College/University Application Help. (US please)

[Stegotyranno420]

Hello,
I know it is a bit off-topic, especially since my desired field is not even biology/paleo (personally, I do not see a strong, stable career in that). But since I am assuming many educated American members are here, I was wondering maybe you could give your fellow American here a hand.

If you are from a prestigious university, that will be great. I am not sure if the processes are exactly like how it is in Cali, but I think the advice should be flexible.

If you are also experienced in statistics/data-science/cyber-security, that will be great (not my interests, but they are stable and bring good money).

Overall, just looking for tips, personal advice, and any other insights about applying.
Thanks everyone.    

[Bread]

If you are also experienced in statistics/data-science/cyber-security, that will be great (not my interests, but they are stable and bring good money).

"Not my interests, but they are stable and bring good money."

Let me tell you this, don't do something you're not interested in. Having no interest in it could lead to low effort which won't land you a positive career outlook. Plus, you may be so far into the career, then suddenly realize you're not going to want to make a career out of this. Happens all the time.

Now, that's not to say you can't develop an interest in it, which is why I fully endorse looking for internships early on.

In my opinion, internships early on help tremendously. In my personal experience, I started with an accounting/financing degree pathway. I applied to numerous internships even outside of the field, and  got accepted into an IT position.

I found a new interest in computer science and specifically programming, as a result switched majors and continuing this career pathway.

That is why I really recommend looking into internships early on. Especially if you're attending the first round of basics.

I know plenty of friends who've graduated with bachelors/masters/double BA's in their degree field, but struggle with recruitment due to no internships/experience/projects.

Internships also make you stand out. Especially since it's a sign of experience, which is a big deal for companies nowadays.

Now, please do not take my advice as the 100% way to go route. I recommend taking some career test, a variety of them perhaps if you're really indecisive.

I'm sure there's plenty of pathways others will recommend. Plus, this is fully your decision. Whatever you choose, I'm sure you will do great!

[TheCambrianCrusader]

Do you have any idea what fields would interest you? Like @Bread said its not a great idea to major in something you're not interested in.

[Stegotyranno420]

If you are also experienced in statistics/data-science/cyber-security, that will be great (not my interests, but they are stable and bring good money).

"Not my interests, but they are stable and bring good money."

Let me tell you this, don't do something you're not interested in. Having no interest in it could lead to low effort which won't land you a positive career outlook. Plus, you may be so far into the career, then suddenly realize you're not going to want to make a career out of this. Happens all the time.

Now, that's not to say you can't develop an interest in it, which is why I fully endorse looking for internships early on.

In my opinion, internships early on help tremendously. In my personal experience, I started with an accounting/financing degree pathway. I applied to numerous internships even outside of the field, and  got accepted into an IT position.

I found a new interest in computer science and specifically programming, as a result switched majors and continuing this career pathway.

That is why I really recommend looking into internships early on. Especially if you're attending the first round of basics.

I know plenty of friends who've graduated with bachelors/masters/double BA's in their degree field, but struggle with recruitment due to no internships/experience/projects.

Internships also make you stand out. Especially since it's a sign of experience, which is a big deal for companies nowadays.

Now, please do not take my advice as the 100% way to go route. I recommend taking some career test, a variety of them perhaps if you're really indecisive.

I'm sure there's plenty of pathways others will recommend. Plus, this is fully your decision. Whatever you choose, I'm sure you will do great!

My relationship with statistics and data science is more complex than i have described. My main source of interest for the subject is in genetic calculators and PCAs, and how data can be converted. But that is very basic. I want to develop an increased interest for it. Part of my interest also comes in the stable strong salary, relatively less risk from AI, and in some cases, the ability to work from home or freelance, as this will be beneficial for other reasons I do not want to get in right now. I'm taking AP statistics next year(as in starting in August) to help me understand the field better. I genuinely feel this the the best and most stable job opportunity as of nowadays, far more stable than my genuine interests:

-religion(I don't need a degree from a 3rd party to prove I know religions)
-history(ditto, and i will be stuck teaching ungrateful kids)
-art (🤣 we all know how this goes, and i dont want to be stuck drawing "immorality" instead of dinosaurs for the assignment)(and I am no Julio Lacerda or Mark Witton who somehow make out a living doing that)
-paleontology 💀 (same as above, and its more geology and chemistry than dinosaur fun)
-linguistics (same as history and religion)
-politics (i have accepted I will never be able to make the changes I seek to make in society)

In summary, most of my interests would give me a medium salary for much longer amounts of college and debt. A field in data science just seems to be the common sense. I need to adapt to the world, for the world will not adapt to what I want.
 
I dont understand how the 1800s Europeans made a living and became famous for drawing dinosaurs, learning some classical language, or publishing a novel (some of the things i like to do 🤣)


Nonetheless, @Bread I am very grateful for your advice and help, and you make great points regarding internships. Though what worries me is the fact the next year is right about here, and I have not had any real jobs/internships. Would it still be fine if I did these during my college years instead of before applying?
Thank you

[Bread]

No problem @Stegotyranno420!


Statistics and data science is definitely a strong career pathway, especially in IT. I'd even argue at times it's more valued than computer science due to the management of data. Someone's always gotta be up for that, especially when comparing output. Especially with a knowledge in databases.

Also, I wouldn't worry about AI. I really don't understand the worries about it. It's not a 100% a job replacement, in fact, it's more of a job aide. It's not capable of producing correct, code and essentially you can't rely on it to produce accurately. There's always going to be gaps to fill when writing code while using AI. I would only worry about smaller companies replacing you with AI because it's cheaper but it's not a guarantee suitable option due to it's inconsistency including the information I explained above.

And, regarding when to join internships, this would be during your college years. It's tough, don't expect to be making a lot of money, or if any during said internships. But again, it's useful as it builds up experience and career knowledge for the future.

[Stegotyranno420]

@Bread
Im not sure how experienced you are in data sciences, but my main experience in data is ethno-genetic data, mostly by using G25/vahaduo calculators. I wish I could show you my own calculators but I dont have them on this device, and you can search up examples. Basically it is useful in two main tasks
1. comparing genetic distances of samples
2. displaying genetic composition of samples.
What intrigues me is the way how slight manipulations can completely deviate results. I won't get into the specifics of it but its pretty cool looking at how we are related.
I also made PCA charts and heatmaps using ClustVis, which I suppose is used by academics as well.

Yet I still feel as if this is barely grazing the iceberg of the tasks/and knowledge I will need to learn, though excel might help.
I write this info to anyone who might be more experienced in stats/data and might be able to help guide me based on my already acquired knowlegde.

As per Chat Gpt, it actually assists me strongly in my current experience, mainly in creating the averages of extinct ethnic groups(as the data I have access to is individual samples, and human genetics can be extremely variable even for the same ethnicitys. Or creating proxies( estimates rather than actual samples) for people I know in person, so I can show them how they are related (an estimate atleast) (there is for example a Afghan Mexican person, a Peruvian-Han Chinese person, etc)
These coords have 25 dimensions, so it CGPT makes it far easier. Hence for stats/data I think its actually more of an Aide like you have said.

Once again, your wisdom is highly appreciated 🙏
Thank you so much