Statistics, Thy Name Is Flexibility

Meena Doshi is a statistical analyst in the Tufts University Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. She earned her master’s in applied statistics from The Ohio State University and a master’s in public health (concentration in epidemiology and biostatistics) from the Tufts University School of Medicine.

A statistician’s job is multifaceted, fun, challenging, and flexible. As statisticians, we have the option to choose which hat we want to wear. We can work in fields such as pharmaceutical research, financial planning, public health research, marketing analysis, actuarial science, or education.

It’s assumed that careers are supposed to be well-planned and executed in a straight line, but it only looks that way in hindsight for many. As for me, I began my career as a marketing analyst and moved to biostatistics.

On graduating with an MS from The Ohio State University, I started working as a marketing analyst on a variety of projects for such companies as Sears Portrait Studios, Talbots, and Toys“R”Us. It was then that I started to build on my programming, presentation, and client interaction skills. I enjoyed my job thoroughly. Then, an unforeseen medical problem occurred that required surgery and changed my life. I felt much needed to be achieved in the medical field and wanted to contribute in some way. After my surgery, I traveled to India and visited a contract research organization (CRO) in Mumbai. It was there that my curiosity was piqued and I became interested in clinical trials. I felt I needed a stronger foundation in biostatistics so I pursued a master’s in public health at Tufts University and began working as a biostatistician at a CRO in Boston upon graduating.

So choose your own hat or multiple hats, and be willing to change as per your interests.

Choose Your Work Pace

Statistics is one field that gives you flexibility in the pace of your work. For example, the work environment at a CRO or a pharmaceutical company is fast-paced, where most of the deliverables are to be churned out under compressed deadlines. Hospitals, universities, and other private contract research companies have research projects with loose deadlines and ongoing research studies.

Choose Your Ladder

A master’s-level statistician can move up the ladder in a CRO or smaller biotech company, but it is harder in big pharmaceuticals, as a PhD is often required to gain respect from junior colleagues. However, experienced statisticians can work as a contractor for bigger companies for six months to less than a year. One reason for this is that big pharmaceutical companies have PhD-level statisticians who work primarily on designing trials and planning the appropriate type of analysis; they do not work on the routine periodic reports. Often, master’s-level statisticians have much experience with run-of-the-mill analysis and report generation and hence are a good fit for this job.

Language of Statisticians or Gibberish?

As statisticians, we talk our own language. But what good is it if it is gibberish to the person you are trying to talk to? One of the essential skills needed to be a successful statistician is to be able to talk our language in tune with the client’s language. By that, I mean (i) have a thorough understanding of the different fields of applications we work in and (ii) be able to explain the applications to the client.

As a marketing analyst, I had to research the client’s company, know the product we were working on, and understand the goals of the client. For example, one of the clients I worked with makes specialized gift items for various occasions. I had to be aware of five of the most popular gifts in each seasonal catalog, which gifts were not in the catalog and yet were popular, which gifts did well as graduation gifts in the summer, and which did well as Christmas gifts in the winter. In short, I had to have a good understanding of the client’s business.

In the public health arena, I have to understand the illness or medical problem for which we are doing research—the cause, treatment options, epidemiology. I have worked on the oral health of children, HIV, erectile dysfunction, Marfan syndrome, nutrition, urethral problems, and children born with single ventricles. The client group for a biostatistician may consist of doctors, nurses, researchers from other fields, or engineers. Hence, it is important for biostatisticians to be able to explain what the numbers mean in a way clients can understand.

Visualize Like a Photographer

Statistics is a visual science. Much like a photographer, a statistician needs to develop good visualization skills. There are two types of visualizations: those intended to facilitate understanding of data and those intended to communicate to a wider audience. Visualizations intended to help the client understand data mostly consist of scatterplots and histograms. We have to be able to picture the data and how it fits in with the other known data shapes. The goal is to help develop a hypothesis about the data for an audience that typically numbers one or a small team. Visualizations intended to communicate to a wider audience, whose goal is to advocate visually for a hypothesis, are required to display numbers in tables or graphs in a concise, effective manner.

The ability to visualize and communicate data is critical, because even with good data and rigorous statistical techniques, the results will not convince if they are poorly visualized.

Peek Out of the Key Hole

Make extra effort to seek opportunities outside of work that help build your skills. I gave two talks at the Coders Corner section of the Boston SAS Users Group. This also gave me the opportunity to give the same talk at work, which was noted in my yearly review. Furthermore, I wrote an article about my project work at Tufts, which was published in CHANCE magazine. These actions help build your professional reputation, which goes a long way.

Curious as a Cat

Be upbeat and curious about everything happening at work. Show interest in other projects, talk about news relating to your job, and send out information about work-related seminars going on in the city. I took advantage of a $100 benefit to attend a seminar on clinical trials at Harvard University School of Public Health. This allowed me to not only make use of my employer’s benefits, but also to display my personality. Taking note of my personality, I filled my plate with three projects, when two are typically assigned to someone in my position. This increased my experience, enhanced my multitasking skills, and built my confidence.

Most statisticians are real-life statisticians, tailoring studies to real-life problems. It takes mathematical, visual, and practical skills to excel in this occupation, as well as flexibility, curiosity, and a rigorous mind. For those who think statisticians are geeks with oily hair and thick soda bottle glasses who sit behind computers crunching numbers, think again.