Statistician


A statistician is a person who works with theoretical or applied statistics. The profession exists in both the private and public sectors. It is common to combine statistical knowledge with expertise in other subjects, and statisticians may work as employees or as statistical consultants.

Nature of the work

According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of 2014, 26,970 jobs were classified as statistician in the United States. Of these people, approximately 30 percent worked for governments. As of May 2016, the median pay for statisticians in the United States was $80,500. Additionally, there is a substantial number of people who use statistics and data analysis in their work but have job titles other than statistician, such as actuaries, applied mathematicians, economists, data scientists, data analysts, financial analysts, psychometricians, sociologists, epidemiologists, and quantitative psychologists. Statisticians are included with the professions in various national and international occupational classifications. According to the BLS, "Overall employment is projected to grow 33% from 2016 to 2026, much faster than average for all occupations. Businesses will need these workers to analyze the increasing volume of digital and electronic data."
In the United States most employment in the field requires either a master's degree in statistics or a related field or a PhD. "Typical work includes collaborating with scientists, providing mathematical modeling, simulations, designing randomized experiments and randomized sampling plans, analyzing experimental or survey results, and forecasting future events."