Operations Research Analysts
Formulate and apply mathematical modeling and other optimizing methods to develop and interpret information that assists management with decision making.
Operations Research Analysts formulate and apply mathematical modeling and other optimizing methods to develop and interpret information that assists management with decision making. The role reports a median annual salary of $91,290 in the US with the middle 80% earning between $49,660 and $141,110 and is projected to grow 22% over the next decade (much faster than average). Entry typically requires a Bachelor's degree, and shows moderate AI exposure (0.64 on a 0-1 scale) — some tasks are being automated but the role adapts. The most in-demand skills for the role include Mathematics, Critical Thinking, Complex Problem Solving, Active Learning, Reading Comprehension.
Salary distribution (US)
Real salary data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The p10–p90 spread tells you more than the median alone.
Pay in the UK
UK: median £53,342 a year for Actuaries, economists and statisticians (ONS ASHE 2025, full-time)
Middle half of full-time jobs: £41,906 to £74,372 a year
UK jobs are grouped differently; this is the closest UK occupation group (ONS SOC 2020 2433). ONS rates this estimate reasonably precise. 2025 provisional figures; ONS revises them a year later. Source: ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (Open Government Licence)
Pay in India (occupation group)
Average monthly earnings of salaried employees in the occupation group “Professionals” in India, from the Government of India's Periodic Labour Force Survey (January–December 2025). It covers everyone in this group, not only Operations Research Analysts, and it is not US pay converted to rupees.
Source: MoSPI (Government of India), Periodic Labour Force Survey Annual Report 2025, Table 51 — average wage/salary earnings of regular wage/salaried employees, NCO-2015 division 2. Official India data gives one average per occupation group: there are no official India figures for single careers, experience levels or cities. Read the report
3 open listings on our jobs board → Recent listings whose job title matches this career. Some jobs in this career are advertised under other titles.
Top skills
Knowledge you'll build
- Mathematics
- Computers and Electronics
- English Language
- Administration and Management
- Engineering and Technology
- Customer and Personal Service
- Education and Training
- Economics and Accounting
A day in the life
You start your morning defining the objective function for an optimization problem a logistics director dropped on your desk yesterday, sketching constraints on a notepad before moving to code. Your day revolves around building mathematical models in tools like CPLEX, Gurobi, or Python's SciPy, running simulations to test scenarios, and interpreting results that will inform decisions about staffing schedules, supply-chain routes, or resource allocation. You meet regularly with operations managers and executives to understand their pain points, translate business problems into quantitative frameworks, and present your findings in language they can act on. The satisfaction of proving that your model saves the company millions is immense, but the challenge is that real-world data is messy and stakeholders sometimes resist recommendations that upend their intuition.
Illustrative: one typical day. Real days vary by employer and seniority.
What you'd actually do
- Present the results of mathematical modeling and data analysis to management or other end users.
- Define data requirements, and gather and validate information, applying judgment and statistical tests.
- Perform validation and testing of models to ensure adequacy, and reformulate models, as necessary.
- Prepare management reports defining and evaluating problems and recommending solutions.
- Collaborate with others in the organization to ensure successful implementation of chosen problem solutions.
- Formulate mathematical or simulation models of problems, relating constants and variables, restrictions, alternatives, conflicting objectives, and their numerical parameters.
Tools & technology you'd use
Frequently asked questions
What does Operations Research Analysts do?
Formulate and apply mathematical modeling and other optimizing methods to develop and interpret information that assists management with decision making.
What does a typical day look like in Operations Research Analysts?
You start your morning defining the objective function for an optimization problem a logistics director dropped on your desk yesterday, sketching constraints on a notepad before moving to code. Your day revolves around building mathematical models in tools like CPLEX, Gurobi, or Python's SciPy, running simulations to test scenarios, and interpreting results that will inform decisions about staffing schedules, supply-chain routes, or resource allocation.
How much does Operations Research Analysts earn?
The median annual salary for Operations Research Analysts in the US is $91,290. The middle 80% of workers earn between $49,660 and $141,110 annually. Entry-to-mid-career earners typically fall between $63,480 and $109,840.
What is the job outlook for Operations Research Analysts?
The role is projected to grow 22% over the next decade (much faster than average). Current US employment is approximately 112,100 workers.
How do I become operations research analysts?
The typical entry education is a Bachelor's degree. Building a foundation in the top skills below will strengthen your application.
What skills does Operations Research Analysts need?
The most in-demand skills for this role include Mathematics, Critical Thinking, Complex Problem Solving, Active Learning, Reading Comprehension, Judgment and Decision Making. These are the skills O*NET identifies as most important for competent performance.
Will AI replace Operations Research Analysts?
Our AI-durability model gives Operations Research Analysts a score of 0.64 on a 0-1 scale (higher = more exposure). That places it at moderate AI exposure — some tasks are being automated but the role adapts. Learning to work with AI tools rather than against them is the path forward.
How hard is it to enter this field?
Operations Research Analysts has moderate barrier to entry — moderately gated — a bachelor's degree or equivalent training is typically required.