Alumni - Northern Kentucky University
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I am currently a Principal Researcher at Procter and Gamble in the Biometrics and Statistical Sciences department. I have worked for P&G for 12 years. Specifically, I work in the Statistical Computing group managing statistical hardware and software as well as developing small statistical applications. The primary qualification for this job was an undergraduate degree in math, statistics, or computer science with an emphasis on statistics.
For the first few years, I was a statistical programmer in the Oral Care area working on dentifrices such as Crest® and pharmaceutical therapies for periodontitis. My primary responsibilities were writing computer programs to analyze data using a statistical programming language called SAS® to produce listings, tables, and graphs for final reports. After a few years I switched to the pharmaceutical area and started working on bone research products like the osteoporosis drug Actonel®. A few years later, I transferred to the Statistical Computing Group. This group supports licensing, certification and deployment of statistical applications. We also provide hardware support for our midrange UNIX server and develop small statistical applications for both healthcare and non-healthcare customers. These include compiled SAS® macro applications for pharmaceutical analysts, VBA applications for drug discovery scientists and web-based applications for human resource managers and consumer product researchers, among others.
The primary math skills I use every day are problem solving and the ability to quickly learn new concepts and apply them to new situations. These skills were learned by obtaining a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics from Northern Kentucky University as well as two Associate of Arts degrees from the University of Cincinnati in Pre-Business Administration and Liberal Arts. For my statistical programming work, I found the following classes to be most beneficial: Design and Analysis of Experiments, Special Topics in Statistics (Forecasting, Time Series, and Nonparametric Statistics), Probability and Statistics for the Engineering Sciences, and Linear Algebra. For my statistical computing work, all of my computer programming courses proved valuable, including BASIC and PASCAL programming courses.
In today’s computing environment, I would recommend learning Visual Basic (or .Net) and Java. For web page design, the trend seems to be moving towards Active Server Pages and PHP but a firm knowledge of HTML is always essential. Other important skills include good communication (both oral and written) and interpersonal skills to work effectively in teams. Even in the sciences, it’s also important to have good grammar skills. If you plan to do statistical research, you will eventually learn to program in SAS® so learning this language while still in school would increase your marketability since most people don’t learn this skill until they’re on the job.
For high school or college students who may be considering mathematics as a major I would encourage them to do so. Even if you don’t plan on having a career in the field, majoring in math can provide a great liberal arts education that demonstrates to future employers that you have good problem solving skills and are willing to tackle difficult subjects. However, if you do plan to work in the field of math you need to decide what area interests you. For example, some students wish to become high school math teachers; others want to pursue advanced degrees and possibly teach at the collegiate level or get involved in research. Depending on your interests you should take math classes that pertain to your area of concentration. For me, I chose the statistics track within the math major because it seemed like the most practical approach since I wasn’t interested in becoming a teacher. After taking a few statistical courses I realized that you could definitely get a job in the field of math that also pays well. My initial offer was approximately the same as what was being offered to engineering majors with undergraduate degrees.
Additionally, if you’re going to major in math I would strongly suggest that you either minor or double major in computer science. My job has essentially evolved into an IT position but even as a statistical programmer it was very helpful to have a firm background in computing knowledge. As with any college major, you should take lots of notes and highlight important sections of your textbooks. Although you may be desperate for money when you graduate and tempted to sell (or burn!) your old text books, I would highly recommend that you keep all of your major notebooks and textbooks. I have referenced my college textbooks countless times as have my colleagues. All of us have numerous books and reference manuals on our office shelves. I would also strongly suggest that you obtain an internship or co-op position if at all possible. This will give you practical experience that is favored among all prospective employers.
Finally, I can’t stress enough the need to network with fellow students and professors. I was able to obtain employment immediately following college after sending out just one resume thanks to a statistics professor of mine. I took four courses over two years from Dr. David Agard and performed well in his classes. At the end of my senior year he approached me about a position at P&G that he learned about from one of his associates. Although I have personally thanked him numerous times over the years, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank him once again. Thanks, Dr. Agard, for your great instruction and the lead that turned into a career!
