The more detailed data you have to draw from, the more informed your business decisions can be, and the more profitable your business can become. Old news, I know, but sometimes it's nice to be reminded that analytics are relevant-- vital even, to the success of commerce.

A recent article in The New York Times claims that companies who implement "data-driven decision making" are five to six percent more profitable than those that rely on other factors (even those who choose to invest in technology). A five percent lead may sound minimal, but it's significant in today's market.

It takes a bit of time for the data to reduce down from meaningful patterns to actionable insights. The benefits of analytical input are only visible after the company has had time to adopt the new methods realized through analysis. It takes time then, to analyze the analysis, and what we're left with are visible results, a decade in the making. Regardless of the time frame, the reaction is worth it. Companies across the industry spectrum are investing in analytics, creating a noticeable boost in the number of positions available for statisticians and their cohorts.

Statistics are a key to growth. You may have known it all along, but it's good to see the masses do the math.

To read more about data-driven decision making, check out this New York Times article.

2011's Number One Game - Musical Chairs

Forces are building rapidly that will result in this year being one of the biggest for employee turnover in decades. Historically, there is a significant and natural increase in employees leaving current employers as the economy gains momentum and more job opportunities open up. After years of job insecurity, reduced or no bonuses, salary freezes or cuts, benefit reductions, and budget squeezes, employees are once again in the driver's seat - and they are on the move.

Itchy feet are natural during the course of a long career. People want to broaden their skills, take on bigger challenges, and be able to cultivate their professional networks. They crave an environment that will provide those opportunities. We are now on the upside of a V-shaped recovery for quantitative employment and, in addition to a significant increase in new jobs, we are seeing a tremendous increase in natural churn. This presents an enormous challenge for staffing in our quantitative specialty, as well as in all technically-based professions.

What can quantitative managers and human resources people do to stem this flow? Some ideas:

• Money isn't everything - but let's face it, it's important, especially early in a career where personal demands of a new marriage, home purchase, and growing family push all the financial buttons. If you froze compensation during the recession, reverse or reinstate salary increases and bonuses and get things (at least) back to normal.
• Make your employees more marketable - counterintuitive, right? Quantitative professionals hunger for opportunities to use the best tools and to stay abreast of the latest research in their fields. It's essential to promote these opportunites continuously to your staff, or risk losing them to more attractive experiences.
• Feedback, especially constructive criticism, is welcomed. Yes, really. People always want to be recognized for what they are doing well, but they also want to know how they can be and do better. Quantitative managers can be wonderful bosses, but sometimes are not the best at delivering helpful criticism. Get over it - it's essential for growing and developing your staff.

Shifting economic tides require flexibility, vigilance, and the ability to look ahead. But you don't need a crystal ball to plan as the economy rights itself. All you really need is a little common sense. Attrition is a natural consequence of an upswing, but you won't lose all your best players as long as you consider what they need to stay happy, challenged, and motivated.

Math Education + Quantitative Job = Career Satisfaction

Few individuals in this world aspire to earn the title “geek”, but that may be soon to change given the Wall Street Journal’s listings of Best Jobs of 2011. As it turns out, analytically-minded individuals are thriving in their positions as Actuaries, Accountants, Statisticians, and Mathematicians. In fact, they very well may be the most satisfied working professionals out there.

The Jobs Rated report was developed to determine which careers offer the highest sense of gratification for the majority of workers in each profession. The ranking is determined by several criteria: work environment, physical demands, outlook, stress, and income. The best overall work situation in 2011 (meaning the highest ranking in the aforementioned categories) goes to the Software Engineer - not exactly in the statistical realm, but still reliant on a firm mathematical background. But scrolling down the list just a bit, it's important to note that Mathematician ranks number two, with an excellent hiring outlook. Actuary comes in a close third, followed by Statistician at number four. That's three of the top five rated careers belonging to math majors, each with excellent hiring outlooks.

