Data Science, Statistics,

Mathematics and Applied

mathematics, Operations
Research, and Astronomy
@ Unisa
A complete guide to preparing
yourself for career opportunities

Define tomorrow.
How will this brochure help me? 3

Data Science 3

What is data science? 3

What do data scientists do? 4

Training as a data scientist 4

Some aspects to consider related to training as a data scientist 7

Awareness of ethical aspects related to big data 7

Careers in data science 8

Learn more about data science 10

Statistics 11

What is statistics? 11

What fields employ statisticians? 12

Possible job titles 12

Getting started 12

Professional organisation 12

Mathematics and Applied Mathematics 13

What are mathematics and applied mathematics? 13

Emerging fields in Applied Mathematics 13

Possible job titles 14

Getting started 14

Professional organisations 14

Astronomy 15

What is astronomy? 15

What do I need to a career in astronomy? 16

What should I study? 16

Who employs astronomers? 17

Professional organisation 17

Operation research 18

What is operations research? 18

 What are the tasks of people in this occupation? 18

What are the employment opportunities? 18

What personal qualities are required? 19

How can one be trained for this occupation? 19

Professional organisation 19

Identify opportunities with career research 20

Further ways to do career research 21

1 Online search 21

2 Occupational information websites 22

3 Job-search portals 23

4 LinkedIn 23

5 Talk to others (informational interviewing) 25

6 Attend a careers fair event 27

7 Experience studying topics related to your field of interest 28

Qualifications offered by Unisa 29

Undergraduate qualifications 29

Honours degrees 31

Master’s and Doctorate 31

Short Learning Programmes (SLPs) 32

Counselling and career development services at Unisa 33

The information in this document was correct as on 27 February 2018. Visit the
Directorate: Counselling and Career Development website (http://bit.ly/2ux94B5) for
the latest version of this document.
How will this brochure
help me?
 It will provide you with some insight into what studying in the fields of data
science, statistics, mathematics, applied mathematics, astronomy, and
operations research involves.

 It will help you gain more information about the skills needed to explore
careers related to data science, statistics, mathematics, applied mathematics,
astronomy, and operations research.

 It will help you point out possible career fields related to data science,
statistics, mathematics, applied mathematics, astronomy, and operations
research.

 It will assist you in finding Unisa qualifications related to data science,

statistics, mathematics, applied mathematics, astronomy, and operations
research.

Data Science
What is data science?

Data Science is the competency to make sense of, and find useful patterns within
data to better support decision-making. The profession of data scientist is one that
requires expertise in multiple technical disciplines, including computer science,
analytics, mathematics, modelling, and statistics. It involves analysing massive data
sets for meaningful insights, and then communicating these insights to an
organisation's management team (University of Pretoria, http://bit.ly/293x4C7).
What do data scientists do?

Data scientists solve complex business problems through analysis of many sources
of big sets of data and then make recommendations regarding best approaches to
solve specific problems. Some questions that data scientists would try to answer
include “What are people saying on social media about Candidate X for the next
election?”, “How do our customers use their smart phones to interact with us?”, How
can we recommend relevant products to users on our website?”, “How can we
predict where crime will occur?”, and “How can we optimize routes for our trucks to
deliver products?”, and “How can we predict whether a premature baby will develop
an infection”. For more examples of the applications of data science, you can start
with this article: http://bit.ly/2926pYT.

A data scientist is someone who can do undirected research and tackle open-ended
problems and questions. Data scientists typically have advanced degrees in a
quantitative field, like computer science, physics, statistics, or applied mathematics,
and they have the knowledge to invent new algorithms to solve data problems
(http://bit.ly/296Odfp).

Data scientists add value to an organisation by “wrangling” the huge amounts of data
related to normal business operations. The data scientist can help organisations to
gain insights from all the data and identify further business opportunities, make
business processes more efficient, and attract and retain more customers. Data
scientists also contribute to solving problems in areas such as health care,
government services, agriculture, and sustainable development. For a more in-depth
analysis of the value of big data for different industries, read the McKinsey Big Data
report (http://bit.ly/292Q9Dd).

Training as a data scientist

Data scientists need to have three broad skills sets: mathematics expertise, hacking
skills, and business thinking. An inquisitive mind set enables the data scientist to
solve complex problems (http://bit.ly/298aPOx).

