<p>out of the four areas in Industrial Engineering which one has the most demand?</p>
<li><p>Human Factors (ergonomics, human-machine interface)</p></li>
<li><p>Operations Research</p></li>
<li><p>Manufacturing</p></li>
<li><p>Statistics & Quality</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I know that the growth of the manufacturing industry is in decline, what about the others?</p>
<p>does anyone know?</p>
<p>Those are only four of a large number of specialties within this broad area of study. </p>
<p>Operations research is a lucrative, high-demand field. I have a lifetime of experience in the OR. I'm preparing for my doctoral qualifying exams in OR. It is a challenging, rapidly changing discipline. Don't believe the posts on this board. </p>
<p>In my area, OR and systems engineering are the most demanded majors by a long shot. Go to the Washington Post's job page and do a search. Compare it with a search for electrical, biomedical, or aerospace engineers.</p>
<p>Redbeard: can you tell me if OR or IE is suitable for financial engineering in grad school? or work around finance/management.
thanks</p>
<p>hey redbeard,</p>
<p>why's there such a demand for OR?</p>
<p>[ and I guess D.C. is the best place for OR]</p>
<p>
[quote]
Operations research is a lucrative, high-demand field.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I don't doubt lucrative, but Operations Research is being replaced by Management/Systems Analysts--at least by "job title". OR is on the decline (or growing slower than the average), but SA is skyrocketing and MA is on a steady climb.</p>
<p>Here it is:</p>
<p>OR: <a href="http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos044.htm#outlook%5B/url%5D">http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos044.htm#outlook</a></p>
<p>SA: <a href="http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos287.htm#outlook%5B/url%5D">http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos287.htm#outlook</a></p>
<p>MA: <a href="http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos019.htm#outlook%5B/url%5D">http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos019.htm#outlook</a></p>
<p>''Employment of operations research analysts is expected to grow more slowly than average for all occupations through 2014, reflecting slow growth in the number of jobs with the title operations research analyst. Job opportunities in operations research should be good, however, because organizations throughout the economy will strive to improve their productivity, effectiveness, and competitiveness and because of the extensive availability of data, computers, and software. Many jobs in operations research have other titles, such as operations analyst, management analyst, systems analyst, and computer scientist. Individuals who hold a masters or Ph.D. degree in operations research, management science, or a closely related field should find good job opportunities because the number of openings generated by employment growth and the need to replace those leaving the occupation is expected to exceed the number of persons graduating with these credentials.''</p>
<p>Well, I should clarify. While my degree/transcript says MS in OR, like many in the field, my business card says systems engineer. In many schools, that's the same department. In reality it's two sides of the same coin. The OR courses will focus on optimization in the face of complexity and uncertainty. Systems engineering uses many of the same tools in a formalized process of systems design. Together, they represent that part of engineering that helps managers build the <em>right</em> system (vice building the system right). </p>
<p>OR/SysE is valuable and in demand anywhere complex systems must be designed and deployed. The federal government has such systems in all departments and agencies. They include air traffic control, tax auditing, large-scale logistics (FEMA, for example), risk management, and--the big grand-daddy--the Department of Defense. DoD is a huge system of systems. There is a DoD "Architecture Framework" that represents a massive field of expertise all by itself. Next generation fighters, warships, vehicles, and computers all use systems engineers and architects to evaluate robustness and avoid redundancy. The demand for expertise in this area far outstrips the supply. </p>
<p>I disagree with the DOT. I've seen more than my share of vacancy notices that include the term "operations research". I don't think it's matched most with management science or systems analysis. I think it fits more with systems engineering, systems architecture, modeling and simulation, capabilities and risk analysis, and portfolio managment. </p>
<p>I would not recommend the "engineering management" programs that I've seen. I think they're far too general and do not prepare you for any mathematical heavy lifting.</p>