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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: Business Intelligence Analysts Computer Systems Analysts Data Scientists Management Analysts Software Developers

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

Summary
Details

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

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

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

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.
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.
Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
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.
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.
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.
English Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
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.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
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.
Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
Design
- Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
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.
Mechanical
- Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
History and Archeology
- Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
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.
Sociology and Anthropology
- Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.

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:

Analytical Thinking
Attention to Detail
Integrity
Initiative
Innovation
Persistence

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
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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