Statistics Project for Employers

[3.141592]

Hi All,

I know that to prove oneself to employers in programming, one can try to contribute to open source projects or just make e.g. your own game. Is there something analogous for statistics?

I am studying a mathematics and statistics honours degree part-time (I work) and by distance learning i.e. online, specially-written materials, face to face tutorials once a month or so etc. But there is no dissertation or project etc. it's all taught modules.

What can I do to show initiative in a real statistical project, even if quite small, that involves all the real-world stuff like specifying a question, designing an experiment, choosing an analysis etc. Are there things similar to open source projects in software?

I've considered volunteering for research positions for charities (I've seen adverts that need, essentially, market research statisticians to advise on strategy etc.) - but having never done anything statistical outside of textbook problems I'm loathe to step into a job unsupervised.

Thanks.

 

[CalcNerd]

Consider trying to get a green belt in Six Sigma (or better, a real project and attempt a Black Belt). I had started down that path, but I could never get Project managers to turn over their data for me to analyze so I opted for certification in Reliability Engineering (didn't require a project, just documentation that I worked in QA/QC and investigated life cycle of equipment or similar types of analysis). I don't believe there are any requirements to present to test for a Green Belt from the ASQ (American Society of Quality).

 

[Locrian]

How about Kaggle competitions?