How to Become a Statistician
A bachelor’s degree in statistics is sufficient for many entry-level jobs. However, most statisticians pursue further education and earn a master’s degree in statistics, mathematics, or survey methodology. Research and academic jobs generally require a Ph.D.
Pay
The median annual wage of statisticians was $72,830 in May 2010.
Job Outlook
Employment of statisticians is expected to increase by 14 percent from 2010 to 2020, as fast as the average for all occupations. Job prospects will be very good.
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What Statisticians Do
Statisticians must develop techniques to overcome problems in data collection and analysis.
Statisticians use mathematical techniques to analyze and interpret data and draw conclusions. Many economic, social, political, and military decisions rely on the work of statisticians.
Duties
Statisticians typically do the following:
Determine the questions or problems to be addressed
Decide what data are needed to answer the questions or problems
Determine methods for finding or collecting data
Design surveys or experiments or opinion polls to collect data
Collect data or train others to do so
Analyze and interpret data
Report conclusions from their analyses
Statisticians design surveys, experiments, and opinion polls to collect data. Some surveys, such as the U.S. census, include data from nearly everyone. For most surveys and opinion polls, however, statisticians use sampling to collect data from some people in a particular group. Statisticians determine the type and size of the sample to be surveyed or polled.
Statisticians develop survey questionnaires or reporting forms for collecting the data they need. They also often write instructions for workers who collect and tabulate the data. Surveys may be mailed, conducted over the phone, or collected online or through some other means. Statisticians analyze the data that are collected. In their analyses, statisticians calculate averages, reliability, and other specifics of the data. They also choose and conduct tests to find out the data’s reliability and validity.
Statisticians explain the limitations of the data to prevent inaccurate conclusions from being drawn, and they identify trends and relationships. Statisticians use computers with specialized statistical software to analyze data. Some statisticians help to create new statistical software packages to analyze data more accurately and efficiently.
Statisticians write reports to explain their findings and the data’s limitations. They may present their reports to other team members and to clients with tables, charts, and graphs. Statisticians also recommend how to improve the design of future surveys or experiments.
Statisticians work in many fields, such as education, marketing, psychology, and sports: any field that requires collection and analysis of large amounts of data. In particular, government, health, and manufacturing employ many statisticians:
Government. Nearly every agency in the federal government employs statisticians. Some government statisticians develop and analyze surveys that measure unemployment, wages, and other estimates of jobs and workers. Other statisticians help to figure out the average level of pesticides in drinking water, the number of endangered species living in a particular area, or the number of people who have a certain disease, for example. At national defense agencies, statisticians use computer programs to test the likely outcomes of different defense strategies.
Health. Statisticians known as biostatisticians or biometricians work in pharmaceutical companies, public health, and medicine. They design studies that test whether drugs successfully treat diseases or conditions. They also work for hospitals and public health agencies, where they help identify the sources of outbreaks of illnesses in humans and animals.
Manufacturing. Statisticians design experiments for product testing and development. For instance, they help to design experiments to see how car engines perform when exposed to extreme weather conditions. Statisticians also contribute to the design of marketing strategies and prices for final goods.
Work Environment
Statisticians, like many other professionals, do most of their work on a computer in an office setting.
Statisticians held about 25,100 jobs in 2010. About a third of statisticians work for government, mostly at the federal level. Most federal statisticians are employed at the Bureau of the Census, the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the National Agricultural Statistical Service, or the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Many statisticians hired by the federal government are known as mathematical statisticians. These workers develop advanced statistical models for several purposes, such as filling in gaps from nonresponses to surveys.
Many statisticians work for private businesses, such as pharmaceutical and insurance companies, and often work in teams with other professionals. For example, in pharmaceutical companies, statisticians may work with scientists to test drugs for government approval. In insurance companies, they may work with actuaries to calculate the risks of insuring different situations. Because statisticians in business provide advice on research projects or oversee the gathering of data, they travel occasionally for face-to-face meetings with team members.
The following tabulation includes selected industries which employed statisticians in 2010:
Federal government, excluding postal service 20%
Scientific research and development services 12
Colleges, universities, and professional schools; state, local, and private 9
State government, excluding education and hospitals 8
Insurance carriers 7
Work Schedules
Statisticians generally work full time. Overtime may be needed to meet deadlines.
How to Become a Statistician
A bachelor’s degree in statistics is sufficient for many entry-level jobs. However, most statisticians pursue further education and earn a master’s degree in statistics, mathematics, or survey methodology. Research and academic jobs generally require a Ph.D.
Education
Many colleges and universities offer undergraduate and graduate degree programs in statistics. A bachelor’s degree in statistics is not needed to enter a graduate program, although significant training in mathematics is essential. Required subjects for a bachelor’s degree in statistics include differential and integral calculus, statistical methods, mathematical modeling, and probability theory.
Because statisticians use and write computer programs for many calculations, a strong background in computer science is helpful. Training