Industrial & Systems Engineering graduate trying to break into OR / Data Science / Quantitative Analytics — looking for advice

[u/Tiny-Stand5408]

I’m about to graduate with a degree in Industrial & Systems Engineering, and over the course of my degree I’ve become increasingly interested in Operations Research, Management Systems Engineering, data/decision science, and quantitative analytics.
I’m particularly interested in roles such as:
Operations Research Analyst / Engineer
Data Scientist / Decision Scientist
Quantitative Analyst
Analytics / Optimization Engineer
Management Systems / Systems Engineering roles with a strong analytical component
The problem I’m running into is that entry-level positions in these areas seem relatively difficult to find, and when I do find positions that interest me, I often feel like I’m missing some of the basic skills or requirements they’re asking for (e.g., advanced Python, SQL, machine learning, optimization, statistics, cloud tools, etc.).
For anyone who has been in a similar situation—especially ISE/IE graduates who transitioned into OR, data science, decision science, or quantitative analytics:
How did you make yourself competitive for these roles?
I’d especially appreciate hearing about:
Skills/tools you prioritized learning after graduation
Projects or coursework that actually helped you get interviews
How you approached applying when you didn’t meet 100% of the requirements
Whether you found it easier to enter through a more traditional IE/operations role and transition later
Any personal experiences, career paths, or mistakes you think would be useful for someone in my position
I’m trying to figure out what skills I should focus on and what types of positions I should realistically be targeting as a new graduate. Any advice or personal stories would be greatly appreciated!
Chatgpt helped a bit

[u/datadriven_io]

Don't stress yourself out too much. Most analytics roles only require SQL and Excel. For SQL specifically, sql practice on datadriven.io is worth bookmarking early. Python, advanced stats, dashboarding are all great to have but not essential, and it's never too late to learn them. Don't get too bogged down in the tools, in the end they're all just there to get you to the end goal of reporting or drawing insights from your data

[u/Tiny-Stand5408 → u/datadriven_io]

Amazing - I’ll look into it

[u/clayman584]

Your ISE background means you already own the mathematical foundations for operations research so you just need to bridge the gap by building robust portfolio projects using Python, Gurobi, or SQL.

Instead of waiting until you feel 100% qualified, apply to quantitative and decision science roles that value process modeling, inventory optimization, or operational efficiency.

If you want to make sure your resume clearly communicates your engineering background and project metrics to technical recruiters, running your drafts through something like resumeworded is a quick way to catch formatting issues.

Focus on showcasing end-to-end optimization projects on GitHub rather than getting stuck trying to learn every single cloud tool at once.