You want to improve your Operations Research skills. What’s the best way to do it?

From an education standpoint - formal degree is a good starting point. From skills / areas of interest - Mathematics, programming, statistics, logical reasoning are key to be good at Operations Research Skill & Will to problem solving can drive you into OR techniques and solve real world problems

The best way to get a solid understanding is to do a bachelors and at least a masters in the field. Unfortunately, that's not feasible for everyone given that people are at different stages of life and have difference commitments, responsibilities, etc. If you can't go back to school, reach out to people that studied the field in school and ask them which textbooks they used. Additionally, you can learn about some topics on Udemy. The thing is that it can be hard to piece everything together on your own.

1. Learn the areas of applications first, viz supply chain management, revenue maximization, scheduling, healthcare, manufacturing etc. 2. Become proficient in Linear Algebra, Vector Calculus and a bit of Real Analysis. 3. Formulations: start with Linear Programming and Simplex. Then transportation and assignment problems, traveling salesman, knapsack etc. (Book by Hillier and Lieberman is a good place to start) 3. Move onto Integer Programming, MILP, then Nonlinear Programming, Convex Optimization, KKT conditions (the math lessons will be helpful here) 4. Learn the computational tools, such as CPLEX and Gurobi. Excel Solver can be the starting point. Python and MATLAB also have their own solvers.

Study macroeconomics. It will teach you the view of a forest before studying the trees. With this skill you can provide overarching analysis to head down a viable path to solution.

As the question's title is about improving the skills (and not start learning), one important thing beside all the ones that are mentioned by specialists, is that you have to put yourself into the real world problems! Try finding the best basic model that fits that problem (by reading articles, speaking to people who has done this before) and then start making that model better and better.

While you will learn some problems in your degree, there is nothing like immersing in solving a real-world problem, which is much more than using a dataset. A key OR skill is the ability to structure problems that seem unstructured, messy or wicked, and this ability is not related to coding or statistics/maths. A good OR practitioner has critical thinking skills, as well as systems thinking skills.

This means that you should practice solving real-world problems using the concepts and methods you learned in Operations Research. You can use software, online platforms, or case studies to apply your knowledge and skills. Applying the concepts will help you reinforce your understanding and develop your practical abilities.

I learned operations research (specifically linear programming) by building LP models of transportation systems and refineries. You just can't decide to solve a problem at work with OR. However, knowing what OR can do (the basics) will help you see where OR can help. Oh, I taught a class on Management Science at Texas Woman's Unversity.

Utilizar os princípios da Pesquisa Operacional na prática é essencial para aprimorar habilidades, uma vez que a tomada de decis?o é uma atividade cotidiana. Portanto, é nossa responsabilidade escolher abordagens embasadas em ferramentas que promovam resultados mais precisos e eficientes. Consequentemente, aplicar os conceitos no mundo real é fundamental para uma tomada de decis?o mais acurada.

Try to take up simple projects (on LinkedIn or Upwork-like platforms) to hone your understanding. Solving real problems will help you get an edge and develop more on the concepts through research papers.

This means that you should connect with other people who are interested or involved in Operations Research. You can join online forums, groups, or networks, or attend events, workshops, or conferences. Joining a community will help you interact with peers and experts, share insights and feedback, and learn from others’ experiences.

I'd say Stack Overflow has many contributors on Operations Research questions. There, you can ask and learn from others, on practical usecases. Same with Stack Exchange.

Absolutely, join many of the communities created by the professional societies, e.g. The Operational Research Society, and participate in them. Create your own Community of Practice in your organisation to discuss problems and projects and share insights.

Engajar-se em grupos de pesquisa, estabelecer conex?es, e participar de congressos e eventos dedicados à Pesquisa Operacional s?o práticas enriquecedoras que robustecem significativamente as habilidades e a aplica??o efetiva dos conceitos.

Chercher toujours un mentor dans le domaine pour te guider et te conseiller. C'est par ce biais qu'on peut s'améliorer et enrichir son agenda relationnelle dans le domaine.

