Statistician

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Work Tasks

• Make surveys and figure out what the results mean
• Predict how much the population will grow, how money matters will look in the future, and find out about other things based on numbers
• Do research for the government; make tests for products
• Look at legal and social problems and try to find patterns which can be changed
• Work for insurance companies, transportation services, research and testing services, computer and data processing companies, the government, colleges, research organizations, and membership groups
• Work with computers, calculators, reporting forms, survey questionnaires, and sample groups of people or things

Salary, Size & Growth

• $74,000 average per year ($35.50 per hour)
• A small occupation (22,800 workers in 2010)
• Expected to grow moderately (1.3% per year)

Education/Training

• Minimum for Entry: A master's degree in statistics
• Employers Prefer: A Ph.D. degree in statistics
• Skills/Courses: College courses include physics, computer science, linear algebra, design and analysis of experiments, applied multivariate analysis, mathematical statistics, differential and integral calculus, statistical methods, mathematical modeling, and probability theory.