Myself and another EA both had the same idea, to start a group for EAs studying math, especially for those exploring a career change to something math-focused. If that's you, please consider adding to our numbers and fill out this Google Form so that we can coordinate!

Possible Groups:

My expectation is that for the students in our groups, there will be two main camps: those in school, and those studying independently.

Those enrolled in school have access to resources such as teacher office hours, tutors, peer study groups, and of course the class curriculum. They might benefit most from EA social support and advice in planning an EA-oriented path through school and into the working world.

Those not enrolled in school might include EAs who are building skills for their current career, preparing for re-entry into school, or are studying math purely for their own satisfaction. In addition to social support and career planning advice, they might also benefit from having a peer study group and advice on math MOOCs and textbooks.

I could be wrong about this, but I hope to learn more from your introductions!

Possible projects:

In my former post-bacc pre-med program, we had an adviser who ran biweekly two-hour seminars on topics like MCAT preparation or planning the steps from pre-med, to med school, to residency, to a job. It was then followed by a social lunch. This was a great setup, because it helped with planning, gave us a forum to exchange ideas, built our sense of identity, brought in successful former students to give us tips and encouragement, and created lasting friendships. I wanted to start this group to try and re-create something similar.

Since EAs are often interested in the application of math, both groups might also benefit from practice in creating or critiquing mathematically grounded analysis. For example, students of statistics might enjoy going through the SlateStarCodex post “5-HTTLPR: A POINTED REVIEW,” doing a close read of its argument, practicing actually going to the original source, downloading the source code and data, and running the analysis for themselves. Others might like breaking down math-heavy economics posts and making sure they understand the nuts and bolts of the tools being employed.

Next Steps:

After reviewing people’s intro paragraphs, I think we should decide on a piece of technology that can facilitate all our group chat needs. Perhaps Slack.

Then we should all take the time to introduce ourselves to each other, and determine what sorts of focused groups to divide ourselves into.

From there, we can continue to brainstorm ideas for what sorts of projects, meetings, and goals we’re interested in.