Whether they’re revolutionizing baseball, winning big on Wall Street, or predicting healthcare trends, statisticians know how to turn data into useful information and tools. Statisticians design surveys and experiments to collect data and create models and algorithms that turn numbers into understandable concepts, identifiable trends and patterns, or conclusions. Startups looking to expand quickly, and well-established businesses alike need the help of statisticians to make decisions. Though they work in many fields, there are some common statistician specializations: Government statisticians monitor wages, the unemployment rate, and other important socioeconomic indicators. They analyze data and shed light on trends in the economy, the environment, pollution, and many other national and global arenas. Biostatisticians predominantly work in the healthcare industry. They may design drug studies or study how diseases spread. Clinical data managers collect data from medical research projects, analyze it for trends, and ensure that it’s kept secure and reported accurately. Corporate research and development also employs many statisticians. They may design experiments and analyze experimental data for product testing or to help inform marketing strategies for consumer goods. Most statisticians need at least a master’s degree in statistics, math, or a related field, although some entry-level jobs are available for those with a bachelor’s degree.
What they do:
Apply principles and methods of bioinformatics to assist scientists in areas such as pharmaceuticals, medical technology, biotechnology, computational biology, proteomics, computer information science, biology and medical informatics. Apply bioinformatics tools to visualize, analyze, manipulate or interpret molecular data. May build and maintain databases for processing and analyzing genomic or other biological information.
On the job, you would:
Analyze or manipulate bioinformatics data using software packages, statistical applications, or data mining techniques.
Extend existing software programs, web-based interactive tools, or database queries as sequence management and analysis needs evolve.
Maintain awareness of new and emerging computational methods and technologies.
Engineering and Technology
computers and electronics
Math and Science
arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, or statistics
biology
Arts and Humanities
English language
Basic Skills
reading work related information
figuring out how to use new ideas or things
Problem Solving
noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it
People and Technology Systems
thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one
figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it
Verbal
read and understand what is written
listen and understand what people say
Ideas and Logic
make general rules or come up with answers from lots of detailed information
use rules to solve problems
Math
choose the right type of math to solve a problem
add, subtract, multiply, or divide
Attention
pay attention to something without being distracted
People interested in this work like activities that include ideas, thinking, and figuring things out.
They do well at jobs that need:
Attention to Detail
Cooperation
Analytical Thinking
Achievement/Effort
Dependability
Initiative
You might use software like this on the job:
Analytical or scientific software
IBM SPSS Statistics
The MathWorks MATLAB
Presentation software
Microsoft PowerPoint
Object or component oriented development software
Perl
R
bachelor's degree or master's degree usually needed
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