Statistician job description

Statistician

For those with a gift for maths and a love for numbers, this is a chance to shape the future policies of government and business.

Alternative job titles for this role

Actuary
Research statistician
Biostatistician
Clinical statistician
Econometrician
Data analyst

Introduction

Statisticians use statistical methods to collect and analyse data and help solve real-world problems in government, business, engineering, the sciences, medicine and a whole range of other fields. Using statistical techniques, they make forecasts on population growth, economic conditions, or the outcome of elections. Statisticians often work in teams at various stages throughout the process, from collecting the data to analysis, identifying patterns and preparing strategies.

What the job involves

Plan ways to collect the information needed using sampling and probability knowledge
Adapt statistical methods to solve specific problems in many fields, such as economics, biology and engineering
Analyse and interpret statistical data to identify significant differences in relationships among sources of information
Identify trends in data, as well as any factors that could affect the results of research
Plan data collection methods for specific projects, and determine the types and sizes of sample groups to be used
Process large amounts of data for statistical modelling and graphic analysis, using computers
Report results of statistical analyses, including information in the form of graphs, charts, and tables
Supervise and provide guidance for workers collecting and tabulating data

How your career can develop

Wide scope to specialise in a variety of fields such as bio-statistics, agricultural statistics, business statistics, economic statistics, or other fields.