Jean V. Adams discusses how to pay it forward and paint a picture of client’s data.

Amy Gehrke discusses how she found a career that balanced her desire for public service and her need to have the most objective facts.

One type of job available to applied statistics graduates is that of “hybrid statistician,” in which statistical expertise is tied into a more general research-based role. Two master’s-level biostatisticians Emily Olsen and Melissa Danielson describe their jobs, what they like about being a hybrid statistician, and courses they completed to prepare them for this career.

Jean Adams discusses finding your passion and turning it into a long and happy career.

Do you remember being asked what you wanted to be when you grew up? Allison Florance’s answers varied from veterinarian to nurse to civil engineer. Here, she talks about the lessons she’s learned on the way to becoming a statistician.

Meredith Berthelson and Jennifer Slimowitz Pearl discuss one of the most valuable funding mechanisms for mathematics and statistics graduate students: the National Science Foundation’s Graduate Research Fellowship Program.

Here, Cindy Weng and James Grady share how they learned to collaborate, prioritize, and appreciate their work as consultants at academic health centers.

Attending JSM provides opportunities to broaden your knowledge through Continuing Education courses, panel discussions, poster sessions, invited talks, roundtables, and more. With such a wide array of choices, it will benefit you to spend some time reviewing the online program and mapping out a plan to attend the sessions that interest you. However, members of the Committee on Applied Statisticians think the offerings discussed here will benefit statisticians at the master’s level.

Eric Vance has traveled an unusual path to his current position as an assistant research professor and director of LISA (Virginia Tech’s Laboratory for Interdisciplinary Statistical Analysis), journeying through 67 countries. Here, he shares his experiences and ideas for how statistics can merge with international travel.

Gregory J. Stoddard, a master’s degree–level biostatistician, is co-director of the Study Design and Biostatistics Center at the University of Utah. Here, he shares three hypothetical statistical consulting situations so readers can decide if consulting is a good career path for them.