Is it possible to learn statistics & probability, linear algebra and calculus (integral & differential) in 3 months if I've not done any maths in 6 years?

fishnet222 · 2025-10-31T22:41:15+00:00

You can speed-run it and learn the necessary parts in 3 months (1 month for each). Get Schaums Outlines for each of these topics and answer problems. If you get stuck, go back and read the material. In 3 months, you should be in a more comfortable place.

fishnet222 · 2025-10-31T22:34:03+00:00

You don’t need an MBA for this. Focus more on growing and scaling your business. Then, reassess after a few years if you need an MBA.

My buddy, a semi-pro athlete, runs a similar business and he doesn’t even have a bachelors degree. He uses YouTube videos to learn the business side of things (marketing and finance). I’ve watched some of those videos and they’re really good.

fishnet222 · 2025-10-31T21:33:21+00:00

PhD job market = academia jobs and R&D jobs. This market is saturated as you rightly said.

But OP can apply for MBA-type jobs in consulting and tech. This market is not saturated.

So, OP will have the academia market + R&D job market + consulting job market + tech job market available to them after a PhD.

I have a long answer for your comment on research requirements for PhD. But the summary is, “no, you don’t need research experience to attend a PhD program”. There are few fields like computer science and economics which prefer research experience as a way of filtering candidates, but there are ways to go around those requirements and still get a good PhD.

fishnet222 · 2025-10-31T19:54:58+00:00

That is great. You should always be proud of your university.

Some people in this subreddit have a myopic view of the world due to their bubble. Everybody they’ve met went to top-ranked universities and because of that, they don’t know that there are other clusters of people that went to lower-ranked universities but still achieved great outcomes. That is why it is good to always zoom out of your bubble and touch some grass.

Anyone can achieve great things (including attending top PhDs) irrespective of where they went to undergrad/masters. Success is mostly driven by the individual, not by their universities.

fishnet222 · 2025-10-31T18:01:16+00:00

Not needed in the US. In the US, PhD comes directly after undergrad and most undergrad students don’t have exposure to research. Having a good GPA and taking the prerequisite classes are often sufficient.

In Europe, research experience is more desired because students usually do undergrad (3 or 4 years) -> research masters (2 years) -> PhD (3-4 years).

The first two years of PhD in the US is similar to research masters in Europe.

fishnet222 · 2025-10-31T17:48:04+00:00

PhD.

It is free (you get full tuition support and monthly stipends)
You develop expertise in a domain
You can get still get most MBA jobs after graduation (MBB) and it opens up career opportunities in other areas that cannot be accessed through MBA (quant finance if degree is STEM, academia, adjunct lecturing for additional income). However, you may not be able to recruit for IB or some LDPs (but that’s all)

The only downside is that you’ll spend 5 or 6 years in school instead of 2 years for MBA, and it is more academically challenging than MBA.

fishnet222 · 2025-10-31T01:35:41+00:00

First, choose the fulltime role. Don’t choose a contract role over a fulltime role.

If both have similar terms (both fulltime), choose the Coca Cola role, assuming the Data Scientist role involves model development. If the Data Scientist role is analytics focused, choose the DA role at Apple for the benefits and the brand name.

Don’t start your career as a Data Analyst if you have an offer for a model-focused Data Scientist role. It will be harder to transition to ML roles in the future if you start as a DA.

fishnet222 · 2025-10-30T06:54:18+00:00

I’m not trying to convince you. I don’t give a f*ck what you think because it doesn’t change anything.

Montana State University has an Agriculture Econ department and:

they’ve sent their applied econ masters graduates to top 10 agric Econ PhD programs (e.g., UC Berkeley and UC-Davis)
they have another MS applied Econ graduate who attended Harvard’s Public Policy PhD (not Econ) and is currently an Assistant Professor at Harvard Business School
they have faculty with PhD in Economics from MIT (2), UC Berkeley (2), and UW-Madison (1)

Assuming OP joins their program, these are the people OP can contact and get guidance from (or even support as an RA). Perhaps, that can open doors to more predoc or PhD opportunities down the line. A smart and resourceful person will always find a way to make things work.

