SAS estimates that students with a data mining certificate can make as much as $10,000-$15,000 in higher annual salaries compared to counterparts without the certificate. Data mining allows companies to use existing information and data they gather while doing business to better serve their customers and market the company’s products. The data may come from various sources such as the number of phone calls from customers who are asking a specific question to the tracking of sales histories and online transactions.
The data mining certificate program was founded at OSU by Dr. Goutam Chakraborty and SAS credits Chakraborty’s dedication and the uniqueness of the program for its success. Chakraborty, an associate professor of marketing in the Spears School of Business, has a background in both engineering and marketing. He developed the program to appeal to students from various disciplines and backgrounds from engineering to business administration.
“It’s been gratifying to see our students hired in data marketing and data mining positions as well as business/data analyst jobs by companies that had never hired from OSU before,” said Chakraborty.
He points to continued growth in the program that is bolstered by students from varied schools and divisions at OSU including Management Science and Information Systems, MBA, Industrial Engineering, Chemical Engineering, School of International Studies and the College of Human Environmental Sciences.
“I want to specifically thank Dr. Meg Kletke, director of the MSIS program, for her aggressive recruitment efforts which have been both a support and an encouragement. It is no accident that MSIS students are the largest core group to earn these certificates,” said Chakraborty.
The SAS online article features testimonials from two OSU graduates who attest to the value of the data mining certificate program. One is currently working for Globe Life and Accident Insurance Company and the other for Seton Identification Products. Both agree the certificate gave them an advantage from landing the job to performing the work. As OSU alum Anil Madappully with Seton puts it, “In this highly competitive world, the certificate makes a student’s resume stand out from others and opens opportunities otherwise not available.”
The students aren’t the only ones with an online testimonial, Chakraborty’s boss, Josh Wiener, who heads the Department of Marketing in the Spears School of Business at OSU, claims the program sets OSU apart from other schools. "The Data Mining Certificate program gives us a niche where we can compete with any school in the world." |
Undergraduate 
