Any ST majors out there? Are there any ST electives that you would recommend? Already taken some MA >400 but would like something interesting/easy going into my last year.

11/1/2011 8:09:30 PM

unless you can get into a 700 level class, about the only thing that looks all that interesting is 505 Applied Nonparametric Statistics

that 721 genetic data analysis looks cool

[Edited on November 1, 2011 at 8:48 PM. Reason : i'd suggest trying to do an independent study]

11/1/2011 8:47:15 PM

Do you want to take some grad classes? What are your interests? Are you interested in any crossover types of classes (i.e. statistical genetics). I have a masters in stats and I'm finishing my PhD in a related subject so I've taken a lot of stats courses at NCSU. I can give you some suggestions if you have any particular interests.

[Edited on November 1, 2011 at 10:54 PM. Reason : .]

11/1/2011 10:52:03 PM

Haven't been exposed to the science side of statistics (genetics, for example). More business related. I am doing a co-op at IBM right now.

11/2/2011 1:12:25 PM

You can take ECG 561 (I think that is the class code), it is the graduate level econometrics course. Definitely do not need to take the undergrad version if you are a stat major. I didn't put too much effort in the course and it was pretty easy considering my previous knowledge on regression.

11/2/2011 1:39:03 PM

then plz school some of the wankers in the Soap Box

11/2/2011 11:12:04 PM

Well, I guess I'm not actually that helpful then. All of my stats experience is in the areas of science/genetics and machine learning/data mining. If you want to make yourself marketable post graduation and you don't already have it, make sure you get some programming experience with SAS, especially with the macro language if you can. Most companies I've seen expected a stats graduate to have good SAS skills.

11/3/2011 1:04:10 PM

+1 for econometrics

11/3/2011 10:34:43 PM

All sounds good. Thanks for the tips.

11/4/2011 9:12:23 PM

Quote :

"If you want to make yourself marketable post graduation and you don't already have it, make sure you get some programming experience with SAS, especially with the macro language if you can. Most companies I've seen expected a stats graduate to have good SAS skills."

I cannot stress this point enough. I wish I had really understood the importance of SAS knowledge when I was an undergrad, there is no reason why you should not get your Base SAS certification. You have all the tools available to learn the material and you get to take the test for free. It is so valuable in the workforce that you would be a fool not to take advantage of it. Luckily I had the opportunity to learn SAS in grad school and it is absolutely on of the reasons I was in demand upon graduation.

11/7/2011 12:54:32 PM

anybody using R instead of SAS?

11/7/2011 2:30:57 PM

I have used R a little bit, hardly proficient with it but it is a fantastic tool to know. It is gaining huge momentum in the marketplace because of its cost (free) and how customizable it is. Definitely worthwhile to learn if you are in that field.

11/7/2011 3:30:05 PM

I use R extensively for my work. I love it for some things, loathe it for others, but at least I have a good appreciation for what it's capable of doing.

11/7/2011 4:24:15 PM

I grew up on Java but have used R pretty much exclusively for the last 3 years. I mentioned SAS earlier because it's big in industry, but R is pretty much the de facto language used in statistics academia. I wasn't a huge fan at first, but it has really grown on me and it is now my go to language for just about everything.

11/7/2011 10:48:56 PM

I took a SAS continuing ed class at wake tech for $55

11/8/2011 8:02:30 AM

I like R for the linear algebra and linear regression capabilities I've used it for. But trying to use it on sorting moderately sized data-sets (~GBytes) it was entirely too slow compared to equivalent code I use in C++ or python.

11/9/2011 2:12:20 PM