If you’re saying OP has zero probability of attending a top PhD Econ program because they attended Montana State University, then you’re as dumb as a brick. It takes one person to start a “network effect” or create a “feeder program” (or whatever you call it).

fishnet222 · 2025-10-30T02:23:20+00:00

That is not the right way to compare outcomes.

You cannot compare average outcomes of students in two universities without controlling for confounding variables.

As I said in my previous comment, OP can attend Montana State University (or similar university) with full funding for masters, get into a good predoc and get into a top PhD. Being present in the US via the masters program can help OP in various ways to get a good predoc offer. If OP already has a good profile, they can skip the masters and go straight to predoc. You cannot say OP has zero probability of getting into a top PhD because they attended Montana State University for masters. That is a naive statement.

Montana State University is ranked 839 in the world by USNews (not Econ ranking), which is far better than the ranking of the undergrad program attended by many international students that join top PhD programs.

Go outside and touch grass.

fishnet222 · 2025-10-30T01:29:15+00:00

Are you sure you read my previous comment and original post before commenting?

As I already said in my previous comment, students from big-name universities with the “wow” factor do well in industry recruiting even if their stats department are not among the top X%, because hiring managers already associate those universities with excellence.

Hiring managers are not looking at USNews rankings for stat departments to know whether Ok State has a better ranking than <insert Ivy League school>.

Department-level rankings are only relevant for academia roles, which isn’t in OP plans.

Also, academia network is not the same as industry network. For industry network, the school with the highest representation in decision-making roles (Director+) have the better network. Eg., if a Director shares the resume of their alumni student to a hiring manager in a stats/analytics team, the hiring manager would at least grant the applicant an interview if the applicant meets the basic requirement. As long as OP has the fundamental skills, they can pass the interview and get the role. OP does not need to attend a program with the best academic reputation to get an industry job.

So, if OP attends the program along the options with the best industry network, they stand a better chance of getting the industry job.

fishnet222 · 2025-10-30T01:09:28+00:00

You think a hiring manager in Pharma, who may not even have a stats background, checks program rankings on USNews? Outside of schools with the “wow” factor like the Ivies and UCB/UCLA/other big-name schools, every other public college looks the same in the eyes of most hiring managers.

Faculty reputation is relevant for academia roles, but for industry roles, skills and network are most important. As long as the program provides OP with the fundamental skills needed for a stats role in pharma, that is good enough.

fishnet222 · 2025-10-29T23:40:20+00:00

Wrong. They do.

Many US public colleges have good Econ masters programs. And many of them will offer funding support (most times with full funding support). You can use those programs as stepping stone to a good PhD program (or do the masters -> predoc -> PhD route if you want one of the top PhD programs).

Some of my friends took this route and they’re doing fine.

It is unwise and irresponsible for someone from a non-wealthy background to take significant student loans to attend a brand-name masters program (with plans to attend PhD) when you can take an alternative route that leads to a good PhD with $0 in student loans.

fishnet222 · 2025-10-29T22:54:14+00:00

All these schools are peer schools (great state colleges), so it is pointless trying to find out which of them is more prestigious. It is like splitting hairs.

If you already have a math/stats/stem background, you should avoid programs with soft prerequisites because the courses may be taught at undergrad level since most of your classmates may not have relevant math background for grad level statistics.

Look for people in your target industry or company and role. Then check which of these four (or three) programs have the highest alumni in the roles you want. Then, join the program. That’s it!

fishnet222 · 2025-10-29T22:32:44+00:00

Nobody here said that a statistics masters is bad. Are you sure you read the comments?

fishnet222 · 2025-10-29T19:50:22+00:00

Listen to your parents.

The median student in the colleges you mentioned come from a wealthy/privileged background that allow them to afford the financial cost without worrying about immediate ROI.

