This Skill Set covers the three most basic quantitative tools you will need for your career and personal life. Most positions require you to use these skills, and you may even be tested for them as a part of the hiring process.
Even if you are not a numbers person, you’ll see that anybody can achieve the skill level required. If you are a numbers person, heed this word of warning: getting 800 on your quantitative SAT, being a whiz at calculus and knowing how to calculate the most exotic statistics are not the same as using quantitative tools. You may consider the skills covered in this set trivial, but application of simple, quantifiable tools requires practice.
You probably already know how to use simple graphs and simple tables that show how numbers are related to each other. Many people are not used to thinking with or are not good at using graphs and charts to make a point about a problem or decision they face even though the mechanics are easy.
Whatever job you take will require you to analyze numbers and present them. Graphs and tables are important because you cannot just read lists of numbers to people. After the third number you give them, they’ll either be asleep or thinking of something else. They want to know the bottom line—now.