Back to School

Hard to believe...but I am again a student.

Even harder to believe: I am a student at a university in Connecticut.

No, we haven't moved again. The course is being offered online, and most of the students are mid-career professionals; many already have post-graduate degrees.

I've been finding that data mining is becoming an increasingly important part of political campaigns, and I've very much enjoyed doing that sort of work in the last couple of election cycles. In the downtime between busy periods, I've made a point of buying and reading books about data mining, and exploring the capabilities of my software.

I've discovered, however, that there is a limit to how much a person can teach himself---even with a good textbook. There's really no substitute for taking a graduate-level course at a university. And that's what I've decided to do. Central Connecticut State University has established an excellent online program in data mining, and even offers a Masters degree in that field. I doubt I'll go that far in the program, but I'm definitely looking forward to expanding my toolbox and strengthening my understanding of the fundamentals of statistics. And that's the wonderful thing about these programs: you can do as much or as little as you like. The more motivated you are to put effort into it, the more you'll get out of it. This isn't about getting a ticket punched; it's about learning more about doing something you love.

Today was my first day of class. I think the kids are excited that they are no longer the only ones at our place who are being homeschooled.