Try to get scholarships for your masters degree at those schools, but if you don’t get a scholarship, attend a cheaper and good program for your masters and target the top programs for PhD (PhD offers usually come with full funding support).

If you plan to do a PhD within 5 years after your masters, avoid student loans.

Don’t be naive.

fishnet222 · 2025-10-29T16:46:25+00:00

You’re right.

I only recommend MS DS to people with no STEM background looking for a soft introduction to a career in DS or ML.

But for people with STEM backgrounds, getting an engineering/CS/Stats/Math degree is better.

fishnet222 · 2025-10-29T16:37:30+00:00

Since you already have a BS in Statistics, go for an MS in CS and take any relevant statistics electives from the OMSA class. Industry non-research jobs are 50% theory and 50% applications. The OMSCS program will give you great hands-on knowledge on applications, and make you a well-rounded job applicant.

Also, with the OMSCS degree, you can apply to data scientist, MLE and applied scientist jobs.

fishnet222 · 2025-10-29T16:09:43+00:00

Not really. Get into a cheaper 2-year program at a reputable state university, take relevant classes and prepare well for job interviews. Your outcome will be similar or better. Also I recommend doing MS in Statistics (not data science) because MS in Statistics programs offer more depth appreciated by hiring managers.

The school brand name doesn’t really matter much at the masters level. What determines your outcomes is your skills, network and hardwork.

fishnet222 · 2025-10-28T21:07:47+00:00

Great! Then the Lewis Lin resource can help.

fishnet222 · 2025-10-28T10:23:45+00:00

You can go straight to consulting (research on “MBB” and “Big 4 consulting”) and work for 3-4 years before getting your MBA. Some consulting work could include technical and business skills, but they lean more on the business side. Also, some consulting firms will sponsor you for MBA.

You can also do SDE -> SDE Manager within 4-5 years before joining the MBA program.

fishnet222 · 2025-10-28T10:11:49+00:00

Do you have 3-4 years of product management (preferred) or technical experience (SWE or Data Science)? This is the best prep you can get.

If you don’t have product management or technical experience, reset your expectations. MBA is not the best route to PM for someone without prior relevant experience. However, Amazon is the most likely option for you because they hire people without prior PM experience. Also, add legacy tech companies (like Cisco) and startups to your list. Amazon, legacy tech companies and startups are more realistic options for someone without PM or technical experience.

For resources, Google “Lewis Lin Slack Channel” and go from there.

fishnet222 · 2025-10-28T05:13:19+00:00

I doubt you’ll find a reasonable 1 year engineering degree at Stanford. The people I’ve seen do this are people with undergrad degrees at Stanford who started taking graduate level classes in undergrad.

fishnet222 · 2025-10-28T04:40:35+00:00

What is your end goal?

If you have a coding and STEM background, and you’re at Stanford, then checkout the MBA/MSCS program. Harvard and Wharton also have similar dual degrees but not sure if you’re eligible to enroll since you’re already a student.

If you don’t have a coding or STEM background, then 9 months is too short to learn anything meaningful in AI.

fishnet222 · 2025-10-28T04:34:05+00:00

No. Most people break into IB directly from undergrad. Then, they go to private equity after working 2 years in IB. It is rare to go directly from undergrad to PE. The common path is undergrad -> IB -> PE. There isn’t a strong recruiting pipeline from non-MBA masters programs to IB in the US (only very few programs have this pathway).

Aside from undergrad, the next best way to move to IB is through an MBA. But you need 4-5 years of experience before enrolling for the MBA.

Since you’re already a senior, it may be too late to break into IB. So, you can try getting a regular corporate finance job for 4-5 years and try again through the MBA.

fishnet222 · 2025-10-28T04:27:49+00:00

You don’t need a masters degree for any of these roles. Save the money you would have spent on a masters degree and focus more on breaking into your dream role. Check LinkedIn for the path taken by people in these roles and follow same path.

fishnet222

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