What to Expect
You'd better like math if you want to major in statistics. Students in
these programs learn to collect, analyze and interpret numerical data.
"I like the sentence on a T-shirt issued by my department one year," says
Hui Wang. She did graduate work in statistics at the University of California
at Berkeley. The sentence read, "Statistics means...never having to say
you are certain." Wang believes that is the crucial point in statistics.
She chose statistics because of her interest in math. She had first majored
in computer science, but switched to statistics because of the influence of
friends who had chosen statistics as their major.
"I became interested in this field," she says. "And as I knew more about
it, I wanted to go deeper."
Wang says her weak math background caused problems at first. But she wasn't
frightened by it and took all the math courses she could.
"In such a top-rated statistics department, theoretical aspect is very
much emphasized," says Wang. "Put more time into it in the first year, and don't
be scared by all the difficult math."
Euloge Kpamegan took a PhD in statistics at American University. For him,
math was no problem -- he already had a bachelor's degree in mathematics.
"Good math and computer skills are necessary for statistics students.
Some of the classes are very demanding and require high-level math skills,"
he says. "My background in math made things easy for me. Some of my classmates
with other backgrounds had a hard time getting through the classes."
Kpamegan had a busy schedule. During the day, he taught undergraduate statistics
and tutored math and statistics in the tutoring lab, and went to classes in
the evening. Nighttime was slated for homework and studying new material.
But the work didn't bother him because he liked "the challenge, the critical
thinking and the reasoning."
How to Prepare
Kpamegan says students should have their own computers and statistical
software packages because in the long run, it saves a lot of time in traveling
to the computer lab.
"And try as soon as possible to get a part-time job in statistics.
In doing so, the student has three advantages -- one, make some money; two,
connect the courses and real life problems; and three, get some experience
which will set you up for good job opportunities," he adds.