Decision crisis – having doubts about going to grad school at all

Graduate School
1

<p>Hello everyone!</p>

<p>I don’t post here much so quick rundown.</p>

<p>I have a BA in political science and psychology, class of 2010. Currently working in a random ‘in the meantime’ corporate job for the past 6 months.</p>

<p>Anyway, I made the last minute decision in December to apply for Masters in Statistics, and finished apps by January.</p>

<p>The results are back:</p>

<p>Purdue and Iowa: denied.</p>

<p>NIU, Loyola, Michigan State, Illinois-Urbana-Champaign(top choice – in state) – admitted! (without funding of course – it’s a masters).</p>

<p>Anyway I’m fairly certain I can complete the master’s at Illinois in 1 calendar year. (3 courses fall, 4 courses spring, 2 courses summer).</p>

<p>However… all of the sudden I’m having doubts about attending.</p>

<p>I’ve been taking a linear algebra class as part of my preparations – and although I’m doing very well, I find it painful/ very difficult to crack open the linear algebra textbook in most nights. It just doesn’t inspire or enthuse me a great deal.</p>

<p>Now I’m thinking – is this a sign of things to come? I became greatly interested in stats due to my psychology and political science work and experiments – but at the same time, the ANOVA’s and regressions and logit/ probit models of undergrad social sciences are a far cry from Rao-Blackwell theorem or Edgeworth expansions. For starters they didn’t require ANY calculus, vectors, or linear algebra. I’m confident in my abilities in those, but I’m not so certain about my interest --- especially in theoretical math. I love applied statistical study more for the relevance and the insight – to be honest the discoveries in my linear algebra class about math were sort of interesting (particularly underdetermined vs overdetermined systems), but not as much as a psychology course.</p>

<p>I’m just having doubts about my math interest all the sudden. And then there’s the career afterwards. I’m not what one would call “certain” about my career interests. Would a one year masters pigeon hole me into a math or data based career for life? Or would it open up opportunities I wouldn’t have otherwise?</p>

<p>Add to THAT, that recently a new job has come knocking on my door. Better salary, benefits, etc. It’s working with technology AND data analysis, including some statistics. The guy is willing to give me the job provided I don’t have graduate school plans in the fall, of course, which is sensible. This would be a great opportunity to see if data analysis is something I DO enjoy doing right now, plus I would learn more about business and further my technology/ programming skills. Wouldn’t that be better on doubling down on an unknown (grad school in applied stat?) --- or would 1 year, $13,500 total tuition grad school be so little an investment in time and money, that it would be fool-hearty NOT to do it?</p>

<p>I’m just so confused right now. I’m a bit intimidated by grad school, and I’m not CERTAIN math and stats is the ultimate field for me. Or whether a year of calculus + vector based upper level math is going to be a masochistic experience. I also feel like grad school is a now-or-never proposition.</p>

<p>Add to my career uncertainty, the social aspect. My social life is in shambles right now to an extent due to a period of unemployment after graduation (I’m still living at home, but would move out if taking the new job). And I think the allure of returning to a college environment (although grad school is MUCH different than undergrad socially I’ve heard) for social reasons might be clouding my judgment ---- like maybe I’m sort of enticed by visions of a great social life – even though just a one year grad program --- and not necessarily the rigorous study of upper-level statistics and stochastic processes.</p>

<p>Finally – and not to downplay the stats folk here – but for most business purposes, are THAT complex of statistics really needed, outside of high finance or insurance?</p>

<p>That would be my main goal of MS in Stats – to put myself in a better position to pursue a career I like. Aka, purely to get a job in industry. But do most jobs/ businesses/ fields --- other than finance, pharm, or insurance --- require thorough knowledge of Bayesian statistics or what not? I don’t know. I could always crack open a textbook on Categorical Analysis or Time Series myself, too, outside of school.</p>

