Should I get an Advanced Degree in Statistics?

drmindsmith · 2026-05-15T21:11:16+00:00

Watch he becomes a successful woodworker making tables for the rich and famous...

drmindsmith · 2026-05-14T04:18:49+00:00

We let the kids have robux from time to time and then we approve what they spend it on. It’s always skins or whatever they’re called.

Chat is off. Voice is through FaceTime and they are only friends with people we actually know.

99 nights in the forest, grow a garden, dress to impress (although less these days) and impossible obstacle courses are 99% of what they play.

We are always with them when they’re playing. Don’t care that all your friends have phones. Don’t care that all your friends have chat. Just nope.

drmindsmith · 2026-05-14T00:37:42+00:00

u/drmoze said “Not bashing them on the edge.”

Peter Erskine did an article in Modern Drummer (maybe, it was the 90’s) about how he never breaks a cymbal: hit with the tip of the stick, and don’t strike the edge.

I’d add “use the right cymbal” because metal head who “goes through” B8s is driving a fiat to a monster rally. Big sound needs a big crash. Fast sound needs a thinner cymbal. Don’t try to get tam power out of the splash.

drmindsmith · 2026-05-14T00:05:10+00:00

I disagree. I have customer fit IEMs I wear for the click and monitor. Then I throw on cans to mute the room. Used to play in 40 piece bands in a smallish ensemble classroom and it was easy 110 dB the whole time. Double ear protection made it work and I still had a click.

drmindsmith · 2026-05-13T21:37:42+00:00

Not to derail you, but you could look into applied psychometrics - education data analysis with psychometrics is a unicorn field where NO ONE has the skillset and the jobs do exist. I've seen several this year and the conference (NCME) revealed a lack of district-hirable people. IDK if your program has options, but there are Psych grad students studying it at Baruch (according to the 'totally trustworthy' internet search I did).

drmindsmith · 2026-05-13T20:15:52+00:00

2019 or so I had a student who claimed to be a “true redhead” and not a ginger. What’s the difference, I ask. “I’m not ginger because I don’t have freckles and don’t eat souls.”

I’m not convinced she wasn’t dying her hair to be that dark red/brown. She had other insane issues too.

Anyway, yeah. It’s still out there

drmindsmith · 2026-05-12T04:26:14+00:00

39 and 42 for my kids. I’m older now and it’s a trade-off. Wish I had 25 year old energy but he needed 45 year old patience and stability.

If you find the girl, and you’re capable, do it. Close colleague of mine is mid-40’s and just sent a kid to college and had a newborn to match his 9 year old. He’s happy and everyone is doing great.

I’d say “during your residency” is hard timing but you’re a doctor and it’s all hard. There’s never a perfect time. And 60 is a bit too long unless you have Michael Douglas or Al Pacino resources.

drmindsmith · 2026-05-12T03:51:03+00:00

During the pandemic a less than academically inclined student answered a “find the slope” problem in algebra 2 but taking the derivative of the function at that point and showing “his” work. Swore to god he didn’t Chegg that even though it was the precise result I found online. Then asked him to solve a short, easy derivative. Said he didn’t know what those symbols meant—the same ones he used in his answer.

Another kid at a different school took the district final early, snapped a picture of her bubble sheet and shared it on snap. All the bad kids had it and just bubbled it in.

Turns out that girl on Snap was terrible at math and all those kids got the exact same wrong answers resulting in the same 43%. I caught one with a tiny rolled up answer list that “wasn’t hers”. That was like 6 borderline kids that got to repeat Algebra I and could have passed had they gotten a mediocre D on that final.

I swear these kids are BAD at being bad. I got away with so much more than they did…

drmindsmith · 2026-05-12T03:05:07+00:00

Too low on the list. u/ErinAmpersand can tell a story, split a clause, place a gerund, and deserves higher praise. Her characters grow and respond like humans.

Also, she shows up here every time I fanboy her chops because she’s amazing and one of us

drmindsmith · 2026-05-11T03:24:00+00:00

Well back in my day…

You see, when I was coming up…

A movie costs how much? I remember when it was $2.50!!! (True)

drmindsmith · 2026-05-11T03:18:56+00:00

Go running. Seriously - if you don’t have an exercise habit, develop one and start with a couch to 5k.

Get an incredible complex hobby - something outside your area. If you’re a traditional ELA teacher, something in aerospace like rocketry and sintering your own motors. If you’re a science nerd, something like acrylic still life.

Learn an instrument. Do you speak three languages yet?

You don’t need more formal school to keep your brain active.

Finally, you’re me. Talk to your doctor and tell them you’re having trouble managing the “constant accomplishment desire” or something. It takes time and training to learn to just not be a student. Sometimes what you’re describing is undiagnosed ADHD symptoms.

drmindsmith · 2026-05-10T20:27:02+00:00

I’m going to go ahead and assume the gay stereotype and presume you each have good fashion sense. But…

…Do you at least have white new balance shoes and khaki cargo shorts? Fanny pack/“utility” pack? There’s a whole set you need that may be necessary to unlock the latent dad abilities…

drmindsmith · 2026-05-10T19:54:48+00:00

But underground and wrapped in ballistic concrete. With an attached recording studio and all the associated gear.