A few years ago, I welcomed you to my dining room table for a little table talk. Back then, the conversation centered on the kids’ standing in the social hierarchy of our local high school, with my math geek son clinging to the bottom rungs of the social ladder. I was thrilled to be able to boost his self-esteem by quoting this article’s conclusions.

I’m equally thrilled to inform him once again (and you all as well!) that the mathematician’s ranking stands. Even more importantly, I’m happy to note following a career path in mathematics could very well lead to life-long fulfillment. When you find a career that offers opportunities to do what you love, work is not work. For those of you who have already chosen the quantitative path, your long-term prospects are looking good.

For more information, please click here: http://www.careercast.com/jobs-rated/10-best-jobs-2011

Snowstorms, Snowshoes and Anecdotal Evidence

Becky, snowshoe racing in Wisconsin.
Note the hat: it's Packer spirit wear;
she'll be cheering Greenbay during
Sunday's Superbowl.

Well, it’s here — the Snowstorm of the Century has hit Chicago. I’m not quite sure how significant that is in a century that’s only 11 years old, but we’ve definitely got accumulation, with some serious shoveling and treacherous driving conditions. My kids are thrilled to have a snow day — the first in our school district in decades.

Chicago averages about 38 inches of snow a year, but for three years running we’ve topped the 50-inch mark and it looks like we’re well on our way to a fourth. Lucky for me, I thought to bring my snowshoes home from our last visit to our farm house up in Wisconsin, where we have plenty of room to practice snowshoeing.

Recently, our family has taken up snowshoe racing on during weekends up north. Snowshoes were developed in Central Asia around 6,000 years ago, but they’re still pretty new to us. We’ve been having a lot of fun. In a race a couple of weeks ago, out of a field of 140, Jay came in first overall; Becky, Jackson and Doug also medaled. I managed to finish … without falling.

Statistically, of course, the results of a single race aren’t that important, except for bragging rights around the dinner table. Four years of above average snowfall don’t really mean much statistically, either. In our industry, these results would be called anecdotes.

There are a couple of famous quotes that make the rounds about anecdotal evidence. The first is attributed to Raymond Wolfinger, professor emeritus of American Politics at the University of California, Berkeley. In response to a student’s dismissal of a simple factual statement as a “mere anecdote”, Wolfinger responded: “The plural of anecdote is data.” In the second, the quote has been bastardized and more often represented as “The plural of anecdote is not data.”

But Wolfinger was right. Anecdotes are stories. Data collection is meaningless unless you understand the story it represents. As quantitative specialists, you are the interpreters of data — you tell the stories so the data make sense to your audience. That’s your job. Here at Burtch Works, we want to help you make sense of the marketplace. That’s our job. Please let us know if we can help.

Having the Data is Not Enough

For people in our industry, numbers have a life of their own. We get excited when data show us new trends, patterns and possibilities. But most of the world does not view this information in the same way. In fact, believe it or not, most people think of statistical data as dry, unfathomable, even boring.

This presents quantitative experts with great opportunity. You are the bridge between the dense forest of information on one side and hungry consumers on the other. The better you are at translating raw data into interesting, usable, vital information, the more valuable you will be in the marketplace.

This four-minute video was part of a BBC documentary on The Joy of Stats. In it, Swedish academic "superstar" Hans Rosling (the man who said "I kid you not, statistics is now the sexiest subject on the planet"), shows his enthusiasm for bringing statistics to life. As he says: "Having the data is not enough. I have to show it in ways that people both enjoy and understand."

Now, maybe you'll never have a media team at your disposal that can help you pull off the production values of the BBC, but you can use Rosling's enthusiasm as inspiration. Everything you do to improve your communication skills and hone your ability to translate dry statistics into accessible information will add value to your resume.

