General Operations Research

Types of Degrees General Operations Research Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many general operations research graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	1,126
Graduate Certificate	178
Doctor’s Degree	104

What General Operations Research Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, general operations research majors were asked to rate what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important in their occupations. These answers were weighted on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the most important.

Knowledge Areas for General Operations Research Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in general operations research should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• 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.
• 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.
• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

Skills for General Operations Research Majors

When studying general operations research, you’ll learn many skills that will help you be successful in a wide range of jobs - even those that do not require a degree in the field. The following is a list of some of the most common skills needed for careers associated with this major:

• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Abilities for General Operations Research Majors

A major in general operations research will prepare for your careers in which the following abilities are important:

• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

What Can You Do With a General Operations Research Major?

People with a general operations research degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Clinical Research Coordinators	9.9%	$123,860
Natural Sciences Managers	9.9%	$123,860
Operations Research Analysts	27.5%	$83,390
Water Resource Specialists	9.9%	$123,860

Who Is Getting a Master’s Degree in General Operations Research?

This major tends to be male dominated. About 58% of recent graduates are men.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of general operations research majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	92
Black or African American	11
Hispanic or Latino	26
White	182
International Students	784
Other Races/Ethnicities	31

Geographic Diversity

Students from other countries are interested in General Operations Research, too. About 69.6% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to General Operations Research

Some careers associated with general operations research require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to general operations research have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	2.3%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	2.4%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	2.9%
Bachelor’s Degree	47.2%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	2.8%
Master’s Degree	31.7%
Doctoral Degree	6.3%
Post-Doctoral Training	3.9%

Online General Operations Research Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	0	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	0	0
Bachelor’s Degree	7	1
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	32	1
Post-Master’s	1	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	17	1
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020

More about our data sources and methodologies.