The End of an Era
So the day I’ve been dreading is finally here. 4 years as an analyst and I’ve been able to skirt by with my (extremely) limited knowledge of statistics. Every now and then over the course of my professional career, a stats problem or question would come my way and I’d be able to say enough words like ‘distribution’ or ‘bias’ to squeak out of trouble before I start babbling like an idiot.
Over the past 4 years, I’ve been able to work on my skills as an analyst. Specifically, business acumen and programming. I can make a business case and support it with persuading data, dashboard like a boss, and build a slick automation that would have left 2014 me in awe. I knew how to do exactly none of these when I first joined the workforce and often impress myself with how far I’ve come.
However, I’m finding myself lacking compared to some of my peers. I’ve noticed that many of the high performers in the industry not only have business understanding AND programming, but they are well versed in statistical concepts.
That being said, I’m obviously at a disadvantage here. Which means I’ve either got to stay where I am and hope for the best, or do something to better myself and grow. So here’s the verdict : I’m going to learn stats.
By learning stats I don’t mean things like what’s a mean, median or standard deviation either. I’m talking full on probability using density functions, Bayesian Stats, Time Series and Markov Chains. I hear these terms so much and nod blankly at the person talking about them. No more. I’m gonna do it, and I’m going to do it in two months.
Why two months? Summer’s right around the corner and once that warm weather hits I’ll have zero motivation to stay inside and bury my face in equations and strange symbols. I want to golf and grill and hike and camp and cruise with the windows down.
Alas is what brings me to the point of this blog. I’ve tried learning stats before. It’s not easy. The concepts are difficult and retention requires practice. I’m going to take what I learn each {time period TBD} and summarize it here so future me can go back and remember it without relearning. If you’re interested in Data Science or Analytics, maybe you’ll find it interesting… eh, maybe not.
Either way, it’s gonna happen.