What is Operations Research?
Operations Research (OR) is the professional
disciplines that deal with the application of information technology
for informed decision-making. OR Professionals aim to provide rational
bases for decision making by seeking to understand and structure
complex situations and to use this understanding to predict system
behavior and improve system performance. Much of this work is
done
using analytical and numerical techniques to develop and manipulate
mathematical and computer models of organizational systems composed
of people, machines, and procedures. OR draws upon ideas from engineering,
management, mathematics, and psychology to contribute to a wide
variety of application domains; the field is closely related to
several other fields in the "decision sciences" -- applied
mathematics, computer science, economics, industrial engineering,
and systems engineering. More information may be found at www.scienceofbetter.org.
Why Would I Want to Study Operations Research?
OR is distinguished by its broad applicability
and by the wide variety of career opportunities and work styles
it embraces. OR specialists may be theoreticians or practitioners.
They may work in academia, in industry, or in public service, teaching,
doing research, consulting, or implementing OR models. OR professionals
may participate in just one phase of an OR study, such as modeling,
analysis, or implementation, or they may participate in all portions
of a project. Within the field, some OR professionals remain generalists
while others specialize in particular tools or problem domains.
Some OR professionals move from technical positions into managerial
functions. Because the concepts and methods of OR are so pervasive,
OR offers very flexible career paths.
What Can I Do With My Degree?
Today thousands of individuals pursue careers
in operations research, the management sciences and closely related
professions. Their work has achieved an increasingly important role
in both the public and private sectors. OR professionals inform
public officials on such topics as energy policy; design and operation
of urban emergency systems; defense; health care; water resource
planning; and criminal justice. They also address a wide variety
of issues in communication systems; computer operations, design,
and networking; transportation; marketing; finance; inventory planning;
manufacturing; and many other topics that aim to improve business
productivity. In addition, recently some OR professionals have contributed
to the physical sciences (in biology, chemistry, and physics).
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