Alexander Reed

Background

About Alexander Reed

I have always enjoyed learning new tidbits of information and later figuring out how it fits with what I already know. In second grade, I learned about Death Valley—one of the hottest, driest places in the world. I likely learned that it receives 2.4 inches of rain per year. As an eight-year-old, I probably understood the exact amount of rain varies from year to year. However, it was about a decade later when I realized this was an “average,” a statistic based on multiple measurements throughout the year at a variety of locations with the instruments themselves having a margin of error. Recently I went camping in Death Valley and continued to add to my knowledge bank as I found from experience that the lack of moisture causes people’s skin to peel, even in winter. My passion for assimilating data into knowledge and seeing the explanations and predictions has continued, but now I have even more tools at my disposal. Because I like being able to see how different pieces of data interact, I naturally like explanatory models (eg. regression, random forest, and boosting) because of the story that can be created to accompany the model. However, at other times prediction is the most important thing so I recognize the wisdom in sacrificing the explanatory power of the model in favor of prediction power (eg. neural networks). I am seeking a position that utilizes the technical skills I have gained while also employing my ever-present curiosity to drive business forward. Competencies - cleaning data, analyzing and coding statistical techniques, communicating research findings in reports and presentations, and software: R, Python, Excel, Java, SQL