in degrees awarded for Operations Research.

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briefcaseEmployment

Information on the businesses and industries that employ Engineering graduates and on wages and locations for those in the field.

The average salary for Engineering majors is $121,976 and the most common occupations are Software developers, Miscellaneous engineers, including nuclear engineers, and Other managers.

The industry that employs the most Engineering majors is Architectural, engineering & related services, though the highest paying industry, by average wage, is Internet publishing, broadcasting & web search portals.

Yearly Income for Common Jobs

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Operations Research is from the 2 Digit Course Engineering.
$121,976
Average Wage in Workforce
± $1,185
5.37%
1 Year Growth
± 1.32%

The average salary for Engineering majors is $121,976 and the most common occupations are Software developers, Miscellaneous engineers, including nuclear engineers, and Other managers.

This chart shows the average annual salaries of the most common occupations for Engineering majors.

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Highest Paying Locations

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Operations Research is from the 2 Digit Course Engineering.

This map shows the public use micro areas (PUMAs) in the United States colored by the average salary of Engineering majors.

Note that the census collects information tied to where people live, not where they work. It is possible that Engineering majors live and work in the same place, but it is also possible that they live and work in two different places.

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Most Common

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Operations Research is from the 2 Digit Course Engineering.

The most common occupations Engineering majors, by number of employees, are Software developers, Miscellaneous engineers, including nuclear engineers, and Other managers.

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Most Specialized

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Operations Research is from the 2 Digit Course Engineering.

Compared to other majors, there are an unusually high number of Engineering majors working as Chemical engineers, Civil engineers, and Aerospace engineers.

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Highest Paid

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Operations Research is from the 2 Digit Course Engineering.

The highest paid occupations by median income for Engineering majors are Podiatrists, Surgeons, and Physicians.

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Occupations by Share

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Operations Research is from the 2 Digit Course Engineering.
4.65M
2021 Workforce
± 52,096
4.66%
1 Year Growth
± 1.53%

The number of Engineering graduates in the workforce has been growing at a rate of 4.66%, from 4.44M in 2020 to 4.65M in 2021.

The largest single share of Engineering graduates go on to work as Software developers (8.41%). This chart shows the various jobs filled by those with a major in Engineering by share of the total number of graduates.

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Most Common

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Operations Research is from the 2 Digit Course Engineering.

The most common industries that employ Engineering majors, by number of employees, are Architectural, engineering & related services, Computer Systems Design, and Construction.

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Highest Paid

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Operations Research is from the 2 Digit Course Engineering.

The highest paying industries of Engineering majors, by average wage, are Internet publishing, broadcasting & web search portals, Offices of physicians, and Oil & gas extraction.

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Industries by Share

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Operations Research is from the 2 Digit Course Engineering.
4.65M
2021 Workforce
± 52,096
4.66%
1 Year Growth
± 1.53%

The number of Engineering graduates in the workforce has been growing at a rate of 4.66%, from 4.44M in 2020 to 4.65M in 2021.

The industry which employs the most Engineering graduates by share is Architectural, engineering & related services, followed by Computer Systems Design. This visualization shows the industries that hire those who major in Engineering.

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Specialty Locations

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Operations Research is from the 2 Digit Course Engineering.

This map shows the public use micro areas (PUMAs) in the United States where there are a relatively high population of Engineering majors.

Note that the census collects information tied to where people live, not where they work. It is possible that Engineering majors live and work in the same place, but it is also possible that they live and work in two different places.

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geosearchDiversity

Demographic information for those who earn a degree in Engineering in the United States.

The average age of a person in the workforce with a degree in Engineering is 43.1.

The most common degree type these workers hold is a Masters Degree. Male employees are more likely to hold Engineering degrees, and Non-resident Alien students are the most common race/ethnicty group awarded degrees in Engineering (846 students).

