Rebecca Goldin
Professor of Mathematical Sciences / Director
George Mason University/STATS.org
Milestones
My road in life has been direct.
The day that I passed my qualifying exams, I realized, "Wait, I can actually do this for a living!"
Then, in grad school, I realized my research was publishable—I was actually going to finish my Ph.D.
Right before finishing graduate school, I got married and had a child.
I was nervous to start a family so soon, because at that point, I didn't have any job security.
However, I was offered an amazing postdoctoral fellowship; I couldn't believe it all worked out.
While working at GMU, I was introduced to STATS.org; I saw a place where I could make a difference.
STATS.org opened the door to get me involved in analytic journalism, an exciting new field for me.
Keep following my journey
Education
High School
Career
Professor of Mathematical Sciences / Director
I research and teach mathematics at GMU, and I work to improve statistical literacy at STATS.org.
Career Roadmap
My work combines:
My work combines:
Numbers
Education
Problem Solving
Day to Day
Two or three days a week, I'm teaching: on a typical teaching day, you might see me preparing for class, finishing some grading, updating a website, entering some information from an Excel chart, finalizing a lecture, then spending a few hours actually teaching a class. Other than that, I'll hold office hours, go to plenty of meetings, network with journalists and help them solve data / statistics-based problems, attend a lot of conferences, research new concepts, and write journalistic articles!
Advice for Getting Started
Here's the first step for middle school students
If you're interested in problem-solving and you tend to think outside of the box from a young age, go get yourself some Martin Gardner puzzle books and embrace your mathematical side. Be aware that your high school-level math classes aren't going to give you a very good view of what math can actually do, so once you get to college, take a class higher than calculus. Once you see the kinds of cool and unusual math taught at the college level, you'll know whether or not math is right for you.
Recommended Education
My career is related to what I studied. I'd recommend the path I took:
Hurdles
The Noise I Shed
From Peers:
"Girls aren't supposed to be this interested in math."
Challenges I Overcame
Work-Life Balance
