Become an Industry Ready Statistician on Your Time

Cindy Hu always had an interest in mathematics and was looking for a career path that would allow her to apply mathematics in a meaningful way. She decided to pursue a master’s degree in statistics at NC State University through the statistics department’s online program.

“I chose NC State’s program firstly because of the curriculum.  The courses provided in the program looked like a great combination of foundational statistical knowledge and applications of statistics. I thought the solid statistical knowledge would give me more confidence once I began working, especially when it comes to troubleshooting. The program also takes a high value of students’ programming skills which can make students ready for the job market.”

Those weren’t the only reasons Cindy decided to enroll in the online Master of Statistics program.  She also knew she needed flexibility to succeed.

“I got my degree in two and half years at my own pace, in the meantime, I experienced pregnancy, giving birth to my first baby, and all the chaos after this little one joined our life. With the flexibility this program offers, I can find time to finish the courses. There is no way I can get my degree if the course time is fixed, and I need to be present in the classroom.” 

Cindy was also happy to see the high level of involvement of the faculty members teaching her online courses.  

“The program was not easy! I really struggled with some of the courses, but it was definitely worth the effort… The instructors were very accessible during the whole learning process. Instructors would reply to emails within hours and explain the questions in detail.”

Cindy graduated in December of 2021 and now works as a senior associate for the consulting firm Ankura.  Reflecting on her time in the program, she is grateful to have learned programming skills in data science using R and SAS as well as learning how to look at a project from a statistical perspective and apply statistical models with a deep understanding.  Now she is able to meaningfully apply her interests in mathematics to real world problems.  

“I recommend this program to whoever is interested in developing a career in statistics or data science.  This program gave me a chance to switch my career path with a very flexible schedule and affordable cost. And the course structure built up a solid statistical background along with strong programming skills, so I now feel confident in my future work.  Right now, I am working on the data analytics team for trust and mass tort cases, which involves a lot of data analytics work and statistical models for further estimation.”

The Department of Statistics is proud to have Cindy Hu as one of our alums!  We are happy to have helped Cindy find her new career path, while providing the flexibility she needed to be successful. 

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