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Data scientists would normally work in multi-disciplinary teams. This means that you
would normally develop an area of expertise and then work in a team to solve
problems. There is no one qualification path that will enable you work as a data
scientist. For example, some data scientists have a statistics or mathematics
academic background, whereas others have combined statistics with computer
science and computer programming. Data scientists would often have training in
mathematics and statistics, modelling, and computer science and then learn specific
technology skills and programming languages to be able to complete data analysis
tasks.

There are different approaches to becoming a data scientist and it can be quite
confusing once you start reading and talking to people about what matters. The
following list of core skills areas is intended as a map to the various skills sets:

1. Fundamentals (including mathematics, data modelling)

2. Statistics (including probability theory, exploratory data analysis, hypothesis

testing and regression)

3. Programming (Computer programming languages such as Python, statistical

programmes such as R and commercial packages such as SPSS, and
Hadoop)

4. Machine Learning (knowing which techniques to apply using Python and R)

5. Text Mining / Natural Language Processing (text analysis, packages such as

WEKA)

6. Data Visualization (using statistical packages to visualise and present data)

7. Big Data (including Hadoop)

8. Data Ingestion (including data formats, data discovery, and data integration)

9. Data Munging (knowing how to clean data to be able to analyse)

10. Toolbox (the programmes and packages you should be familiar with)

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Within each of these areas, there are specific techniques you have to learn. The map
below provides a visual overview of these techniques (increase the viewing % on
your screen to see the details, or click on this link to open the map online:
http://bit.ly/294fFwL):

Source: Swami Chandrasekeran (http://nirvacana.com/thoughts/becoming-a-data-

scientist/)

Since data scientists solve complex problems, they also have to have strong
business skills – they need to be able to link problems with the data, and then
recommend specific approaches to solving these problems. Some refer to this as
“telling the story of the data”.

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Some aspects to consider related to training as a data scientist
1. You may not really need a degree in data science – you will need a good
foundation in core areas such as mathematics, computer science, statistics, and
applied mathematics.
2. Data science involves multiple disciplines – as you probably noticed from the
map on the previous page, data scientists need to be able to integrate a variety of
techniques from different subject areas.
3. Degree or no degree – don’t forget about the soft skills – as a data scientist, you
will need to be able to manage teams, consult with clients, and formulate and
present solutions to problems.

Awareness of ethical aspects related to big data

You will also need to be aware of the ethical aspects related to the growth of big
data. Some of these aspects include:

 Privacy breaches and embarrassments. An example of this is congratulating a

woman on being pregnant by utilising the data related to her shopping habits,
whereas she may not have told her family about this.
 Anonymization could become impossible. Rules are needed to ensure that
shared data can be kept anonymous.
 Unethical actions based on interpretations. An example of this is using
student learning data to categorise underperforming students, whereas there
is the possibility that the analytics used are not 100% accurate
 Discrimination. Data analytics may not be truly objective. For example, when
additional data about a job candidate is scraped from social media and used
to make the hiring decision, or a bank uses additional data to infer a person’
sexual orientation in order to approve a bank loan.
 Few (if any) legal protections exist for the involved individuals. There are
many data protection laws, such as the Protection of Personal Information
(POPI) Act in South Africa, but these do not necessarily protect privacy while
using big data analytics.

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Source and further reading:
http://privacyguidance.com/blog/10-big-data-analytics-privacy-problems/

Careers in data science

There may be many different job titles related to data science, but it would seem that
there are three broad categories: data scientists, data engineers, and data analysts.
The table below provides a comparison of these titles.

Data Analyst Data Scientist Data Engineer

What they Also referred to as a Sometimes A data engineer

do junior data scientist. interchangeably used supports the
with data analyst, but functions of the data
Data analysts
data scientists analyst and scientist
acquire, process, and
requires more by compiling and
summarise data;
sophisticated skills, installing database
manage data
specifically tackling systems, writing
scraping, packaging
open-ended complex queries,
data in narrative or
questions and scaling to multiple
visual form.
dealing with higher machines, and
volumes of data. putting disaster
Data scientists recovery systems into
essentially leverage place.
data to solve
business problems.
They interpret,
extrapolate from, and
prescribe from data
to deliver actionable
recommendations. A
data analyst
summarizes the past;

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 Data Analyst Data Scientist Data Engineer

a data scientist
strategises for the
future.