The Art of Building Relationships

It’s been a remarkable year at Burtch Works. Sometimes it’s hard for me to believe it has been just a little over a year that we’ve been together in this new, flexible practice. Working nationwide, we have strengthened our many long-standing relationships and established some new ones. Here among the staff, we have welcomed a few new faces and welcomed back some long-time friends and colleagues. The depth and breadth of experience represented is second to none, and we continue to grow and build our relationships.

I strongly believe that these relationships are what set Burtch Works apart. Making a placement — finding the right candidate for the right client — that’s what we do. But building relationships is who we are, and our relationships allow us to do what we do better than anyone else.

For our candidates, building a long-term relationship means that we get to know who you really are — not just for a single interview for a particular job, but across the course of your career. As you grow, as your personal life changes, as you look toward your future, we can help you map out strategic moves, develop your professional network and create long-term business relationships that will allow you to manage your career to fit the needs of your life at every stage along the way. We want to know your hopes and dreams, not just your salary requirements and technical experience (although we want to know those, too).

For our clients, building a long-term relationship means we can help you hire the best and brightest quantitative professionals — the people you need to navigate the ever-widening river of data. As far back as 1943, Winston Churchill observed that the empires of the future would be empires of the mind. That future is now, and the battle for talent is fierce. We have the experience and resources to help you win that battle.

In less than a month, we will ring in the New Year, and we’re excited to be celebrating with you. Let us hear from you about your plans — big and small — for next month, next year and into the next decade. And warmest wishes to you and your family for a bright and happy holiday season.

Compensation Update 2010

Compensation for Quantitative Professionals:
What to Expect in the Near Term

The last two years have seen the job market for quantitative professionals bungee from robust down to the weakest level in 70 years and, just recently, back to relative health. Now that things are getting back on track, at least for our industry, the topic on the minds of clients and candidates alike is compensation.

Author Robert Heinlein once wrote: “There is no such thing as luck. There is only adequate or inadequate preparation to cope with a statistical universe” While it’s good to know where you stand in the current market, it’s just as important to stay abreast of the outlook for more senior level positions to plan your career path. Here are some observations and guidelines about the patterns we are seeing in this new economic cycle:

Vice President/Director
$150,000 to $250,000

Within corporations, a director or VP typically manages multiple layers with upwards of 20 staffers. At this level, it is important to have well-honed leadership skills and to provide strategic vision. In consulting firms, the ability to develop new business becomes important at this level and will usually require heavy travel.

Manager
$120,000 to $170,000

This level usually offers the first significant opportunity to develop managerial skills. A solidly performing senior analyst who demonstrates mentoring and leadership abilities, in addition to business acumen and initiative, could be promoted into this role. It is highly unusual for a senior analyst to change companies and move up to manager level simultaneously, as most firms prefer to hire people with demonstrated management experience or to promote from within.

Senior Analytical Specialist
$80,000 to $180,000

As data-driven decision making becomes ubiquitous in business, statisticians as individual contributors have been able to command greater salaries. This is especially true if their programming skills (SAS or R) are well honed and their statistical know-how is exceptional. There are many technology based firms that are driving these salaries up. It is important to take on direct reports and/or business development responsibilities to ensure career advancement.

Senior Analyst/Analyst
$65,000 to $90,000

Even in this recovering market, there is strong demand for quantitative specialists with one-to-five years’ experience. The stronger the candidate’s background with software like SAS or R, and the larger the datasets, the more sought after the analyst will be. Now is the time to develop your communication skills, as every employer expects their analysts — especially senior analysts — to be able to deliver quantitative information to a nontechnical audience. Candidates at this level are now receiving multiple offers if they are conducting an active job search.

Entry-level Masters
$55,000 to $70,000

As the market strengthens and companies struggle to find candidates with one-to-two years’ experience, the entry-level market for quants will continue to improve. It has been a gloomy couple of years, but we are now seeing signs that the new grads of December 2010 and June 2011 will be a hot commodity.

Let us know if we can help you figure out how best to prepare for the next move in your statistical universe. I welcome your questions and comments — please join in an on-line salary discussion and share your experiences here.