Read the following CareerStint article, to know more about the job profile and salary range of a statistician.
Sports, mathematical and medical statisticians work for federal, state and local governments as well as for private-industry employers such as scientific research and development services, insurance carriers, pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing.
The minimum educational qualification required for most jobs is a master’s degree in statistics or mathematics. A strong background in computer science is also highly recommended. Statistician salary may vary according to the qualification, years of experience, employee credentials, employer’s capacity, type and size of the industry and negotiation skills, etc.
Statistician Salary Range
According to the Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2010-11 Edition, published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S.,
- Statistician average salary was: annual – $72,610 in May 2008.
- The middle 50 percent earned between $52,730 and $95,170.
- The lowest 10 percent earned less than $39,740
- The highest 10 percent earned more than $117,190.
- The average annual salary for statisticians in the Federal Government was $92,322 in March 2009
- The annual salary for mathematical statisticians in Federal government averaged $107,015 in March 2009.
Job Description
Statistician job description varies according to the type and size of the employer, location, etc. A senior and a junior statistician may work at different levels and perhaps their nature of work can be totally different.
A statistician applies the principles of mathematics to the collected data and after analyzing the data as per requirements, presents the data in the required form so that conclusions about the facts are possible. With the help of the statistical techniques, the person plans and designs surveys and experiments, collects, processes and analyzes the data and finally interprets the experiments and survey results.
Statisticians work in a variety of fields, such as biology, economics, engineering, medicine, public health, psychology, marketing, education, sports, etc. Many economic, social, political and military decisions are dependent on statistical results.
As statistician duties are concerned with data collection and analysis, the person has to decide where and how to gather the data, has to determine the type and size of the sample group and develop the survey questionnaire or reporting form. He is supposed to coordinate with the workers who collect and tabulate the data for him. Finally, he will have to analyze, interpret and summarize the data with the use of computer software. His duties thus include quality control, product development and improvement.
Every industry or every business has its own demands. A statistician working for a pharmaceutical company will formulate and judge the results of clinical trials, to determine the safety and effectiveness of new medications. And if he is working for an automobile industry, he is supposed to plan the experiments and analyze the results of the experiments in which engines are run until failure and breakdown, in order to determine the failure time of engines exposed to extreme weather conditions.
Sometimes, he may have to help the employer to decide what products should be manufactured, what should be the price of these products and to whom the products should be marketed. He may have to assist in assets and liabilities management, by analyzing the risks and returns of certain investments. Therefore, the salary of a statistician varies according to his/her duties.
A statistician job is considered as a prestigious job. Because statisticians are employed in so many different kinds of work, in government offices or in scientific, environmental and agricultural agencies or in national defense agencies, they often have different professional designations.
Statistician salary varies according to the designation. E-mail and teleconferencing has made it quite easier for statisticians to work with clients in different areas. Computer software helps analyze the data, so computer skills play an important role in this job.