<p>I’m just having a quarter life crisis right now it seems. Do I go to grad school? Take the new job? Yes, the main problem is I’m unsure of my ultimate career interests.</p>

<p>Anyone have similar feeling or know what to do? Advice especially welcome from people who went to grad school for stats, or other perspectives as well.</p>

2

<p>Hi there,</p>

<p>I read your thread and I just felt compelled to answer, but I’m majoring in a totally different field (sociology) so I can’t offer any perspective on stats or anything.
If I was in your situation, this is what I would do: I would take the job (that is, if I enjoyed it of course). I mean, if you enjoy what you are doing right now, keep going. You can always apply to grad school later if you feel that you really want to go or you just don’t feel like working anymore later on. In the meantime you can even save some cash to pay for grad school just in case (if you end up never going, you can use those saving for something else, like a down payment on an apartment for example).</p>

<p>I am going to grad school next year, but if I had a job that I liked and that paid decently, I would probably work (even though I do love studying and I love my major). </p>

<p>Just my perspective :slight_smile:
Good luck with whatever you do next</p>

<p>Gaiou</p>

3

<p>Thanks for the help.</p>

<p>I think I was mainly interested for a variety of reasons that may not have been the right reasons.</p>

<p>Like, I thought it was necessary to advancing into a career i want, but now im not sure it’s so necessary.</p>

<p>Now I have to worry about informing professors that helped me that I’m taking a job instead of grad school. :/</p>

4

<p>I am also a social scientist who uses extensive statistics in her work, and am planning to receive an MS in statistics or biostatistics after I complete my PhD (but while working - I won’t go back to school full time unless I don’ get a job).</p>

<p>No, a one-year master’s in statistics will not pigeon-hole you. It will, instead, open up opportunities. I’ve been looking and many jobs that I am qualified to do, or could learn to do, require an MS in statistics. It opens up an entire world of data analysis and mathematical jobs, BUT many of these jobs are in social sciences. For example, the federal government hired statisticians (both mathematical and social science) to do analysis for studies conducted. Hospitals and medical centers hire statisticians and biostatisticians to analyze their studies for them. And many businesses hire data analysts for that role, too.</p>

<p>I think most people aiming for a professional master’s in statistics are aiming for the more applied work and don’t care about the theoretical math. If you love doing statistics for applied studies and want to apply it in the real world, there is PLENTY of work for you and you will be in good company.</p>

<p>There are two ways you can plan it, though. You can go do the one-year master’s. There will probably be jobs waiting on the other end. OR you can take the job and then find a part time MS in statistics program. Penn State’s world campus offers one online, as does Northwestern, I believe. And many universities are offering part-time master’s in statistics because of the need for statisticians - my university (Columbia) does and most of the programs I see offer them part-time. Most stats MS degrees take about a year full time, so they would take you ~2 years half-time. I think taking the job and doing the degree part time is the best way to go (because most of these jobs also want experience).</p>

<p>Grad school is VERY VERY different socially from undergrad. Do NOT return to grad school because you want a different social life. Go join a community organization instead.</p>

<p>As for the complexity - no. Usually, lower level stats are used, unless you’re doing forecasting or something. But MS programs are usually flexible and you can design yourselves. Most of the programs I’m looking at have classes that would basically enhance the skills I already have - categorical data analysis, time series, ANOVA, etc. Some programs, especially applied stats programs, won’t require the much more theoretical stuff or the way too advanced stuff unless you want to take those things. You have to take some basics and then you have to take some in your own area of interest. I, too, am pretty adept at teaching myself stats now, since I’m a PhD student who’s been doing it for a while and I do stats consulting (and I have a background in calculus and linear algebra). But many of the jobs want the degree, the paper. (I don’t think most jobs require Bayesian, but then most programs don’t require it either.)</p>

<p>If you can’t go to graduate school right now part-time or online, then I agree that taking the job and maybe waiting a while is a good idea. I mean, if you could get in once, more work experience is only going to help, right?</p>