Thanks for the advice. I see that northern Illinois does have a ms in stats. Is that still a decent program? I don’t want to get a masters if it wouldn’t help a lot to get better positions in the job market.
Ask them about outcomes. Students, not the schools in many cases, locate and find jobs. Indeed, LinkedIn, etc.
You want to be a data guy. Ask the schools for outcomes.
You could get a job out of Wisconsin now. Most will eliminate you with a 2.3 but not all and not non profits.
Not sure what you want a grad degree for now?
I think your hypothesis is wrong. A grad degree, especially in a business related area, without two years full time work experience, is basically a waste. Save grad school for an income bump after you have work experience. No work experience = undergrad salary.
It’s not if Northern Illinois is a good school. It’s if you’re so hell bent on doing this - well beggars can’t be choosers.
Have you taken a gmat / gre ?
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In some regions, a certificate in Data Science is enough to help an employee advance their career.
See IBM’s certificate on Coursera for example.
Have you considered UW’s one year MS for UW alum?
Do you have two or three letters of recommendation?
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Applicants with GPA’s in the 3.75 range may have a shot but they’re very hard to get into. A mix of A’s and B’s in some courses, B’s in others, is much better han 2.3 but still not quite what these programs look for. They may also be concerned that you were on probation so often.
(In grad school, 3.5 is often considered the bare minimum to remain in a program, for instance. If you don’t have that in your upper level classes it’ll be a red flag.)
Please understand what you read (3.0, etc) represents the bare minimum. UIUC or Georgia Tech have 3.0 as a cutoff but admitted grad students there tend to have A or A- in their upper-level courses.
If you really want to attend grad school, find a job and do well + take upper level statistics or data science classes and get A’s. When you have several A’s you can add to your transcript, you’re be in a better position to apply to grad school.
(Note that just a grad degree without experience will NOT help you get a better job or better pay. That’s why a couple years work experience are recommended before you apply to a “professional” Master’s degree.)
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U W Madison is a wonderful school- and you’ve graduated with a Bachelor’s degree. Yay!
My thought would be to take the energy and angst you are spending worrying about grad school and kick that can down the road. Use that energy to excel at work. Learn as much as you can. Volunteer for special projects that nobody else wants to touch. Make yourself an integral member of the team.
That gives you a solid foundation whether your next step is a better paying/more interesting job, grad school, or even something else (many people pivot out of math/statistics into other disciplines- epidemiology given that you have lab experience? Public health policy?)
You can advance professionally given your past struggles- put them behind you and focus on moving forward. I promise you that math/statistics grad school will still be there in two years. The world is not running out of math. But working hard and focusing NOW is the best way to pivot.
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