r/datascience 53m ago

Career | US MS in Operations Research vs Data Science

Upvotes

Was a Data Science undergrad and needing to decide on a Master's to pursue in the next couple years. My job will allow either of those in the title so I am just trying to get some feedback.

  1. Is it better to branch out, stay concentrated on Data Science, or does it not matter from a career perspective?

  2. How math intensive is Ops Research? Would I need more than Calcs 1-3, Linear Algebra, and Stats?

  3. Does either have a clear upside for earning potential? Ill be in my current role for the next 10 years or so, if that matters.

  4. Does anyone have good examples of an OR or DS project that would highlight the approach to problem solving or the nature of problems each faces?

Currently an Operations Research Analyst, but the job depends massively on assignment as to whether it actually looks like compared to a sub-genre of a Data field.