Operations Research

Stem Major

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Total Degrees​
Awarded in 2022
1,718
growing 1.18%
Median In-State​
Public Tuition
$9,795
growing 3%
Median Out-of-State​
Private Tuition
$56,920
growing 5.37%
Average Wage
$131,370
growing 7.94%
People in Workforce
4.83M
growing 3.48%
Average Employee Age
43
declining 0.361%

About

In 2022, the locations with the highest concentration of Operations Research degree recipients are New York, NY, Berkeley, CA, and Ithaca, NY. In 2022, the locations with a relatively high number of Operations Research degree recipients are Wright-Patterson AFB, OH, Naval Academy, MD, and Air Force Academy, CO. The most common degree awarded to students studying Operations Research is a masters degree.

Institutions

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 Air Force Institute of Technology-Graduate School of Engineering & Management and United States Naval Academy have the highest percentage of degrees awarded in Operations Research.

Tuition costs for Operations Research majors are, on average, $9,795 for in-state public colleges, and $56,920 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 (25 total). The most common sector, by number of degrees awarded, is Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above (886 completions).

Institutions

Institution with the Most Degrees Awarded in Operations Research (2022)
  1. 376 degrees awarded
  2. 261 degrees awarded
  3. 228 degrees awarded

The most common sector, by number of degrees awarded in Operations Research, is Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above (886 completions in 2022).

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

$9,795
Median In-State Public
$56,920
Median Out of State Private

Columbia University in the City of New York has the most Operations Research degree recipients, with 376 degrees awarded in 2022.

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, Air Force Institute of Technology-Graduate School of Engineering & Management has the highest percentage of degrees awarded in Operations Research, with 12.4%.

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Degrees Awarded by County

Counties with the Most Degrees Awarded in Operations Research
  1. 394 degrees awarded
  2. 261 degrees awarded
  3. 228 degrees awarded

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
  1. 100%
  2. 100%
  3. 83.3%

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

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Employment

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 $131,370 and the most common occupations are Software developers, Miscellaneous engineers, including nuclear engineers, and Civil engineers.

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.
$131,370
Average Wage in Workforce
± $1,266
7.94%
1 Year Growth
± 1.27%

The average salary for Engineering majors is $131,370 and the most common occupations are Software developers, Miscellaneous engineers, including nuclear engineers, and Civil engineers.

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 Civil engineers.

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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 Petroleum, mining & geological engineers, including mining safety 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.
4.83M
2022 Workforce
± 53,105
3.48%
1 Year Growth
± 1.52%

The number of Engineering graduates in the workforce has been growing at a rate of 3.48%, from 4.67M in 2021 to 4.83M in 2022.

The largest single share of Engineering graduates go on to work as Software developers (8.83%). 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.
4.83M
2022 Workforce
± 53,105
3.48%
1 Year Growth
± 1.52%

The number of Engineering graduates in the workforce has been growing at a rate of 3.48%, from 4.67M in 2021 to 4.83M in 2022.

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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Diversity

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.

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 (794 students).

Workforce Age

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Operations Research is from the 2 Digit Course Engineering.
43
Average Age in 2022
± 0.147 Years
0.361%
1 Year Change
± 0.486%

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 29 years old, which represent 2.86% and 2.73% 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 (58%)
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
    794 degrees awarded
  2. White
    515 degrees awarded
  3. Asian
    212 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 Female
    321 degrees awarded
  2. Non-resident Alien Male
    303 degrees awarded
  3. White Male
    105 degrees awarded

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

Non-resident Alien Female 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
    492,137 degree recipients
  2. China
    153,488 degree recipients
  3. Mexico
    93,296 degree recipients
High Relative Number of Students
  1. India
    4.18 times more than expected
  2. Libya
    3.47 times more than expected
  3. Iran
    3.19 times more than expected

There are a relatively high number of people that were born in India that hold Engineering degrees (4.18 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 (492,137 degree recipients).

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Skills

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 Management of Material Resources, Management of Financial Resources, and Technology Design.

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 Management of Material Resources is very distinctive for majors, but the Reading Comprehension, Writing, and Active Listening are the three most important skills for people in the field.

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Bar Chart

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