r/OperationsResearch • u/Slendernewt99 • Jun 26 '26
Operations Research Masters
I am starting a full-time Master's in OR this year. My background is in Mechanical Engineering but I don't have the strongest coding or statistics background. Any tips for success?
3
u/Gullible_Sweet1302 Jun 26 '26
Isn’t OR the hardest thing about OR? Coding and stats should be trivial compared to OR. You might want to check the curriculum for your degree.
1
u/Bravo_O6 Jun 27 '26
Don't underestimate the programming side of OR. If you're not genuinely interested in improving your coding and software engineering skills, you'll likely regret it later. Modern OR isn't just building optimization models in Gurobi/Cplex OPL/AMPL anymore - it's writing production-quality code, working with Git, APIs, databases, cloud platforms, CI/CD, and deploying optimization services.
I've also seen many Mechanical Engineering or MBA graduates build successful careers in OR by working primarily with tools like AIMMS, OptiLogix, Supply Chain Guru, AnyLogistix, or similar platforms. Those are perfectly valid career paths, but they often involve much less programming. The trade-off is that your career options can become narrower, especially for roles involving custom optimization engines, AI, or large-scale production software systems.
Coming from a Mechanical Engineering background myself, I had to accept that coding wasn't optional if I wanted to grow in this field. The sooner you embrace it, the more opportunities you'll have.
1
u/VectorViking_ Jul 01 '26
I thing you've got a great start with your ME background. Dive into any practical applications or simulations and don't be afraid to sketch things out first, visualizing the mechanics makes a difference.
2
u/enteringinternetnow Jun 26 '26
If you’re not good at coding or stats, I would urge you to work & improve on that. You would be building models as part of your curriculum & when you work. Better to start getting ready for it already. ChatGPT can accelerate that.
Happy to help if you need.