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Career Description

Develop or apply mathematical or statistical theory and methods to collect, organize, interpret, and summarize numerical data to provide usable information. May specialize in fields such as biostatistics, agricultural statistics, business statistics, or economic statistics. Includes mathematical and survey statisticians.

What Job Titles Statisticians Might Have

• Database Analyst
• Mathematical Statistician
• Statistical Analyst
• Statistician

What Statisticians Do

• Analyze and interpret statistical data to identify significant differences in relationships among sources of information.
• Evaluate the statistical methods and procedures used to obtain data to ensure validity, applicability, efficiency, and accuracy.
• Report results of statistical analyses, including information in the form of graphs, charts, and tables.
• Determine whether statistical methods are appropriate, based on user needs or research questions of interest.
• Prepare data for processing by organizing information, checking for inaccuracies, and adjusting and weighting the raw data.
• Develop and test experimental designs, sampling techniques, and analytical methods.
• Identify relationships and trends in data, as well as any factors that could affect the results of research.
• Present statistical and nonstatistical results, using charts, bullets, and graphs, in meetings or conferences to audiences such as clients, peers, and students.
• Design research projects that apply valid scientific techniques, and use information obtained from baselines or historical data to structure uncompromised and efficient analyses.
• Adapt statistical methods to solve specific problems in many fields, such as economics, biology, and engineering.
• Evaluate sources of information to determine any limitations, in terms of reliability or usability.
• Process large amounts of data for statistical modeling and graphic analysis, using computers.
• Develop software applications or programming for statistical modeling and graphic analysis.
• Report results of statistical analyses in peer-reviewed papers and technical manuals.
• Plan data collection methods for specific projects, and determine the types and sizes of sample groups to be used.
• Apply sampling techniques, or use complete enumeration bases to determine and define groups to be surveyed.
• Examine theories, such as those of probability and inference, to discover mathematical bases for new or improved methods of obtaining and evaluating numerical data.
• Supervise and provide instructions for workers collecting and tabulating data.
• Prepare and structure data warehouses for storing data.

What Statisticians Should Be Good At

• Mathematical Reasoning - The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
• Information Ordering - The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
• Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
• Category Flexibility - The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.

What Statisticians Should Be Interested In

• Investigative - Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.

What Statisticians Need to Learn

• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.