aspiring_biostats

Thank you both for these replies, it is very encouraging! My first step before deciding on any program was to take Linear Algebra and Multivariate Calculus at the very least and to see where to go from there. I've been out of my masters program for 3 years now and really do feel that especially when it comes to teaching things myself, but I guess I'd start with taking one or two classes per semester and seeing how that turns out. Thanks a bunch!

Hi there, If there are any biostatisticians, grad students or graduates, able to talk to me, I'm looking for some insight into a career change especially because I have what may be not the most usual background for an aspiring biostatistician. I am a healthcare professional by training who decided to pursue my MPH shortly after. I was considering epidemiology as a career path since it seemed in line with my interests in population health and something conducive for healthcare professionals wanting to do research. While I'm really interested in causal inference and epidemiology methods, as I've been working as a data analyst in a public health department I've realized I really do enjoy learning the mathematical modeling and applying it to different healthcare problems. Many epidemiologists, in contrasts, seem to have one specific focus area (like infectious disease, cancer epi, chronic disease, etc.) which is not the case for me-I like the idea of applying quantitative techniques to different healthcare problems. The reason I was initially not considering biostatistics is because it seemed like most who pursued the degree had a mathematics, engineering or statistics background. But I am wondering if there are people with non-mathematical backgrounds who pursue biostatistics? I would certainly take some math courses since I haven't since high school, but as for graduate programs, I would like to hold off pursuing anything till I really figure out a solid plan for pursuing another degree. Since I already have an MPH, I would like to not pursue another masters at this time, but it does feel that to become a research biostatistician, I would have to have a more solid mathematical foundation and I don't quite know where to start and am not sure if my health professional background would look odd here. Please feel free to message me! I'm so interested in talking to people in the profession and learning more. Thank you