Skills Programming, Whereas a data Hadoop-based

needed statistics, machine analyst might look at technologies like
learning, data data from only a MapReduce, Hive,
munging, and data single source, a data and Pig; SQL based
visualisation; scientist explores technologies like
attention to detail: data from many PostgreSQL and
and ability to present different sources. MySQL; NoSQL
results Data scientists use technologies like
tools like Hadoop (the Cassandra and
most widely used MongoDB; and Data
framework for warehousing
distributed file system solutions
processing), they use
programming
languages like
Python and R, and
they apply the
practices of
advanced math and
statistics.

Typical Statistics, Data scientists Computer science,

Majors in Mathematics, typically have engineering
Studies Business advanced degrees in
Management, a quantitative field,
Computer Science like computer

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 Data Analyst Data Scientist Data Engineer

science, physics,
statistics, or applied
mathematics, and
they have the
knowledge to invent
new algorithms to
solve data problems.

Source: http://bit.ly/296Odfp

Learn more about data science

 Data Science Africa (http://www.datascienceafrica.org/). Data Science Africa

aims to create a hub in the network of data science researchers across Africa
by providing an index of researchers and practitioners in the field of Data
Science in Africa; lectures and notes; links and sources of information and
potential data sources; and an online presence for data science conferences
and workshops.
 Use Quora (www.quora.com) to search for topics related to data science (for
example, data science jobs and careers). You can also type in specific
questions such as “Which degree is best for data science?” or “Which
programming languages should I learn for data science?”
 Kaggle (https://www.kaggle.com/) to learn how to do data science.
 Big data made simple (http://bigdata-madesimple.com/) for articles related to
data science.
 Search for data science courses on open learning platforms such as
Coursera, eduX, Udemy, and FutureLearn, MIT OpenCourseWare, and
iTunesUniversity.

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Statistics
What is statistics?

Without realising it, you have probably made some statistical statements in your
everyday conversation or thinking. Statements such as “I sleep an average of eight
hours a night” and “You are more likely to pass the exam if you start preparing
earlier” are actually statistical in nature. Statistics is a discipline that is concerned
with the following:

 Designing experiments and other data collection

 Summarising information to aid understanding

 Drawing conclusions from data

 Estimating the present or predicting the future

Examples of problems where Statistics plays an important role can be found in

almost all spheres of science:

 The study of the occurrence and spread of disease, and of the effective
treatment of diseases, cannot be undertaken without a statistician's inputs.

 The development of new farming methods relies heavily on statistical

techniques.

 When designing and testing new machinery, engineers make extensive

use of statistical principles.

 In collecting information about the quality of life of a country's population,

the planning, implementation and processing of nationwide surveys rest
largely with the statistician.

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  Both long-term and short-term insurance are extremely dependent on the
correct use of statistics.

What fields employ statisticians?

One advantage of working in statistics is that you can combine your interest with
almost any of the following fields in science, technology or business: agriculture,
insurance, biology, law, chemistry, manufacturing, computer science, marketing,
economics, public health, education, sports, engineering, telecommunications,
epidemiology, finance and genetics.

Possible job titles

Business analyst, investigator, professor, environmental scientist, economist,

pharmaceutical engineer, software engineer, researcher, mathematician, data
analyst, risk analyst, project manager, quality analyst, manager

Getting started

Recruitment to the profession of statistician is usually at graduate level, so for most

people the first step towards the profession is to obtain a degree in Statistics or in a
joint subject such as Mathematics and Statistics that has a high statistical content.

Source: The South African Statistical Association: “You, Statistics, and your career”.
Retrieved from http://www.sastat.org.za/

Professional organisation

 Statistical Society of South Africa (http://www.sastat.org.za/)

 South African Council for Natural Scientific Professions
(http://www.sacnasp.org.za/new-submissions/fields-of-practice.html)

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Mathematics and Applied
Mathematics
What are mathematics and applied mathematics?

A mathematician creates, investigates and analyses mathematical structures in order

to solve and understand mathematical problems. The mathematician tries to find
solutions to problems within the medical, agricultural, engineering, industrial, genetic,
financial and ecological fields. The work of the mathematician can be divided into
two broad categories:

 Theoretical Mathematics demands abstract thinking for the development of

mathematical theories and methods.

 Applied Mathematics involves mathematical modelling, numerical analyses

and operational research. It forms a bridge between theory and practice
and concentrates on solving problems.

Emerging fields in Applied Mathematics

There are various exciting emerging fields in the application of mathematics to real-
world problems:

 Computational Biology: including bioinformatics, genomics, systems

biology, protein structure prediction and structural genomics, computational
biochemistry and biophysics.

 Data Mining: used in customer relationship management; sciences, such as

genomics, astrophysics, and chemical engineering; e-commerce; computer
security; financial data analysis; medical research and health management;
and forensics and fraud investigation.

