Ofer Harel is a professor and the director of graduate admissions in the department of statistics at the University of Connecticut. He is chair of the ASA’s Council of Sections Governing Board and a member of the Committee on Career Development. Harel is also an active member of numerous ASA sections who began his involvement when he was a junior researcher.
Matthew Krachey is a data scientist at the Expedia Group working on natural language processing problems. He is the current chair of the Committee on Career Development.
The ASA is a large and diverse organization, bringing together statisticians working in areas such as sports, health care, manufacturing, defense, and national security. Each area may make use of different methodologies and applications, so it is a good idea for all statisticians—especially those in the early phases of their careers—to join a section or interest group (IG) to develop professional skills in the areas of their interest.
Sections and IGs are subject-area and/or industry-related communities that offer avenues for personal and professional development. Membership provides opportunities to attend specialty conferences (e.g., International Conference on Health Policy Statistics), workshops (e.g., Preparing to Teach and the ASA Biopharmaceutical Section Regulatory-Industry Statistics Workshop), short courses, webinars, and roundtables on diverse topics. Participation in these activities improves technical knowledge and helps members build connections with experts.
In addition, many sections and IGs sponsor mentoring, leadership, and networking activities that can be extremely useful for junior statisticians. Some sections have an established mentoring program around conferences, whereas others have year-round programs. These development opportunities can focus on technical topics or soft skills (e.g., presenting, writing, and networking). Because sections and IGs are always looking for volunteers and participants in their activities, getting involved is a great way to quickly build a professional network and develop leadership and organizational skills.
Several sections also hold or support data challenges throughout the year. Data challenges such as DataFest are supported by the ASA in general, while Data Expo Challenge is supported by the Statistical Computing and Statistical Graphics sections, for example. These challenges are opportunities to gain access to novel data sets, learn modeling and data processing methods, sharpen programming skills, and develop professional portfolios that can demonstrate aptitude and provide interesting conversation in interviews.
Currently, there are 29 sections and 10 IGs. Section membership requires an annual fee (ranging from $5 to $12 per year, reduced for students). Sections also have formal charters with elected chairs and other officers. ASA members are able to join a section and receive the first year of membership for free as an incentive to get involved with one. Membership in an IG is free and not restricted to ASA members.
Some of the sections and IGs are more active than others, but most have opportunities for students and early-career professionals. Several maintain websites with up-to-date information related to development in the research area. Some have a resources portal, and others maintain blogs. Before jumping into specific examples, here is a list of general section and IG benefits:
- Networking with members who have similar interests
a. Online discussions in dedicated ASA Community groups
b. In-person meetings at conference mixers
c. Mentoring programs - Keeping up to date in your area
a. Scientific program at the Joint Statistical Meetings (JSM)
b. Continuing education classes, webinars, and roundtables
c. Information about special interest conferences - Other benefits
a. Section newsletters
b. Best paper and poster awards at JSM
c. Leadership opportunities
d. Sponsored awards
e. Student competitions
Read a summary of the three major activities of each section and interest group.
Whatever career stage you are in, sections and IGs provide many opportunities for finding community, networking, mentoring, and developing technical and soft skills.
The ASA Committee on Career Development’s (CCD) mission is to organize and promote activities, information, and materials to aid in the career development of statisticians and data scientists and to excite new interest in careers in these fields. To achieve this mission, CCD works on a variety of programs, including webinars, virtual career office hours, a networking training at JSM, a database of soft skills, and a variety of articles. You can find these materials and more at the CCD’s ASA Community page.
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