Why Swipe Right? Career Interests and Aspirations of Incoming Statistics Majors

Abstract

Undergraduate statistics programs can help students hone a wide range of quantitative, computational, and communicative skills as they prepare for a fruitful career. In this paper, we explore what motivates students to choose a major in statistics and to what extent incoming statistics majors recognize these wider skills as part of doing statistics. To build theories regarding what motivates students toward statistics, we interviewed nine first-year statistics majors at a large public university and analyzed their responses using a grounded theory approach. Each student shared their views of “who” statistics is to them, what kind of career they aspired to, and what prior experiences oriented them toward studying statistics. A strong, cross-cutting theme that emerged was that of balance. For example, statistics appeared as a safe and lucrative career choice that catered to their mathematical strengths, but it could also be an exciting career choice that stoked their imaginations. We also found that students had different perspectives and expectations about the role of mathematics and coding that may impact their experience in the major. Implications for introductory course curricula, the importance of projects, and outreach programs are discussed.

Keywords

• Statistics Education
• Identity
• Belonging
• Disciplinary Perspectives