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  Neuroscience: investigating the central and peripheral nervous system of
biological organisms. This field expanded by the application of mathematical
principles to investigate phenomena.

 Materials Science: making use of mathematical models and computational

tools to design and analyse materials. Materials scientists work in the
manufacturing industry, research institutions, the aerospace industry and the
engineering industry.

 Computer Animation and Digital Imaging: The field of computer animation

and digital imaging relies heavily on concepts from mathematics and applied
mathematics. People in this field usually work in teams that could include
mathematicians, graphic designers, computer scientists, physicists and
anatomists. This field has applications within entertainment (e.g. movies and
video games), as well as in medical diagnostics and fine arts (dancing,
sculpture and painting).

Possible job titles

Actuary, analyst, business intelligence developer, business planner, broker's

assistant, collections strategist, credit risk manager, data analyst, derivatives trader,
investment consultant, investment clerk, lecturer, marketing analyst, market research
analyst, process analyst, quantitative analyst, risk analyst, researcher and teacher

Getting started

A Bachelor’s degree with Mathematics and/or Applied Mathematics provides a

starting point for further studies in these fields.

Professional organisations

 South African Mathematical Society (http://www.sams.ac.za/)

 Association for Mathematics Education of South Africa
(http://www.amesa.org.za/)
 Southern Africa Mathematical Sciences Association (http://samsa-math.org/)

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Astronomy
What is astronomy?

Astronomers work to increase our understanding of how the Universe began, how it
has evolved and how it will evolve. They study how interstellar dust, gas clouds,
planets, stars, galaxies and clusters of galaxies came to exist and how they work. To
do this the only tools available are light, physics and mathematics. The dim 'light'
from distant objects (including all wavelengths from gamma rays to radio) is carefully
collected using satellites, earth-based optical instrumentation, gamma-rays, radio
telescopes, etc. and then analysed with the aid of computers, mathematical
modelling and the latest in theoretical physics. In some cases, the conditions needed
to test recent ideas in physics are not available on earth, and astronomical tests are
the only ones possible. Modern astronomy is essentially such a branch of physics
that the terms “astronomy” and “astrophysics” have become almost interchangeable.

Collecting astronomical data (at the telescope or satellite ground station) usually
occupies much less of the astronomer's time than analysing it in the office and/or at
the computer. The completed analysis will usually be sent to one of the scientific
journals that publish astronomical articles. What we understand of the universe today
is the composite of many thousands of research publications in print. The hours an
astronomer spends working to collect data will depend considerably on his/her field
of research. Theoretical astronomers typically work rather normal hours. Radio
astronomers may find themselves gathering data at any hour of the day or night, but
many of the telescope's functions may be pre- programmed so that the astronomer's
constant presence isn't essential. Optical and infrared astronomers will often work
from sunset to sunrise (no breaks for weekends either). As telescopes are often in
remote areas, considerable travel to obscure desert or Island Mountains may be
necessary.

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What do I need to a career in astronomy?

Astronomers must have a serious interest in physics and mathematics. Above-

average aptitude for these subjects is essential, as are computer skills. Research
projects often involve long-term, organised efforts, either alone or with a small
number of colleagues. Perseverance, individual initiative, patience and the ability to
handle disappointment are vital. Astronomers are normally expected to be able to
speak effectively about their research and to work with advanced students, teaching
the next generation of researchers. An ability to communicate effectively with the
public is a valuable asset for any astronomer.

What should I study?

Undergraduate

The Astronomical Observatory recommends that the undergraduate degree ideally

include far more physics than astronomy. Other subjects which should be included in
the first degree are Mathematics, Applied Mathematics, Computer Science, Statistics
and Electronics. Unisa offers a BSc General degree. Some practical experience of
astronomical research work is available to a limited number of university students for
about four weeks each January at the South African Astronomical Observatory.

Postgraduate

A fundamental prerequisite for almost all professional positions in astronomy is a

PhD, usually in Astronomy, Astrophysics or Physics (with Astronomy). Please
contact various universities to find out what specialisations they offer. The National
Astrophysics and Space Science Programme (NASSP) is a cooperative, combined
graduate programme launched by the South African astronomical community and a
number of South African universities. It currently offers Honours and Master's
programmes in Astronomy/ Astrophysics and Space Science. The Honours
programme extends over one year and the Master's programme covers up to two
years. Students are supervised by scientists from universities and the specialist
research organisations doing work in astronomy such as the South African

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Astronomical Observatory (SAAO) in Cape Town and the Hartebeesthoek Radio
Astronomy Observatory (HartRAO) in the west of Gauteng. Selected students are
offered bursaries to study astronomy at Honours and Master's levels. Refer to the
NASSP website for more information at http://www.star.ac.za Other postgraduate
bursaries are available from the National Research Foundation
(http://www.nrf.ac.za/), the South African Astronomical Observatory
(www.saao.ac.za), and through Universities offering training in astronomy.