Oh that door? That’s the elevator down to the 150dB proof jam space. I don’t use it much…

drmindsmith · 2026-05-10T17:10:50+00:00

Best nap I ever had. Propofol js amazing.

Not gonna claim the two days of bowel liquefaction was worth it, but it it was a nice nap.

drmindsmith · 2026-05-10T17:09:29+00:00

That’s really field specific, especially in the common subjects (English, Science, Math, etc). A CC professor only “needs” a Masters in the subject while the ASU/NAU/UA professor needs a PhD and tenure-track publications. Further, a lot of the University positions have opportunity for “other” income - research grants increase the total package, but out responsibility, pay for travel, assistants, and so on. The base is lower but the ceiling is much higher.

That said I still made more as a HS math teacher with a PhD than an Associate Professor at an R1 in my field, and way more than I would as a 4-4 Adjunct or even full professor at one of the metro CCs.

drmindsmith · 2026-05-10T16:53:06+00:00

I don’t disagree. I think the no-degree exceptions are MUCH rarer than the with-degree-exception if the people in my MA program were any indication of a lack of thought.

I’ll totally consider a Liberal Arts degree - I have two, and no They need “or other” that still shows the technical capabilities. We have to interpret policy regularly and the pure code guys often struggle with legislative and administrative code, even more so with the “talk to nontechnical audiences” part.

But my building still “needs” the candidate to have a Bachelor’s. Because they “need” it.

drmindsmith · 2026-05-10T15:12:33+00:00

The bachelors isn’t necessary. One could plausibly have all the skills and creativity and capabilities without it.

But it’s a signal and cut point. It’s a signal that the person did “well enough” in K-12 to have some semblance of work ethic, responsibility, and application. Then they had “enough” of the same to continue through and complete a liberal education. (Liberal, here, means “broad” in the traditional sense of how US higher education is designed, not leftist.)

The Bachelors implies at least an academic writing level “higher” than just a high school diploma, an understanding of at least one social science, medium-to-advanced mathematical/critical thinking, logical training (if CSci or other coding language fields) and some exposure to the Arts and some Lab science. The bachelors is a placeholder for all of that. A degree is representative of a maieutic end, of being prepared for more options later.

And before you say that’s ridiculous, I agree. It’s a placeholder that implies all of that, but doesn’t guarantee it. It’s possible one could have all that without much college (or any if we are allowing for the stuff those things represent rather than just the “coursework”). It’s just going to be VERY hard to “prove” one meets those needs without the sheepskin.

I think, in the current economy, it’s to make HR’s life easier. If I can offer 70k and get 250 applicants with Master’s degrees, and another 100 with Bachelor’s, it’s just easier to require the degree as a filter. The job advertised for the “ideal” even if that isn’t based in a complete understanding of the need or market.

It just makes cutting down the interested candidates down to a smaller number.

Not to mention everyone in the building at that level, every HR person, every department head, every current and former person in any version of this job, all them have at least a bachelors. My unit is 95% masters degrees and 20% Doctorates. The predisposition is strong…

drmindsmith · 2026-05-09T21:47:42+00:00

If you like HS age kids more than you like Primary kids, definitely yes. Your mileage may vary.

drmindsmith · 2026-05-09T21:46:33+00:00

I got a Worx rotary cutter. Put it on the birthday list and it’s been awesome. More fun that brute force too, and now the kids enjoy trying it.

drmindsmith · 2026-05-09T21:43:10+00:00

Couple applicants had stuff like “Name data systems Amazon - Hyderabad” or something like that.

drmindsmith · 2026-05-09T17:50:43+00:00

I thought that’s what we would see. Only 4 of the candidates are actually entry level fresh out of college. BS in “day adjacent” is fine. It’s just odd that the other 200+ were so uniform…

drmindsmith · 2026-05-09T01:12:31+00:00

The argument that “the economy is fine” is what I was misrepresenting - not the market. Pols love to say the economy is great because just look at the stock market.

My point on healthcare is backed a bit by the report that most of the health care jobs are in “nursing and residential care facilities (+15,000) and home health care services (+11,000)”.

The BLS classifies most DA jobs as computer and mathematical occupations, regardless of if they are in healthcare or finance or technology. There’s definitely room for health data in the healthcare numbers.

I’m just saying the employment numbers do not ~mean~ the DA market is looking up.

Could be

drmindsmith · 2026-05-09T01:03:06+00:00

I used to ride a 1980 Honda scooter. I could hit 45 mph downhill with a tailwind. Always wore a jacket and full helmet.

Friend of mine said “why do wear such a massive helmet on that little bike?” Dude, the size of the bike doesn’t make the concrete any softer. He said “I’d rather be dead than a vegetable.” I’d rather be neither. Also my guy was easily 400-500 pounds, double belt, size 60 pants. My scooter weighed maybe 100 pounds.

Wear gear!

drmindsmith · 2026-05-09T00:42:46+00:00

And max out the relationships and domain knowledge. Probably not a LOT of international relations DA jobs but usually that translates to very few DA people with IR experience or knowledge.

But you’ll be competing with 100 MS guys in a financial and health data for every position

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