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Assuming you have a masters degree in operations research and this masters degree is offered in an economics department of your university.

What would be a representative/appropriate name to describe this masters program to a stranger, acquaintance, friend, etc? Since most people probably wouldnt know what operations research is, would you still say you study 'operations research', or is it better to say something like 'economics', 'math', 'math and economics', or something equivalent? If its better to say something other than 'operations research', what would be the term you'd describe it with? (I personally think 'math and economics' is the best but idk)

oestersem
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    I like constrained optimization (as it refers to the math techniques) and mathematical decision sciences (as it refers to the purpose). – Kuifje May 14 '22 at 21:13
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    @Kuifje Some people's scope of Operations Research techniques might be constrained to optimization,. but that does not capture the whole armamentarium of O.R. techniques. – Mark L. Stone May 14 '22 at 22:16
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    Here is a twitter post of mine: What I do as an Operations Research: professional:

    I figure out the best thing to do when you don't know what the hell's going on, and when you think you do but you really don't.

     – Mark L. Stone May 15 '22 at 01:59
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    @MarkL.Stone I agree with you, but which is why I also mentioned decision sciences, which is in line with prubin's answer. I also like robpratt's comment mentioning efficiency. – Kuifje May 15 '22 at 18:18
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    An interesting reading by Edward Rothberg (Gurobi's Co-founder): https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2022/04/22/mathematical-optimization-whats-in-a-name/ – Nara Begnini May 16 '22 at 03:06

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I normally answer the "what's your field?" question with "operations research" and then follow up with a quick definition: "using mathematics and statistics to make decisions". (Occasionally I'll throw in "nothing to do with surgery" just to be safe.) An alternative is to say "analytics" (Latin for "whatever type of consulting you're willing to pay for") and then see if they want to nail it down a bit. The distinction if any between OR and analytics is a bit murky.

prubin
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    There was a postal mail addressed to Prof. Richard Cottle, Operations Research Dept, Stanford University, Stanford CA. In the Stanford mail room there were question marks placed on the envelope, and it was routed around the university for a while, until finally routed to Department of Surgery at Stanford Medical School. An astute person in the Surgery Department finally got it routed the right way, reaching Prof. Cottle after some days delay. – Mark L. Stone May 14 '22 at 22:11
  • @prubin yeah, the only thing with me is that i'd rather have something that doesnt need too much further clarification (which 'operations research' probably would need). because i feel like there's no point in discussing something with someone who's probably not going to understand it anyways, and also if they ask one question about what it is, they are probably gonna ask 3,4,5 more questions. and if these situations happen on an occasional basis, it seems like thats kind of annoying. thats why i think something like 'math and economics' is more convenient but idk – oestersem May 14 '22 at 23:08
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    @oestersem You could always go with "applied mathematics" and then see if they are curious enough to ask just how you are applying the mathematics. – prubin May 14 '22 at 23:29
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You could use a less technical term, such as the old "efficiency expert".

Even if they don't know what it actually means, most people will at least think that they know what it means.

You're obviously an expert (now they're impressed), and what you do is to find ways of making things work better (and they know this must be a good thing to do). You don't even need to define what "things" refers to, or what "better" means.

If they're open to specific examples, give very practical, not blatantly mathematical applications. Mention the shortest-path problem for scheduling delivery routes, or bin-packing for getting as much into a truck as possible.

Generally, when people ask what someone does, they want to know what they accomplish, not the methods they use. They don't care so much about what you do, but more about why anyone would pay you to do it.

If they need more, think of analogies. Many decades ago, when computers cost millions, I could never explain to my father what I did as a computer programmer, writing small ad hoc and general purpose programs to help people get their work done. Eventually I told him I designed and built "jigs" to help the professors to do their jobs, and because of his industrial background, he finally understood it.

For those that don't know, a "jig" is a small tool designed for a very specific purpose and typically used for only a short time.

For instance, when drilling holes for kitchen cabinet door knobs, I glued small strips of wood along two adjacent edges of a 2"×3" rectangle of Masonite, and drilled a hole in the appropriate place. Then I could simply hold this tool firmly in place on one corner of each door and drill through the hole, thereby ensuring that all the knobs would be positioned identically without having to individually measure and mark each corner. That temporary tool was a "jig".

Ray Butterworth
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    I sometimes use the following informal definition of OR (due to Arthur Benjamin): “the mathematics of doing things efficiently” – RobPratt May 15 '22 at 13:32