Leone

Bachelor of Business with Bachelor of Mathematics (Honours)

Why did you choose to study Statistics at Newcastle?
I completed some undergraduate statistics as part of my business degree. I become more interested in stats and found it complemented my business background well.

Where are you currently working and what are you currently doing?
My first job after graduation was as a Graduate Research Officer with Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). I am still at the ABS, I completed my grad program in July and will soon be heading a small team working on the redesign of electronic business forms.

What was the best thing about your degree program?
The staff in the MAPS school were very supportive which made my honours year a lot less of a struggle than it could have been, considering I had no undergraduate maths background. Besides that, the best thing was the broad range of subjects on offer, which allowed me to gain a good range of statistical skills.

How has you Statistics degree helped you in your professional life?
The fundamentals of statistics have been really helpful to me. They can be applied to many situations, and have given me a sound conceptual understanding of how to attack and solve new problems. The statistical computing I learnt has been invaluable, and in particular sample theory has been of most relevance to my current work.

What advice would you give to future students considering studying Statistics at Newcastle?
Choose a broad range of subjects, make sure you understand the key concepts in each area, and how to apply different methods. I recommend Statistical Consulting and Statistical Computing. These two subjects in particular will help you to transfer your stat skills to the workplace.