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Operations Research Analysts

It's a bright outlook for

This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Learn more about what they do.

Formulate and apply mathematical modeling and other optimizing methods to develop and interpret information that assists management with decisionmaking, policy formulation, or other managerial functions. May collect and analyze data and develop decision support software, services, or products. May develop and supply optimal time, cost, or logistics networks for program evaluation, review, or implementation.

Related: Computer Systems Analysts Data Scientists Database Architects Management Analysts Software Developers

Industries: Finance & Insurance Professional, Science, & Technical Government Management

Summary
Details

Observe the current system in operation, and gather and analyze information about each of the component problems, using a variety of sources.
Design, conduct, and evaluate experimental operational models in cases where models cannot be developed from existing data.
Break systems into their components, assign numerical values to each component, and examine the mathematical relationships between them.
Develop and apply time and cost networks to plan, control, and review large projects.
Define data requirements, and gather and validate information, applying judgment and statistical tests.
Observe the current system in operation, and gather and analyze information about each of the component problems, using a variety of sources.
Define data requirements, and gather and validate information, applying judgment and statistical tests.
Define data requirements, and gather and validate information, applying judgment and statistical tests.
Develop business methods and procedures, including accounting systems, file systems, office systems, logistics systems, and production schedules.
Educate staff in the use of mathematical models.
Review research literature.
Prepare management reports defining and evaluating problems and recommending solutions.
Present the results of mathematical modeling and data analysis to management or other end users.
Study and analyze information about alternative courses of action to determine which plan will offer the best outcomes.
Formulate mathematical or simulation models of problems, relating constants and variables, restrictions, alternatives, conflicting objectives, and their numerical parameters.
Collaborate with senior managers and decision makers to identify and solve a variety of problems and to clarify management objectives.
Specify manipulative or computational methods to be applied to models.
Develop and apply time and cost networks to plan, control, and review large projects.
Break systems into their components, assign numerical values to each component, and examine the mathematical relationships between them.
Perform validation and testing of models to ensure adequacy, and reformulate models, as necessary.
Collaborate with others in the organization to ensure successful implementation of chosen problem solutions.
Analyze information obtained from management to conceptualize and define operational problems.

Critical Thinking
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
Active Learning
- Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
Negotiation
- Bringing people together to solve differences.
Management of Personnel Resources
- Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
Management of Financial Resources
- Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
Judgment and Decision Making
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
Science
- Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
Persuasion
- Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
Quality Control Analysis
- Testing how well a product or service works.
Monitoring
- Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
Operations Analysis
- Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
Operation and Control
- Using equipment or systems.
Systems Evaluation
- Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
Reading Comprehension
- Reading work-related information.
Speaking
- Talking to others.
Social Perceptiveness
- Understanding people's reactions.
Technology Design
- Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
Troubleshooting
- Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
Programming
- Writing computer programs.
Complex Problem Solving
- Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
Service Orientation
- Looking for ways to help people.
Systems Analysis
- Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
Coordination
- Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
Equipment Selection
- Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
Equipment Maintenance
- Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
Writing
- Writing things for co-workers or customers.
Mathematics
- Using math to solve problems.
Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
Management of Material Resources
- Managing equipment and materials.
Time Management
- Managing your time and the time of other people.
Learning Strategies
- Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
Instructing
- Teaching people how to do something.
Active Listening
- Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.

Sound Localization
- Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
Peripheral Vision
- Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
Written Comprehension
- Reading and understanding what is written.
Time Sharing
- Doing two or more things at the same time.
Extent Flexibility
- Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Manual Dexterity
- Holding or moving items with your hands.
Speed of Limb Movement
- Quickly moving your arms and legs.
Dynamic Strength
- Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
Wrist-Finger Speed
- Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
Explosive Strength
- Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
Originality
- Creating new and original ideas.
Inductive Reasoning
- Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
Flexibility of Closure
- Seeing hidden patterns.
Number Facility
- Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
Oral Expression
- Communicating by speaking.
Information Ordering
- Ordering or arranging things.
Glare Sensitivity
- Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
Night Vision
- Seeing at night or under low light.
Depth Perception
- Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
Near Vision
- Seeing details up close.
Finger Dexterity
- Putting together small parts with your fingers.
Gross Body Equilibrium
- Keeping your balance or staying upright.
Trunk Strength
- Using your lower back and stomach.
Stamina
- Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
Memorization
- Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
Written Expression
- Communicating by writing.
Fluency of Ideas
- Coming up with lots of ideas.
Category Flexibility
- Grouping things in different ways.
Mathematical Reasoning
- Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
Far Vision
- Seeing details that are far away.
Auditory Attention
- Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
Visual Color Discrimination
- Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
Speech Clarity
- Speaking clearly.
Oral Comprehension
- Listening and understanding what people say.
Multilimb Coordination
- Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
Visualization
- Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
Perceptual Speed
- Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
Control Precision
- Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
Problem Sensitivity
- Noticing when problems happen.
Deductive Reasoning
- Using rules to solve problems.
Speed of Closure
- Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
Speech Recognition
- Recognizing spoken words.
Hearing Sensitivity
- Telling the difference between sounds.
Reaction Time
- Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
Gross Body Coordination
- Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
Static Strength
- Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
Selective Attention
- Paying attention to something without being distracted.
Rate Control
- Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
Response Orientation
- Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
Spatial Orientation
- Knowing where things are around you.
Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Keeping your arm or hand steady.
Dynamic Flexibility
- Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.

Administrative
- Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Medicine and Dentistry
- Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
Foreign Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
Building and Construction
- Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
Design
- Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Personnel and Human Resources
- Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Administration and Management
- Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
Engineering and Technology
- Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
Customer and Personal Service
- Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
History and Archeology
- Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
Public Safety and Security
- Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Therapy and Counseling
- Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
Education and Training
- Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Philosophy and Theology
- Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
Communications and Media
- Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
Physics
- Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
Psychology
- Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Computers and Electronics
- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Mechanical
- Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Geography
- Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
Chemistry
- Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
English Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
Transportation
- Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
Sales and Marketing
- Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
Sociology and Anthropology
- Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.

Education

Bachelor's degree

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

No on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

Washington Annual Salary

96490/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

46.39/hr

Currently Employed

3,110

Yearly Projected Openings

280

Investigative: People interested in this work like activities that include ideas, thinking, and figuring things out. They do well at jobs that need:

Innovation
Achievement Orientation
Intellectual Curiosity
Cautiousness
Integrity
Attention to Detail

Desktop computers
Mainframe computers
Notebook computers
Personal computers

Access software
Accounting software
Analytical or scientific software
Application server software
Backup or archival software
Business intelligence and data analysis software
Cloud-based data access and sharing software
Cloud-based management software
Communications server software
Computer aided design CAD software
Customer relationship management CRM software
Data base management system software
Data base reporting software
Data base user interface and query software
Desktop communications software
Development environment software
Document management software
Electronic mail software
Enterprise application integration software
Enterprise resource planning ERP software
Enterprise system management software
Financial analysis software
Geographic information system
Human resources software
Information retrieval or search software
Map creation software
Network monitoring software
Object or component oriented development software
Office suite software
Operating system software
Presentation software
Process mapping and design software
Project management software
Risk management data and analysis software
Sales and marketing software
Spreadsheet software
Transaction security and virus protection software
Word processing software

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