What are some possible career paths for a newly minted statistican?
May 14, 2007 5:22 AM Subscribe
Finally managed to quit college with a double bachelors degree in statistics and economics and it is time for me to get my first job. Need to know what kind of jobs there are.
Post likes this seems to show up regularly but since my education is a bit uncommon so I felt none of the posts in the archive really fitted me.
Finally managed to quit college with a double bachelors degree in statistics and economics and it is time for me to get my first job. My previous summer work experience was in IT-consultant with business intelligence focus and at a commercial bank, none very interesting.
One thing I have noticed so far is that being mediocre in a growing field makes for much better career options than being good in a mature field. For a first job I would really like to try to find a growing company in a young growing industry that would allow me to advance faster and hopefully earn some money. Trouble is I have no clue what this can be so I would love some suggestions on what is possible. Anyone have an idea on what kind of job I should get into?
Post likes this seems to show up regularly but since my education is a bit uncommon so I felt none of the posts in the archive really fitted me.
Finally managed to quit college with a double bachelors degree in statistics and economics and it is time for me to get my first job. My previous summer work experience was in IT-consultant with business intelligence focus and at a commercial bank, none very interesting.
One thing I have noticed so far is that being mediocre in a growing field makes for much better career options than being good in a mature field. For a first job I would really like to try to find a growing company in a young growing industry that would allow me to advance faster and hopefully earn some money. Trouble is I have no clue what this can be so I would love some suggestions on what is possible. Anyone have an idea on what kind of job I should get into?
On Monster, I commonly see hedge funds and the like looking for analysts with htat kind of background. What did you do at the commercial bank?
posted by dr_dank at 5:56 AM on May 14, 2007
posted by dr_dank at 5:56 AM on May 14, 2007
Banking or insurance? Government?
You might want to learn a bit about the power of words, before you start sending out resumes. (I know economists/statisticians don't go through school writing a lot of essays.) 'Quit school' makes it sound like you dropped out of school, not like you graduated. No matter what you end up doing, you'll have to write emails or memos or reports, and you'll need to be clearer than that!
posted by Kololo at 6:11 AM on May 14, 2007
You might want to learn a bit about the power of words, before you start sending out resumes. (I know economists/statisticians don't go through school writing a lot of essays.) 'Quit school' makes it sound like you dropped out of school, not like you graduated. No matter what you end up doing, you'll have to write emails or memos or reports, and you'll need to be clearer than that!
posted by Kololo at 6:11 AM on May 14, 2007
Have you visited your college placement office for help?
posted by Carol Anne at 6:22 AM on May 14, 2007
posted by Carol Anne at 6:22 AM on May 14, 2007
Response by poster: Sorry, forgot to mention. I am european and english is my second language. Didn't know it was that obvious though. :)
Jobs i am looking for is probably going to be somewhere in europe.
posted by ilike at 6:26 AM on May 14, 2007
Jobs i am looking for is probably going to be somewhere in europe.
posted by ilike at 6:26 AM on May 14, 2007
Off the top of my head, with no experience in the field: the media. Have a call-show on local public-access cable/talk radio about local economics, the housing market, helping people get out of debt, that kind of thing. Start doing seminars around your area. Develop a listener group that talks about the great things they hear on your show. Parlay that into a website, talk show appearances, a book, a slot on MSNBC.
In case it isn't incredibly obvious to you, this is terrible advice predicated on no knowledge of how the media works.
posted by croutonsupafreak at 7:08 AM on May 14, 2007
In case it isn't incredibly obvious to you, this is terrible advice predicated on no knowledge of how the media works.
posted by croutonsupafreak at 7:08 AM on May 14, 2007
Since no one has offered this very obvious piece of advice, I am going to:
Check out Goldman Sachs. May change your life.
posted by TheLastPsychiatrist at 8:05 AM on May 14, 2007
Check out Goldman Sachs. May change your life.
posted by TheLastPsychiatrist at 8:05 AM on May 14, 2007
Health economics, if you have any interest in healthcare. Huge need for good stats people in the field, especially for working on large database studies. Many European countries have health technology assessment offices that need analysts, and many pharmaceutical and medical device companies are required to present the results of health economic modeling in order to get new drugs approved. Check into ISPOR for more.
posted by acridrabbit at 9:38 AM on May 14, 2007
posted by acridrabbit at 9:38 AM on May 14, 2007
Have you thought about being an actuary? They make a lot of money and can end up in the upper ranks of multinational insurance companies. The downside is you have to take exams for several years after beginning your job.
posted by Soulbee at 11:02 AM on May 14, 2007
posted by Soulbee at 11:02 AM on May 14, 2007
I may be way off base....but....
Bookie? The legal kind? In Vegas? Seems to me you've ample education in the fundamentals of both.
posted by Thistledown at 11:28 AM on May 14, 2007
Bookie? The legal kind? In Vegas? Seems to me you've ample education in the fundamentals of both.
posted by Thistledown at 11:28 AM on May 14, 2007
Economic consulting firms are always looking for people with statistics knowledge. LECG and CRAI are two large firms with offices in Europe. Note: You won't go far in the business without a graduate degree.
posted by GarageWine at 1:19 PM on May 14, 2007
posted by GarageWine at 1:19 PM on May 14, 2007
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by mdonley at 5:41 AM on May 14, 2007