Current position:

Principal Data Scientist, VP at Citizen Bank

Degree (s)

• Bachelor of Science in Applied Mathematics and Statistics, NC State, May 2016
• Master of Science in Analytics, Georgia Institute of Technology, January 2020

Questions below were answered by Chuyue, while she was in her previous position as an Associate Analytical Consultant.

Was the degree you earned required for the work you do? How did you find yourself in your current position?

My degree was one of the required degrees for my current position. I was exposed to topics in Analytics in my second year of college and then became very interested in the field. I learned that SAS Institute was hiring analytical consultants from career fairs and ePack. Then I applied and here I am.

What skills or abilities do you find are most important in the work you do?

Knowing at least one computer programming language is very helpful. Good presentation skill is also important since my role is customer facing. The ability to learn is essential because you can’t learn everything from college and expect to use them all at work. You will be learning new technology and using new software solutions at work.

What preparation would you recommend for someone interested in entering your field? Are there any courses at State you would recommend?

I would recommend taking R, SAS or python courses if you haven’t done any programming classes. Regression analysis and modeling is helpful too

What other career paths would you suggest a student explore before making a final decision?

Consultant, Data Analyst, Programmer, Actuary at companies in health, insurance, banking, and technology industry.

If you had to do everything over again, would you do anything differently? Why or why not?

I wish I had a chance to take more courses in math electives. I didn’t have enough credits left due to double major. If I took more math electives, I would probably narrow down what I really like since there are so many different topics in mathematics. I had both research and industry internship experiences which allowed me to pick which path fitted me better (academia or industry). I definitely suggest to have exposure to both fields if you don’t have a clear career path.