Workforce Age

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Operations Research is from the 2 Digit Course Engineering.
43.1
Average Age in 2021
± 0.149 Years
0.0579%
1 Year Change
± 0.493%

This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in Engineering. The most common ages of employees with this major are 30 and 35 years old, which represent 2.81% and 2.71% of the population, respectively.

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Degrees Awarded

The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Operations Research are Masters Degree, Bachelors Degree, and Postbaccalaureate Certificate.

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Workforce Degrees

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Operations Research is from the 2 Digit Course Engineering.

The most common degree types held by the working population in Engineering are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Doctorate degree.

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Sex Imbalance for Common Institutions

Male (60.8%)
Most Common Sex with a Degree in this Field

This chart shows the granted degrees by sex at the 5 institutions that graduate the most students in Operations Research.

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Race & Ethnicity by Degrees Awarded

Most Common Race or Ethnicity
  1. Non-resident Alien
    846 degrees awarded
  2. White
    473 degrees awarded
  3. Asian
    182 degrees awarded

This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in Operations Research for each race & ethnicity. Non-resident Alien students earned the largest share of the degrees with this major.

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Race & Ethnicity by Sex

Most Common Race/Ethnicity and Sex Combination
  1. Non-resident Alien Male
    356 degrees awarded
  2. Non-resident Alien Female
    326 degrees awarded
  3. White Male
    123 degrees awarded

This chart illustrates the differences by sex for each race & ethnicity of Masters Degree recipients in Operations Research.

Non-resident Alien Male students, who earn most of the degrees in this field, are the most common combination of race/ethnicity and sex.

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Global Diversity

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Operations Research is from the 2 Digit Course Engineering.
Most Common Countries of Origin
  1. India
    476,620 degree recipients
  2. China
    148,359 degree recipients
  3. Mexico
    86,323 degree recipients
High Relative Number of Students
  1. India
    4.27 times more than expected
  2. Libya
    3.83 times more than expected
  3. Other Asia, not specified
    3.36 times more than expected

There are a relatively high number of people that were born in India that hold Engineering degrees (4.27 times more than expected), and the most common country of origin by total numbers for non-US students earning a degree in this field is India (476,620 degree recipients).

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predictive-analysisSkills

Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the Operations Research field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Operations Research majors need many skills, but most especially Reading Comprehension. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Operations Research majors need more than the average amount of Quality Control Analysis, Programming, Science, Operation Monitoring, Troubleshooting, Systems Analysis, Technology Design, Systems Evaluation, Operation and Control, Management of Material Resources, Operations Analysis, Management of Financial Resources, Mathematics, Time Management, Complex Problem Solving, Writing, Persuasion, Judgment and Decision Making, Learning Strategies, Speaking, Critical Thinking, Negotiation, Management of Personnel Resources, Active Listening, Reading Comprehension, Instructing, Monitoring, Active Learning, Social Perceptiveness, Service Orientation, Coordination, Equipment Selection, Installation, Equipment Maintenance, and Repairing.

These two visualizations, one a radial chart and one a bar chart, show the same information, a rating of how necessary the following skills are for Operations Research majors. Toggle between "value" and "RCA" to see the absolute rating of that skill (value) and the revealed comparative advantage (RCA), or how much greater or lesser that skill's rating is than the average. The longer the bar or the closer the line comes to the circumference of the circle, the more important that skill is. The importance of Quality Control Analysis is very distinctive for majors, but the Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Writing, Speaking, Critical Thinking, Complex Problem Solving, Judgment and Decision Making, Time Management, Systems Analysis, Systems Evaluation, Mathematics, Active Learning, Monitoring, Persuasion, Social Perceptiveness, Coordination, Learning Strategies, Science, Instructing, Negotiation, Service Orientation, Management of Personnel Resources, Operation Monitoring, Quality Control Analysis, Operations Analysis, Management of Financial Resources, Management of Material Resources, Operation and Control, Troubleshooting, Technology Design, Programming, Equipment Selection, Installation, Equipment Maintenance, and Repairing are the three most important skills for people in the field.

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Bar Chart

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