Who employs astronomers?

Graduates in astronomy are equipped to conduct research at the cutting edge of

astrophysics and space science and have the broad science skills needed in any
modern technological society. They would usually find employment at astronomical
research facilities (e.g. HartRAO, SAAO) or universities. Opportunities in South
Africa are especially good with two multimillion-rand astronomy projects: the
Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) and the Karoo Array Telescope (KAT).
However, astronomers' abilities, especially their scientific approach to problem
solving, are also highly valued in almost all fields including aerospace, financial
services and telecommunications. Alternatives to a salaried post are rather limited.
Some astronomers have become free-lance astronomy or general science writers,
especially overseas, and a few have written successful science fiction.

Source: Astronomy as a career. Astronomical Society of Southern Africa. Retrieved

from: https://assa.saao.ac.za/astronomy-in-south-africa/astronomy-as-a-career/

Professional organisation

 Astronomical Society of South Africa (https://assa.saao.ac.za/)

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Operation research
What is operations research?

Operations Research (OR) is a systematic and rational approach to problem-solving

and decision-making in situations of complexity, uncertainty and conflict. In short,
quantitative (i.e. mathematical or numerical) models and techniques are used to find
the optimal (best) solutions to quantifiable problems. The multi-disciplinary,
computational and systems approach of OR is also known in the business world as
Quantitative Management (QM), Management Science (MS), Decision Science, or
Operations Management.

What are the tasks of people in this occupation?

Operations Researchers use quantitative techniques and models to find answers for
financial, economic and management problems. The aim is to develop alternatives
from which the best solution to the problem can be chosen.

In the widest sense, an operations researcher gives support with decision-making

problems in just about all fields. The type of problems an operations researcher
deals with, can vary from decision-making on a national or international level to the
day-to-day management of a small business or factory. On a national level,
operations researchers have been involved in the following activities: planning of the
1994 election; determining the optimal use of water resources assisting government
in planning educational, manpower and development policies; assessing
conservation and management policies for game parks. Other applications are in
mining, banking and other industries.

What are the employment opportunities?

You can work as an operations research specialist within a company. This usually
involves general operations research or operations research directed at the

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company’s specialisation area. Examples would be operations research divisions at
mining houses, large banks, production companies and even research institutions.
Operations researchers are also employed at research and training institutions.

What personal qualities are required?

You should have a mathematical aptitude and be interested in its practical

application. You should be able to think clearly and logically and approach a system
systematically. Creativity, resourcefulness and initiative are also important qualities.
If you have a critical and enquiring attitude and practical insight, then you will enjoy
this career. A wide general knowledge and interest in a wide variety of subjects
would be an advantage. You must be able to work on your own as well as within a
team. It is essential that an operations researcher can grasp a problem and explain
solutions in practical, everyday language as well as in mathematical ‘jargon’.

How can one be trained for this occupation?

The minimum requirement is a B-degree in a mathematical discipline and preferably

an honours-degree in Operations research or a related subject.

Professional organisation

 The Operations Research Society of South Africa

(http://www.orssa.org.za/wiki/)

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Identify opportunities with
career research
How do you identify opportunities?

Your career research will connect you to others who will help you to: answer
questions you have with relation to your career choice; expand your understanding
of the opportunities related to your career vision; identify “hidden” career paths that
you did not think of previously; and think about how you could plan to pursue specific
opportunities.

Prepare

Think about what you still need to find out: what questions do you have? You will use
these questions as a starting point to structure your research. Examples of questions
include: “What can I do with a major in...”, “How much do statisticians earn?” or
“What must I study to be ..?”

Keep track of information

Keep track of your research by making notes about what you learn and what you still
need to find out.

Evaluate

Evaluate the information that you are finding: Who wrote the information (person/
organisation)? Which country does the information relate to? When was the
information last updated? After you have visited a number of websites, you could
compare your notes about the information you found – what are the similarities and
differences? What else do you need to find out?

