Operations Researchat University of California-Berkeley
Graduates earn $88,685/yr in their first year — about 2.0% above the national Operations Research average. Base-case 10-year earnings $858K; scenarios range from $707K to $876K depending on AI disruption.
What this degree looks like at UC Berkeley
Berkeley's Operations Research program, situated in a global tech and innovation hub, inherently positions its graduates for competitive roles. The rigorous curriculum, blending advanced mathematics, statistics, and computer science, cultivates highly analytical problem-solvers sought by top-tier employers in tech, consulting, finance, and logistics across the Bay Area and beyond. Your degree carries the weight of a world-renowned institution, opening doors to companies like Google, Apple, and major consulting firms that actively recruit on campus.
While the field faces significant AI integration, this isn't a threat but an evolution. Your education here equips you to design, implement, and manage these advanced systems, rather than be replaced by them. To maximize your potential, actively seek internships that blend OR principles with machine learning or data science applications. This ensures your skills remain at the forefront of innovation.
Three scenarios, ten years out
Each scenario is a different assumption about how AI reshapes the career paths this major feeds into. Earnings projections stack the full 10-year cumulative trajectory; scores use the same 0–100 metric as the hero, recomputed under that scenario's assumptions.
10 year projection
Year-by-year earnings under each scenario. Base case reflects BLS growth patterns applied to UC Berkeley's starting earnings; optimistic and pessimistic adjust for AI's effect on each career path this major feeds into.
Common career destinations for this program's graduates, weighted by the school's specific occupation mix. Salary is BLS national median; AI risk is per-role task-exposure research.
Peer schools offering Operations Research
How UC Berkeley stacks up against other schools offering this major.
Other top programs at UC Berkeley
Other highest-scoring programs offered at UC Berkeley, ranked by DegreeOutlook Score.
Frequently asked about Operations Research at UC Berkeley
How does University of California-Berkeley's Operations Research program score?
A score of 59/100 reflects decent absolute metrics, but University of California-Berkeley trails the majority of Operations Research programs on relative rankings. Context matters more than the raw number.
How vulnerable is Operations Research to AI automation?
AI won't 'replace' Operations Research careers outright, but it is likely to reduce the number of job openings. We model 54% task exposure, which compresses field employment probability in our scenarios.