Graduation Time: Is Your Commencement Speech Ready?

May is graduation month, a time to celebrate the accomplishments of new graduates in the field of statistics and encourage them as they commence their careers in our profession. While few of us will have the opportunity to speak at a commencement ceremony, most of us either know students who are graduating or will soon meet a recent graduate. Each of us should be prepared with a personal commencement speech—and after reading this column, you will be ready!

What Can You Say in 10 Minutes?

Last spring, the department of statistics at North Carolina State University invited me to give the commencement address at its annual graduation ceremony. I was asked to keep it brief, but the theme was up to me. As I thought about what to say, I realized I should know more about the students who would be in my audience, so I arranged to meet with some of them in advance. To launch the discussion, I asked each student to complete the following sentence: “My education in statistics gives me [blank].”

Their answers were insightful. One student wrote, “My education in statistics gives me the tools to approach and solve complex problems.” Another stated, “My education in statistics gives me the power to see the truth hidden behind numbers.”

When the students asked how I would complete the sentence, my answer was the word “choices.” A statistical education provides career choices, but it also requires that graduates make choices if they are to develop and contribute as professional statisticians. And so “choices” became the theme for my speech.

Career Choices

Today, our graduates have an unprecedented range of career choices in research, government, and business. A McKinsey Global Institute report released in 2011 projects that by 2018, the United States will need 140,000 to 190,000 more people with “deep analytical” skills, typically experts in statistical methods and data analysis technologies. More recently, 46% of firms surveyed by Bloomberg Businessweek reported that they plan to increase their analytical talent.

The demand has never been greater for the 2,200 students graduating with advanced degrees in statistics. And the opportunities are just as strong for the increasing numbers of graduates with bachelor’s degrees in statistics.

Our graduates are in high demand because our society is drenched in raw data. Much of the data are being collected in massive databases by government, health care, marketing, and manufacturing organizations and consist of both unstructured data—from sources such as email and social media—and structured data—from observational and planned studies. All those data must be understood, analyzed, and translated into the bases for scientific discovery, government policymaking, and business decisionmaking.

Managers and executives who hire statisticians tell me they are impressed with the core statistical skills of our new graduates. But they always add that their main problem is finding statisticians who can not only analyze data, but also explain to others how the results serve the goals of their organization.

The Choice to Communicate

Our students discover in their consulting courses that the language of statistics does not easily translate into the languages of other disciplines. And wherever their careers take them, they will find that statistics is an interdisciplinary activity. So if the future contributions of our graduates are to be valued and visible, they must choose to improve their abilities to write effectively and to give presentations that are clear, concise, and relevant to their audiences. This can require years of practice and coaching, but it is an investment with huge long-term dividends.

The Choice to Belong

Graduates also must choose whether to become professional statisticians. That means far more than adding the word statistician to a LinkedIn profile. It means keeping up with new developments in the field. It means participating in the growth of the field—through research, teaching, or statistical practice. It means leading and influencing others. It means adhering to ethical standards and principles of sound practice. And it means belonging to a community of statisticians who have common interests, values, and goals.

The world’s largest community of statisticians is the American Statistical Association, and more than 4,500 of our members are students. Graduation is the perfect time for these students to make our association their permanent professional home.

The Choice to Give

New graduates also must choose whether to give back and “pay it forward.” We need to challenge graduates to contribute time and energy as active members of our chapters and sections. By starting now, they will have the opportunity to join our celebration of the ASA’s 175th anniversary in 2014. And when we celebrate our 200th anniversary in 2039, today’s graduates will look back on a quarter century in which they have learned much, enriched our profession, and benefited society in ways we cannot imagine.

For new graduates, the choice to give also means contributing to their institutions of higher learning as a means of paying forward to the next generation. Graduates should realize that only a fraction of the cost of their education was covered by the tuition their families paid or the work they did as teaching assistants. The majority of that cost was covered by other sources, including the institution, government appropriations, research grants, and alumni giving.

Graduates can begin to make this choice by thanking their professors for their commitment to education. As they progress in their careers, graduates should keep in touch with the faculty because teachers are always gratified to know about their students’ accomplishments. And once they have the means to do so, graduates should contribute financially to their institutions and serve as mentors for future students.

Consequence of Wise Choices

The choices to communicate, belong, and give require effort and dedication, but bring great rewards:

Graduates who choose to improve their communication skills will go beyond analyzing data and building statistical models. They will make their work relevant for the rest of the world.
Graduates who choose to become professional statisticians will do more than earn a good living. They will develop their abilities, enrich the field of statistics, and contribute to society.
Graduates who choose to give back will reap more than personal accomplishments. They will gain a share in the future success of their institutions and our profession.

Choosing Your Own Words

When it comes time to give your own commencement speech to a new graduate, I hope you will express the enjoyment and excitement you have experienced in your career as a statistician. Nothing could be more encouraging!