Ana Ivelisse Aviles

Aviles

A decade ago, I was seeking a tenure-track assistant professor position because I thought it was what I was supposed to do. I did not know how my professional journey would develop. What I had always known, though, was how comfortable I felt as the “outlier.”

I was trained as an industrial engineer at a smallish institution, taking minors in physics, psychology, and foreign languages. For my graduate work at Northwestern University (NU), my core concentrations were in operations research and management sciences, but my passion was statistical experimental design.

After graduation, I served as a mathematical statistician in the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST) Information Technology Laboratory. I also worked for a year as a science adviser on Capitol Hill. Today, I’m a senior engineer at the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO).

As you see, I have somehow managed to remain a unique data point, “an extreme deviation from the mean,” no matter what I’ve worked on.

Outlier at NU

At Northwestern, because I was an engineer who was passionate about design of optimal experiments, a lot of my graduate school elective learning was in statistics. As a student, I loved attending the Fall Technical Conference, the Spring Research Conference, and the Joint Statistical Meetings. Most of the time, I was the only student from my program attending these events, so proving the value of my work demanded additional effort.

Outlier at NIST

With my new PhD in industrial engineering and management sciences in hand, I was offered a position as mathematical statistician in one of the most wonderful federal research labs a statistician can land in. I formulated suggestions and advice relating to the conduct of experiments, data exploration, analysis of uncertainty, and other analytic applications. Few made note that I never claimed to be a statistician.

Outlier on Capitol Hill

In 2008, I served a member of the U.S. Congress as primary adviser on science, space, technology, and telecommunications. I had come to the Hill on a special assignment from NIST as a Department of Commerce Science and Technology Fellow. In this fast-paced environment, my statistics background helped me make unique connections and figure out building blocks and implications even faster. Being part of the work force on the Hill made me a stronger professional and wiser citizen.

Now I work for GAO in Washington, DC, which is commonly referred to as the investigative arm of Congress. The GAO supports Congress in meeting its constitutional responsibilities to legislate, appropriate funds for, and oversee the federal government for the benefit of the American people. I am part of the GAO’s Applied Research and Methods Team, providing technical expertise to the agency’s other teams as they audit or evaluate scientific and technological issues. I also support and lead technology assessments and technical audits. In serving this way, I have found my work interesting, challenging, and rewarding.

My journey has been satisfying, despite my having worn several hats. Perhaps I should attribute this to the unique combination of communication skills—technical and personal—people claim I have. But I also need to give credit to my training in engineering and, in particular, statistics for my fascinating experiences.

Whether you are majoring in mathematics, statistics, science, or engineering, you will be valued no matter what you end up doing. You will find it challenging, but extremely rewarding, to be able to contribute in unique ways. Keep in mind that the challenge in seeking nontraditional roles makes playing them exciting and can give you well-desired experience.

A solid training in statistics is a foundation for wonderful careers. The demand for traditional opportunities is huge and, thus, investing in them is a sound choice, but opportunities for outliers like me seemingly have no limit.