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Further ways to do career research

1 Online search
Use a search engine such as Google to search for information related to your
questions. For example, you need to find out about career opportunities related to
data science. You could start with using keywords such as “careers in data science”,
or “careers in operations research” and then to further contextualise your findings,
you could search keywords such as “careers in data science Africa” and “careers in
data science South Africa”. Scan the brief descriptions of the first ten results and
decide which website you would want to explore first. Skim read through the
information on the website (start with the headings) to get an understanding of the
content of the page and to find information related to your question. Also check
whether there are links to other websites that you could further explore. As you are
reading, make a summary of the information. You could use the information you find
to make lists of job titles related to your field of study, organisations that employ
individuals in these fields and professional organisations.

Remember to bookmark pages that you would want to return to and make notes
about what you find and what you would still like to find out about. Use online
services or apps such as Evernote (http://www.evernote.com), Diigo
(http://www.diigo.com) or Google Bookmarks (http://www.google.com/bookmarks/) to
keep track of your research online.

Activity

Use Google to find specific job titles related to your subject of interest as a major.
The following are some search terms you could consider: “job titles data science”;
“job titles statistics”; and “job titles data science graduates south africa”.

Job title Website

Example:

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 Job title Website

Data scientist Quintcareers.com

2 Occupational information websites

The following websites will help you to learn more about specific job titles:

Website Description

Unisa Counselling & Career This website provides more information about
Development opportunities related to qualifications at Unisa.
http://bit.ly/careerareas

Kheta (from SAQA) Search for information about specific job titles.
http://ncap.careerhelp.org.za/occupati
ons

Career Planet Learn more about career areas such as IT,

http://www.careerplanet.co.za/ tourism, engineering and more. The website
also contains information about learnerships
and student finance

O*Net Explore job titles related to different categories

http://www.onetonline.org/ such as your interests, skills, values, typical
work activities, and more. You could also
browse through groups of occupations related
to specific industries or economic sectors.

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 Prospects Explore different job titles related to job
http://www.prospects.ac.uk/ sectors, as well as what you could do with your
major subject.

3 Job-search portals
Another type of website that is useful in terms of researching specific job titles linked
to different industries is job search portals. Finding jobs advertisements that interest
you is a worthwhile activity, even if you are not currently applying for jobs. You may
not yet be eligible to apply for your dream job, but you can still gain a lot of
information that can be applied to your career planning. For example, you are
interested in data science, statistics, mathematics, astronomy or operations
research, but you are not sure which specific job titles are linked to this field; or you
want to know what kind of qualifications and skills are needed to be a statistical
analyst at a bank.

You can use this information to make career goals, and think strategically about how
you can develop experiences that will help you meet more of the selection criteria in
the future.

Job search sites include

 PNet (http://www.pnet.co.za)

 Careerjunction (http://www.careerjunction. co.za)

 Careers24 (http://www.careers24.com/)

 Indeed (http://www.indeed.co.za)

 Government positions (http://www.gov.za/aboutgovt/vacancies.htm)

4 LinkedIn
If you have not done so already, start building your network on LinkedIn
(http://www.linkedin.com) today!

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Register for a free account and start connecting with your network online. Join
groups relevant to your career field so that you could participate in discussions, ask
questions and provide answers about specific topics and search for people,
organisations and jobs in your field of interest. Do research about companies and
employees to help you identify opportunities. To learn more about using LinkedIn
effectively, go to http://bit.ly/HpXqi8.

1. Go to www.linkedin.com and sign in to your LinkedIn account. If you do not

have an account yet, then create one.

2. Make sure that you have captured your current or previous studies at Unisa
on your LinkedIn profile.

3. Once you are signed in, go to the University of South Africa page at
https://www.linkedin.com/school/12049/.

4. Click on the “See alumni” button.

5. You will now be presented with a page with Headings and graphs beneath the
headings (e.g. Where they live, Where they work, What they do).

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 6. Click on the “Next >” link to go to the next set of headings (What they studied,
What they are skilled at, and How you are connected).

7. Click on “+Add” next to the heading “What they studied”

8. Type in Data Science or Statistics or Mathematics, Astronomy, or Operations

research in the Search box.

9. Choose one of those options that you would want to explore.

10. You will notice that the graphs for the different headings adjust. You have now
filtered the information to contain information about Unisa graduates who work
in the field you searched for.

11. You can now see how many graduates in these fields are on LinkedIn, where
they work, what they do, what they’re skilled at, etc.

