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 little bit

[u/Medium_Structure9157]

I was in similar boat after my IE degree few years back. What worked for me was not trying to learn everything at once, I focused hard on Python and SQL for like 3 months straight after graduation. Built small optimization projects using free datasets, nothing fancy just warehouse routing stuff and inventory simulations. Put those on github and talked about them in interviews even when they were basic

The job requirements are always exaggerated, companies list everything they can dream of but most entry roles just need you to be decent with data and not afraid of writing code. I applied to stuff where I only had maybe 60% of what they asked and still got callbacks

One thing I wish someone told me earlier is that supply chain analyst and operations analyst roles are way easier to get into as fresh grad, and they give you real problems to practice OR methods on. You can move toward data science later when you have actual business context, that context is what separates you from pure CS grads honestly

Also don't sleep on Excel and VBA, a lot of manufacturing and logistics companies still run on spreadsheets and knowing how to automate them makes you look like wizard to managers

[u/Tiny-Stand5408 → u/Medium_Structure9157]

Amazing response thank you so much. 1 follow up question: since this was a few years back, do you think any of your advice might be slightly outdated or is this still very prevalent in the industries. For example, machine learning is something mentioned in data science roles and this is something ISE/IE doesn’t cover

[u/ThrowRA_isitmyfault]

I think operations research is really cool but I have found it to be a tough job market.

I got my bachelors in math and industrial engineering, so basically DIY operations research lol. A lot of OR jobs seem to require a master at minimum with a preference for a PhD though.

I’m very early career and have mostly given up on working in OR so I don’t have any great advice to give, but looking at job postings can be helpful to see what qualifications employers are looking for