More people want to learn statistics

Data is hot right now, so as you would expect, more people are signing up and applying to learn about it. Quentin Hardy for The New York Times reports.

At North Carolina State, an advanced analytics program lasting 10 months has, since its founding in 2006, placed over 90 percent of its students annually. The average graduate’s starting salary for an entry-level job is $73,000. Its current class of 40 students had 185 applicants, and next year’s applications are already twice that. In 2009, Harvard awarded four undergraduate degrees in statistics. Two graduates went into finance, one to political polling and one became a substitute teacher. There were nine graduates in 2010, 13 last year. They headed into Google, biosciences and Wall Street, as well as Stanford’s literature department.

And in 2011, just about everywhere.

[New York Times via @jsteeleeditor]

6 Comments

  • If only the professors wouldn’t have this kind of attitude:

    “We try to give them long and difficult homework assignments,” Mr. Hastie says. “Nothing works.”

  • Alec Friedhoff January 28, 2012 at 8:41 am

    Anyone have recommendations for a similar type of program in the DC area?

  • ezra abrams January 28, 2012 at 7:41 pm

    As a scientist, I do a lot of graphs , mostly simple scattergrams with < 1,000 data points, 2- 3 variables (Y axis) with a common x axis, times series data etc
    I use excel
    a lot of scientific instruments dump data into excel or excel ready forms,
    excel is already paid for (they buy us all office; paying for several seats for kaleidagraph or origin or whatever wouldbe $$)
    and of course excel sucks beyond belief.
    and most scientists, what I can tell, don't care
    I've been looking at books – Tukey, Cleveland , Few , Tuft, and they all seem pretty worthles (I'm particularly unhappy with Tufte who seems pompous beyond belief; Tukey and Cleveland are more or less pre computer]; only the Naomi Robbins book is good.
    Is there a good book ?

  • it was predictable, they all want to know the statistics

  • Chrissy Tan June 30, 2012 at 10:05 am

    My younger bro who is still in school is looking at shares trading statistics. This scares the hell out of us