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Sorry that I'm assuming that the skill set needed for becoming a RA in STR and OT is the same... So, I've done some research, but my responses in terms of the knowledge of the program and programming languages are really really varied. stata: the standard tool used in STR/OT "in the past" R: quickly catching up and replacing stata SQL: mostly no need Excel: very useful Python: not strictly required, but would be very useful if there's no data available (someone told me that very often profs just happen to have a research idea and as ra I'd be expected to find out the relevant data) The thing is that I really don't have the time to learn all these skills...I have to make trade-offs...but I'm wondering, how? A phd student told me to learn stata and python, but another told me to learn r and python as stata is being used much less frequently and r is a much useful program to learn Completely overwhelmed... Besides, can I also know the level of econometrics knowledgeneeded to do ra? Would it be fine if I don't know about it at all? Or a beginner level understanding of it is required? Perhaps even an intermediate one? I was wondering if some of you would be so kind as to help me with these doubts... Thx!

Hello, everyone! My name is Topher, and I am a Psychology student currently studying for the GRE. I first discovered this forum because I was looking for people to look at my practice essays and give me feedback, although I am also very happy to help anyone else out with any verbal or quantitative reasoning questions with which help is needed. I look forward to studying with all of you! Best, —Topher

How bad are B's in undergraduate econometrics courses (There are two; I was on the cutoff for A and B). Would it compensate if I take a grad-level econometrics course and get an A there? Just for your reference, my math grades are: Calc I-III (A's), Intro to Matrix Algebra ©, Intro to Proof ©, Discrete Math (B), Advanced Matrix Algebra (A), Differential Equations (A), Operations Research (A), Linear Algebra (A), Real Analysis I and II (A's), Stochastic Methods (A), Partial Differential Equations (A) I'm from a top 20 private research university with math and econ double major, and I'm expecting to have around 3.7 GPA by the time I graduate (maybe 3.69 or 3.68 if low; my school is known to be a hard school with some grade deflation). Low grade to those C's and B's in econometrics courses (and some other irrelevant courses), but I've gotten better at math over time and got A's in advanced courses. For econ courses, I've gotten A's in Intermediate Micro and Macro and plan on taking grad-level courses if possible. I've been doing research for my macro professor for more than a year, and he's also been my supervisor for my own independent research study, which I'll be presenting at a conference in the future. I'll also be working with a well-known professor/author of a standard economics textbook, and plan on applying for an RA position (1-2 years) before applying to PhD. Any thoughts/advice in particular to grades, and overall? Let me know what other math/econ courses I should take, and what I should do to maximize my chance. Thanks.