
Ask HN: Is a master in statistics worth it for Data Science? - sarb
I am currently a computer engineer student about to finish my degree.<p>I did an internship and some classes related to Data Science and it is a field I&#x27;ve grown to be quite interested in.<p>Currently I&#x27;m debating whether to pursue a Master&#x27;s degree in statistics for data science or to enroll in a more practically oriented program.<p>I feel like my technical skills are more than sufficient for working in Data Science, and during my internship I felt like I needed more knowledge in statistics, of which my degree only had one or two classes. I also feel statistics and math are more difficult to self-learn than whatever tools or frameworks you end up needing on the job.<p>At the same time, I&#x27;m not sure if it makes more sense to pursue the practical-oriented master&#x27;s degree, since I don&#x27;t know how often you need to apply advanced statistical concepts in real life work, and perhaps I would be best served by having more experience with the current technologies.<p>What do you recommend?<p>Some notes for consideration: I live in Europe so arguments regarding the money investment are not so relevant since it would probably end up being free for me.<p>Also, the time investment would be just 1 year for both master&#x27;s.
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psyklic
If you are motivated to do the math, I'd definitely do the math/stats MS. You
can learn the current tech in your spare time or on the job, particularly with
all of the good online courses.

Having a BS CmpE + "practical-oriented MS", you will be directly competing
against a large number of software engineers who learn data science online or
in bootcamps. I believe a stats-oriented MS would definitely make you stand
out from this group. As you say, self-learners often struggle with the math
and stats parts.

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natalyarostova
As a self learner it has definitely taken a lot of my after hours time working
through math and stats textbooks. I wish I did it in school.

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gregoreous
I think if you truly obtain a MSc in statistics, you would no longer be a data
scientist but a statistician.

