Interested in changing my career to biostatistics from an atypical background

[aspiring_biostats]

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

 

[Stat Assistant Professor]

It's definitely possible for somebody with a "non-traditional" background such as yours to transition into Biostatistics. But if you haven't taken math since high school, you would realistically need to take Calculus I-III and Linear Algebra before applying to graduate programs in Biostatistics. Those would be the bare minimum courses required to get into a Masters program. But it can be done. I've seen people with all sorts of undergrad degrees like sociology, biology, etc. pursue Masters in Biostatistics, but they did have to spend some time getting the math requirements done. Some of them were able to do it in less than a year (i.e., they took Calc I in the spring, then Calc II one summer term and Calc III and linear algebra in the second summer term).

To get into a Biostatistics PhD program, you would also need to take Real Analysis (an upper division math class).  

If you decide that Biostatistics is really the career path you want to pursue, then you need to figure out a road map for fulfilling these course requirements. And you need to perform reasonably well in them (B's or higher). 

[BL250604]

I agree (as always, pretty much) with Postdoc. In my opinion, there are two options. You can either (a) head back to school full time; or (b) take classes while you work. Regardless of choice, your best plan is to take some courses at a local university (the more well-known the better) and admissions shouldn't be too tough as a non-degree seeking student.

The goal from there would be to complete the required coursework (calculus sequence, linear algebra and real analysis), plus, if anything else strikes your fancy, you can certainly take another math/stats course if you feel like it. Doing this part time is certainly difficult, but doable. Doing this full time is also difficult! Transitioning back to the life of a student is always hard and takes time to get in the routine. 

Either way, if you think a Biostats degree is the way for you, I think this is the best way to get a head start.

 

[aspiring_biostats]

On 2/12/2020 at 7:38 AM, Stat PhD Now Postdoc said:

It's definitely possible for somebody with a "non-traditional" background such as yours to transition into Biostatistics. But if you haven't taken math since high school, you would realistically need to take Calculus I-III and Linear Algebra before applying to graduate programs in Biostatistics. Those would be the bare minimum courses required to get into a Masters program. But it can be done. I've seen people with all sorts of undergrad degrees like sociology, biology, etc. pursue Masters in Biostatistics, but they did have to spend some time getting the math requirements done. Some of them were able to do it in less than a year (i.e., they took Calc I in the spring, then Calc II one summer term and Calc III and linear algebra in the second summer term).

To get into a Biostatistics PhD program, you would also need to take Real Analysis (an upper division math class).  

If you decide that Biostatistics is really the career path you want to pursue, then you need to figure out a road map for fulfilling these course requirements. And you need to perform reasonably well in them (B's or higher). 

 

On 2/12/2020 at 7:43 AM, BL250604 said:

I agree (as always, pretty much) with Postdoc. In my opinion, there are two options. You can either (a) head back to school full time; or (b) take classes while you work. Regardless of choice, your best plan is to take some courses at a local university (the more well-known the better) and admissions shouldn't be too tough as a non-degree seeking student.

The goal from there would be to complete the required coursework (calculus sequence, linear algebra and real analysis), plus, if anything else strikes your fancy, you can certainly take another math/stats course if you feel like it. Doing this part time is certainly difficult, but doable. Doing this full time is also difficult! Transitioning back to the life of a student is always hard and takes time to get in the routine. 

Either way, if you think a Biostats degree is the way for you, I think this is the best way to get a head start.

 

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!

[StatsG0d]

Speaking as a biostatistics graduate student, I would say there's really no such thing as a "typical" background. Some of my fellow students came straight from undergrad, some worked for a few years and came back, and yet still some are in their 30's and just starting out as first years.

I have peers who have majored in math and stats but also biology and economics.

The only common ground we all have is that we've taken Calc I-III, linear algebra, and (most of us anyway) real analysis.