To enhance your OR skills effectively, craft a structured plan and commit to it. Identify key competencies such as stochastic optimization, column generation, and integrating optimization models with machine learning etc. Build a project portfolio on GitHub to hone these skills actively. Engage in professional development opportunities like attending INFORMS conferences, webinars, and workshops hosted by optimization service providers. Consistency and hands-on practice are key to mastering OR methodologies.

This means that you should keep learning new and advanced topics, tools, and techniques in Operations Research. You can read journals, books, or blogs, or enroll in courses, programs, or certifications. Expanding your knowledge will help you stay updated with the latest developments and trends in the field.

You can find many OR academics in Google Scholar, including myself, with most of their papers available for download or books to read.

Ampliar os conhecimentos por meio da busca por novos métodos e ferramentas computacionais, aliado à participa??o ativa em eventos, congressos e integra??o em comunidades ativas, desempenha um papel significativo na aplica??o eficaz dos conhecimentos em Pesquisa Operacional.

Academic papers are a must if you are just beginning. The best way is to limit your timelines, since that will help you work within deadlines and not fall into an endless loop. 1) Select a paper you would want to implement from a few many papers within your problem domain - 1 week. 2) Fully implement the paper: Generally you should be able to imagine/visualise how the exact formulation is being developed (as well as try to think of ways to reduce the formulation size if possible, which could be as well be a new formulation that could outperform the existing ones). The exact formulation is convenient to be understood in one sitting (with as many tries as necessary). For Heuristic coding (/improvement), you should give yourself a fortnight...

Level-up on the problems. If you feel the problem you are solving are too easy, and taking in more features could be suitable for you, take up research projects (independent or through an university) relevant to biomedical sciences or other industrial applications so that you can find a challenging problem. Ultimately, the basics you learnt should feel like alphabets and the formulations/heuristics you develop are paragraphs. You must choose whether you are willing to work on hypothetical problems (for future relevance) or work on the presently pressing issues. Some of the starting practice areas could be to connect AI with access to OR (& other) tools for Ageing and Longevity Research (Book: ILP in Computational and Systems Biology).

This means that you should consistently work on problems, projects, or challenges related to Operations Research. You can use online platforms, competitions, or personal initiatives to practice your skills and abilities. Practicing regularly will help you improve your performance and enhance your problem-solving skills.

As per my academic experience, if you can afford time, try to enrolls for online/offline academic program in research institutes whose faculties are reputed in operation research. I have studied in a renowned institute and experienced the amount of difference it makes... in terms of depth and sound understanding of subject

Set aside dedicated time to solve problems, work on case studies, or participate in simulation exercises. Utilize online platforms, textbooks, or specialized software for practical implementation. Challenge yourself with diverse scenarios to strengthen your problem-solving abilities and familiarity with optimization techniques. Reflect on your progress and seek feedback to identify areas for improvement.

If you do a project that directly benefits you and your daily life, and is a problem where you can apply OR, you will not feel like practicing; but constantly benefitting your environment!

Be careful using a variety of tools that do the same thing. For instance, there are a variety of Python packages that you can use to solve LPs. If you keep on using different packages, which have different syntaxes, it's easy to make mistakes when you switch packages.

Don't rush into coding or applying techniques. Think, then act!! Especially use Systems Thinking abilities to understand your problem and talk with as many stakeholders as possible....multiple views can help you to design the best solution.

This means that there may be other factors or resources that can help you improve your Operations Research skills. For example, you may consider finding a mentor, using online resources, or following specific strategies that suit your learning preferences and goals.

In my opinion, knowledge of other relevant topics can be very useful. Things like probability, statistics, analytics, information design and visualization, and frontend and backend programming are all good examples. They may not be directly relevant, but this knowledge will help in understanding and solving larger sets of problems.

The very first step is to identify your purpose of improving your OR skills. What makes you wanting to do that? Is it that you are passionate about it? Or is required by your job? Or you have a problem in hand to solve? ... That clarifies next steps and how you need to move towards the goal