John developed our statistical package, our sampling methodology, built our call center, oversaw our network, and pioneered in developing our online polling.

FORBES: John Bruce was a polling genius -- and a pioneer

Worse, the job may not require the skills accumulated in college, but supplemental skills developed while pursuing some hobby like graphic design, a foreign language or familiarity with a statistical package.

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Among the best answers to this question was provided by a former client, Deepak Advani, Vice President, Predictive Analytics and the head of the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) business, which is part of IBM, at a recent lunch.

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