although I haven’t found much information about it. As I understood, it focuses on developing effective decision makers but I’m wondering would degree/courses in OR be a good addition to my previous experience (5 years of Software Engineering + some interest in Data Analytics)? or should I stay on the same path and improve my knowledge by taking a grad degree in Software Engineering?
I’d really appreciate your advice here. Many thanks!
Don’t have direct knowledge of the specific program at Cornell, but can probably comment on the relationship between software engineering, data analytics, and ORIE.
OR background, together with software engineering background, can be a good combination for data analytics. Specifically, you will have probability and optimization background that most software engineers do not have, and the ability to do large-scale/efficient implementations that most folks from statistics, applied maths, operations research, or industrial engineering do not have. To get the edge, try and take as many electives around machine learning/data mining.
It is hard to compare this with the benefits of an additional degree in computer science or software engineering. You can do a CS/SE degree and still take machine learning classes. Also, though data analytics is very hot right now, it is hard to tell if it will be such a high demand field in the future.