12. You are also able to view the profiles of alumni who meet the criteria you
searched for. For example, you can filter your search results to those alumni
who indicated that they studied statistics, and work at FNB.

5 Talk to others (informational interviewing)

Once you have done some research job/ industry that you are interested in.
about specific options, your next step The goal of these conversations is to
is to talk to individuals in the type of explore your career options, to expand

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your network, to build confidence, to lecturers, tutors and fellow students.
access information and to identify your Use online social networks such as
own strengths and areas of LinkedIn to further identify potential
development. For example, you read people. For more information on how
an article about how a bank is using to go about this and suggestions for
big data to predict customer behaviour questions that you might want to ask,
and you feel curious about how the visit http://bit.ly/info_interviews. Also,
researchers went about developing watch this video to learn more: The
this model. You could contact one of Dos and Don’ts of Informational
the authors of the article to ask if they Interviews: http://youtu.be/ixbhtm8l0sI.
would be willing to share how they
Remember to keep track of the
went about developing this model.
information you have gathered and
Before you interview someone, do
how you make sense of this. Also,
research about what you would want
track the questions you still have and
to discuss with them – you could ask
how you think you would be able to get
this person to “fill in the gaps” for you.
answers to these questions.
Start with people you already know:
friends, family, neighbours, colleagues,

Activity

Write a list of any people you know who might work in the fields you are interested
in. For instance, do any of your parents' friends work in any of the fields you are
considering? And write a list of those people who could give you information about
any careers you are considering.

You may have identified a lot more people than you thought! Imagine how much
information you can gather about the career you are interested in just by talking to
these people. Each person will give you fresh insights opinions and valuable
information about the careers you are considering, whether they are currently
working in that field or are only remotely related to or associated with it.

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6 Attend a careers fair event
Attending a careers fair event gives you the opportunity to speak to people from
different industries. You may be studying a qualification that does not seem to have
a direct link to the exhibitors or the presenters, but they have one thing in common:
they employ people, who work in organisations, who do business with all kinds of
suppliers and services. Somewhere in this value chain your qualification will find a
place to fit – either as a customer or as an employer or employee.

Preparation

 Think about what you will wear.

 Practice your handshake and introduction - how will you introduce yourself to
recruiters?

 Update your CV and prepare to answer questions about yourself, your career
and your studies.

 Do research about the participating organisations (start with the organisation’s

website).

 Prepare questions that you would want to ask recruiters - use your research
about an organisation to inform your questions (for example: What kind of
person are you seeking for this position? What particular skills do you value
most?). See http://bit.ly/126tLBw for more questions.

During

 Make an effort to speak to all the exhibitors and presenters and keep a note of
who they are and what their companies do – remember to introduce yourself.

 Speak clearly and confidently – it may be noisy, so remember to speak up if

necessary.

 Be ready to take notes: Carry a notebook and pen with you, or do it on your
cellphone/ tablet.

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  Network with other students at the Careers Fair (but not at the expense of
talking to employers!)

 Don’t ask about: Information you could have easily learned on the employer’s
website or salary and benefits.

After

 Make notes about the various people you spoke to and the information you
would want to follow up.

 Connect with company representatives that you met on-line (for example,
through LinkedIn)

 Reflect on your experience: How did you use this opportunity? Could you link
your skills and qualification to what was offered at the Fair?

 Update your career portfolio with what you learnt at the Careers Fair.

The annual Unisa Careers Fair usually takes place in July and August at various
venues. Go to http://www.unisa.ac.za/counselling for more information.

7 Experience studying topics related to your field of interest

Explore what data science, statistics, mathematics, and operations research are by
watching and listening to on-line lectures and reading free open textbooks on a
variety of topics related to data science, mathematics, applied mathematics,
astronomy, statistics, and operations research. These resources will enhance your
understanding of data science and the various opportunities related to this field.

