Decision Scientists

Employers

Decision scientists work in a variety of fields and industries including financial services, health care, advertising and marketing, insurance, human resources, supply chain management, logistics, general business, law, environmental regulation, public health, and public policy. They also work for government agencies, colleges and universities, the armed forces, and consulting firms that provide advice to companies and organizations.

Starting Out

Some decision scientists break into the field by first working in data science. This provides them with the knowledge of data acquisition, quality, organization, and analysis that allows them to tackle “big-picture” problems at their employer. But people enter the field from a variety of areas, including business management, information technology, business economics, and even physics and engineering. Others first work as decision science analysts, who conduct research and perform other support duties for decision scientists.

Aspiring decision scientists can learn about job opportunities via resources provided by their college’s career center, through internships and career fairs, by visiting the job pages of companies that employ these workers, by creating a profile and accessing job listings on LinkedIn, and by using the services of recruiters, among other strategies.