Operations Research/Industrial Engineering Question

[mathguy1989]

Hey, so I've been considering getting either a masters or a PhD in OR, and was wondering, if I were to go to a top school and do well while there, what kind of positions and salaries could i expect after I graduate?

I can't seem to find any good info on this online (I found some things, but not sure about their reliability), and I don't know anyone else in the field so I decided to turn to the experts at the grad cafe.

Thanks for any advice you might have.

P.S. I was not sure where to post this, so I also posted it on the Engineering forum.

[statsguy]

Hey, so I've been considering getting either a masters or a PhD in OR, and was wondering, if I were to go to a top school and do well while there, what kind of positions and salaries could i expect after I graduate?

I can't seem to find any good info on this online (I found some things, but not sure about their reliability), and I don't know anyone else in the field so I decided to turn to the experts at the grad cafe.

Thanks for any advice you might have.

P.S. I was not sure where to post this, so I also posted it on the Engineering forum.

I'm getting my PhD in Statistics but have a friend who finished his PhD in Industrial Engineering at a very good school. He got a job a doing process/quality control at a large company, starting salary was around $85-90k (and this is in Houston, where the cost of living is very low.) However, he kind of regrets not just leaving with the Masters and going straight into the workforce, maybe eventually picking up an MBA. In general, if you want to work as an engineer, the MS seems to be the best degree when time spent in school, lifetime earnings, job openings etc... are all considered. I think a PhD in Statistics with a dissertation having something to do with IE/OR (for example, statistical quality control, machine learning etc...) is a much better plan than a PhD in IE or OR, if you absolutely want a PhD and want to work in industry

[wifey99999999]

I'm getting my PhD in Statistics but have a friend who finished his PhD in Industrial Engineering at a very good school. He got a job a doing process/quality control at a large company, starting salary was around $85-90k (and this is in Houston, where the cost of living is very low.) However, he kind of regrets not just leaving with the Masters and going straight into the workforce, maybe eventually picking up an MBA. In general, if you want to work as an engineer, the MS seems to be the best degree when time spent in school, lifetime earnings, job openings etc... are all considered. I think a PhD in Statistics with a dissertation having something to do with IE/OR (for example, statistical quality control, machine learning etc...) is a much better plan than a PhD in IE or OR, if you absolutely want a PhD and want to work in industry

So your friend feels as if a master in IEOR is good enough to work in his current industry for similar salary and his PhD is kind of redundant for his current job?

cuz I am currently pursuing a master in OR at Columbia (no intention to go into PhD).

Edited August 24, 2010 by wifey99999999

[statsguy]

So your friend feels as if a master in IEOR is good enough to work in his current industry for similar salary and his PhD is kind of redundant for his current job?

cuz I am currently pursuing a master in OR at Columbia (no intention to go into PhD).

The PhD does offer slightly more job openings higher salaries, but not nearly enough to justify the extra 4 years he spent in graduate school after he got his MS. Again, this is according to him, other opinions may differ. The PhD is ideal for academia.

Edited August 24, 2010 by statsguy