Search for courses and open textbooks on these sites:

 Khan Academy (https://www.khanacademy.org/)

 Coursera.org (http://www.coursera.org/)

 Udemy (http://www.udemy.com/)

 Saylor Academy (http://www.saylor.org/books/)

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  Open Textbook Library (http://open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/)

 College Open Textbooks (http://www.collegeopentextbooks.org/textbook-

listings/textbooks-by-subject/)

 MITOpenCourseware (http://ocw.mit.edu/index.htm)

 Open Culture (http://www.openculture.com/freeonlinecourses)

 iTunes university (http://www.apple.com/education/itunes-u/)

 YouTube education (http://www.youtube.com/education?b=400)

 FreeVideoLectures (http://freevideolectures.com/)

Qualifications offered by
Unisa
Undergraduate qualifications

 Bachelor of Science Applied Mathematics and Computer Science Stream

(98801 - AMC)

 Bachelor of Science Applied Mathematics and Physics Stream (98801 - AMP)

 Bachelor of Science Applied Mathematics and Statistics Stream (98801 -

AMS)

 Bachelor of Science Chemistry and Applied Mathematics Stream (98801 -

CAM)

 Bachelor of Science Chemistry and Statistics Stream (98801 - CAS)

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 Bachelor of Science General (98801 - GEN)

 Bachelor of Science Mathematics and Applied Mathematics Stream (98801 -

MAM)

 Bachelor of Science Mathematics and Chemistry Stream (98801 - MAC)

 Bachelor of Science Mathematics and Computer Science Stream (98801 -

MCS)

 Bachelor of Science Mathematics and Information Systems Stream (98801 -

MIS)

 Bachelor of Science Mathematics and Physics Stream (98801 - MAP)

 Bachelor of Science Mathematics and Statistics Stream (98801 - MAS)

 Bachelor of Science Statistics and Physics Stream (98801 - STP)

 Bachelor of Science Mathematics and Computer Science Stream (98801 -

MCS)

 Bachelor of Science Mathematics and Information Systems Stream (98801 -

MIS)

 Bachelor of Science in Computing (98906)

 Bachelor of Science in Informatics (98907)

 Bachelor of Science General (98801 - GEN)

 Bachelor of Commerce (Generic) (Generic) (98314 - GEN)

 Bachelor of Business Administration Business Administration (98316 - BBA)

 Bachelor of Commerce in Quantitative Management Quantitative

Management (98311 - QMA)

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Note on studying astronomy:

Astronomy is no longer offered as a major subject at Unisa. If you are interested in

studying Astronomy, you could consider the following:

 General BSc and include Astronomy modules in your curriculum, together

with appropriate Mathematics/Applied Mathematics and Physics modules.

 BSc specialising in Mathematics and Physics, or Applied Mathematics and

Physics and complete the Astronomy modules for non-degree purposes.

Honours degrees

 Bachelor of Commerce Honours in Financial Modelling (98350)

 Bachelor of Science Honours in Applied Mathematics (98921)

 Bachelor of Science Honours in Mathematics (98923)

 Bachelor of Science Honours in Mathematics Education (98913)

 Bachelor of Science Honours in Statistics (98922)

 Bachelor of Science Honours in Statistics Education (98916)

 Bachelor of Science Honours in Operations Research (90078)

 Postgraduate Diploma in Operations Research (98236)

 Bachelor of Science Honours in Astronomy (98920)

Master’s and Doctorate

Unisa offers a number of Masters and Doctoral degrees in these fields – please see:
http://www.unisa.ac.za/qualificationsMD/Navigation/Alph_4_99.html. The research
focus areas for the various academic fields of study can be found in this document:
http://www.unisa.ac.za/contents/colleges/col_science_eng_tech/docs/focus-
areas/Unisa-focus-areas-CSET.pdf.

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Short Learning Programmes (SLPs)

Unisa offers a number of SLPs that people could look at completing. It is important to
remember that a SLP is not a formal qualification and will not allow you to qualify for
a formal qualification. For more information visit: http://brochure.unisa.ac.za/slp/

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Counselling and career
development services at
Unisa
The Unisa Directorate for Counselling and Career Development offers career-,
academic- and personal counselling services to Unisa students and the broader
community. You can talk to a counsellor about:

 Career decisions. I am not sure which career path to follow; I don't know
which qualification would be best; I want to change my career direction…
 Career information. How can I find out more about a career in …
 Employability. How do I market myself to employers? How can I look for
work? How can I compile an effective CV? How do I go about networking with
others? How do I put together my career portfolio? How can I meet potential
employers? How can I improve my interview skills?)
 My studies at Unisa. How can I get started with my studies? How do I plan
my studies? How can I study more effectively? I don 't feel motivated to
continue with my studies… I feel worried about preparing for/ writing the
exams. I failed my exams – what now? I need to improve my reading/ writing/
numeracy skills
 Personal issues. How can I have better relationships with others? How can I
cope more effectively with issues that impact on my studies?

Visit our website at http://www.unisa.ac.za/counselling to access many self-help

resources, or talk to a counsellor by e-mail to [email protected].

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