Operations Research: earnings, debt, and careers

CIP 14.37. Official graduate outcomes from the U.S. Department of Education across 75 programs, and the careers this field is linked to.

Graduate earnings by credential level

National earnings of Operations Research graduates who were working and not enrolled one year after completing, by credential. Bachelor's degree: median $97,876; Master's degree: median $118,569. The bar spans the 25th to 75th percentile, the thin line spans the 10th to 90th percentile, and the red mark is the median.

Credential	Programs	Graduates (recent year)	Median earnings, 1 yr	Median earnings, 4 yrs	Typical program median debt
Undergraduate certificate	3	102	Data unavailable	Data unavailable	Data unavailable
Bachelor's degree	13	441	$97,876	$122,531	$11,178 2 programs
Master's degree	33	1,047	$118,569	$161,561	Data unavailable
Doctoral degree	17	85	Data unavailable	Data unavailable	Data unavailable
Professional degree (JD, MD, and similar)	1	0	Data unavailable	Data unavailable	Data unavailable
Graduate certificate	8	235	Data unavailable	Data unavailable	Data unavailable

National earnings are published by the Department of Education for each field and credential level Verified data. Typical program median debt is ConnectPrep's calculation: the median across programs of each program's median federal debt Calculated estimate. It covers federal loans only.

Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, Most Recent Field of Study Data. Varies by measure; see measure definitions. Published October 15, 2026. Retrieved October 18, 2026. Methodology.

Bachelor's degree programs with the highest early earnings

School	Median earnings, 1 yr	Median earnings, 4 yrs	Median debt
Princeton University NJ · Private, nonprofit · 30 graduates measured	$131,721	Data unavailable	Data unavailable
Columbia University in the City of New York NY · Private, nonprofit · 17 graduates measured	$125,285	$167,572	Data unavailable
Cornell University NY · Private, nonprofit · 55 graduates measured	$102,318	$151,709	$13,500
University of California-Berkeley CA · Public · 24 graduates measured	$95,812	$138,883	$8,857
Southern Methodist University TX · Private, nonprofit · 28 graduates measured	$80,235	Data unavailable	Data unavailable

Ranked by published median earnings one year after completion. Programs with suppressed earnings do not appear, so this is not a ranking of program quality.

Master's degree programs with the highest early earnings

School	Median earnings, 1 yr	Median earnings, 4 yrs	Median debt
Cornell University NY · Private, nonprofit · 31 graduates measured	$130,294	$203,340	Data unavailable

Ranked by published median earnings one year after completion. Programs with suppressed earnings do not appear, so this is not a ranking of program quality.

Careers linked to Operations Research

Occupation	Median wage, all workers	Change 2025 to 2035	Typical entry education
Natural sciences managers	$167,220	+8.2%	Bachelor's degree
Operations research analysts	$88,940	+11.9%	Bachelor's degree
Engineering teachers, postsecondary	$109,270	+7.8%	Doctoral or professional degree

Occupations mapped to this field in the NCES and BLS CIP to SOC crosswalk. Occupation wages describe all workers, not recent graduates.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk. CIP 2020 and SOC 2018 taxonomies. Published April 30, 2020. Retrieved October 18, 2026. Methodology.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, National. May 2025 reference period. Published April 30, 2026. Retrieved October 18, 2026. Methodology.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections, Table 1.2: Occupational projections, 2025-35, and worker characteristics, 2025. Base year 2025, projected year 2035. Published August 27, 2026. Retrieved October 18, 2026. Methodology.

Detailed CIP codes in this field (1)

14.3701 Operations Research