Real Advice from Real People

“Real Advice from Real People” by Tom Loughin, Statistical
Society of Canada Liaison,Vol. 22.4
November 2008.


While universities are not the “ivory towers” that some make them
out to be, life in a university can be a somewhat sheltered existence,
quite different from the relentless drive toward profit and growth
that is typical of many businesses.

The surprise
came because the skills that they stressed were not the academic
ones, the things that the program designers hold dear as the core
curriculum of the program. Rather, they were skills that we normally
think of as peripheral, things that we don’t often emphasize within
our otherwise rigorous programs.

1. Build your communication skills
Management usually can't tell the difference between a good statistician and a great one, but they can see immediately who communicates their results well and who does so poorly.

2. Network "relationship building" like mad
most of the speakers I've talked with got their jobs because they knew somebody at the place where they were hired
- Talk to strangers

3. Branch out.
Companies would rather hire a student with good technical competence and a wide range of experiences outside the classroom, than a student with a 4.0 who has done nothing but schoolwork.
- volunteer
- whatever it is that you do, just make sure that you do excellent work!

University employers focuses more on the technical competence but when you look for a job somewhere else, these skills and experience will surely serve you then.