Source: The American Statistical Association (ASA)

What Is Statistics?

Statistics is the scientific application of mathematical principles to the collection, analysis, and presentation of numerical data. Statisticians contribute to scientific inquiry by applying their mathematical and statistical knowledge to the design of surveys and experiments; the collection, processing, and analysis of data; and the interpretation of the results. Statisticians may apply their knowledge of statistical methods to a variety of subject areas, such as biology, economics, engineering, medicine, public health, psychology, marketing, education, and sports. Many economic, social, political, and military decisions cannot be made without statistical techniques, such as the design of experiments to gain Federal approval of a newly manufactured drug.

Careers in Statistics: Possibilities and Opportunities - PowerPoint presentation overviews the field of statistics and the opportunities available to statisticians.

Job Characteristics

• Use data to solve problems in a wide variety of fields
• Apply mathematical and statistical knowledge to social, economic, medical, political, and ecological problems
• Work individually and/or as part of an interdisciplinary team
• Travel to consult with other professionals or to attend conferences, seminars, and continuing education activities
• Advance the frontiers of statistics, mathematics, and probability through education and research

If you enjoy any of these,
a career in statistics may be right for you!

Statisticians provide crucial guidance in determining what information is reliable and which predictions can be trusted. They often help search for clues to the solution of a scientific mystery, and sometimes keep investigators from being misled by false impressions.

More information:
Bureau of Labor Statistics
Sloan Career Cornerstone Center

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What Do Statisticians Do?

Our Increasingly Quantitative World

The world is becoming quantitative. More and more professions, from the everyday to the exotic, depend on data and numerical reasoning.

Data are not just numbers, but numbers that carry information about a specific setting and need to be interpreted in that setting. With this growth in the use of data comes a growing demand for the services of statisticians, who are experts in

• Producing trustworthy data,
• Analyzing data to make their meaning clear, and
• Drawing practical conclusions from data.

Examples of Statistical Careers

Here are a few of the many settings in which statisticians contribute to our well-being.

Medicine

The search for improved medical treatments rests on careful experiments that compare promising new treatments with the current state of the art. Statisticians work with medical teams to design the experiments and to analyze the complex data they produce.

Environment

Studies of the environment require data on the abundance and location of plants and animals, on the spread of pollution form its sources, and on the possible effects of changes in human activities. The data are often incomplete or uncertain, but statisticians can help uncover their meaning.

Industry

The future of many industries and their employees depends on improvement in the quality of goods and services and in the efficiency with which they are produced and delivered. Improvement should be based on data rather than guesswork. Ever more companies are installing elaborate systems to collect and act on data in order to better serve their customers.

Government Surveys

How many people are unemployed this month? What do we export to China, and what do we import? Are rates of violent crime increasing or decreasing? Government wants data on issues like these to guide policy, and government statistical agencies provide them by surveys of households and businesses.

Market Research

Are consumer tastes in television programs changing? What are promising locations for a new retail outlet? Market researchers use both government data and their own surveys to answer questions like these. Statisticians design the elaborate surveys that gather data for both public and private use.

The Nature of Statistics

Statistics provides the reasoning and the methods for producing and understanding data. Statisticians are specialists, but statistics by its nature demands that they be generalists also.

Mathematics and Computers Are Involved ...

Statistics uses mathematics, but it is not abstract or isolated: statisticians work with people from other professional backgrounds to solve practical problems. Statistics uses modern computing to organize and analyze data, and statisticians command specialized tools, but the emphasis is on the data to be understood and the problem to be solved rather than on computing for its own sake.

... But Understanding the Data Is Crucial

Statisticians must know more than statistics. A statistician who works in medicine or in a manufacturing plant or in market research must learn enough medicine or engineering or marketing to understand the data in their setting. Statisticians need the ability to work with other people, to listen, and to communicate.

Are You a Future Statistician?

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What Industries Employ Statisticians?

Statistics provides the reasoning and the methods for producing and understanding data. Statisticians are specialists, but statistics by its nature demands that they be generalists. One advantage of working in statistics is that you can combine your interest with almost any other field in science, technology, and business.

Read how statistics is used in the following fields:

Health and Medicine

• Animal Health
• Biostatistics
• Clinical Trials
• Epidemiology
• Genetics
• Pharmacology
• Public Health

Business and Industry

• Agriculture 
• Chemistry
• Computer Science
• Economics
•  Engineering
• Finance
• Insurance
• Manufacturing
• Marketing
• Quality Improvement
• Reliability

Government

• Census
• Ecology
• Forestry
• Government Regulation
• Law
• National Defense
• Population Research
• Risk Assessment
• Surveys

Employment Prospects

The demand for statisticians is currently high and is growing. According to the Occupational Outlook Handbook, published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of non-academic jobs for statisticians is expected to increase through 2008. Furthermore, colleges and universities will be hiring more and more faculty members in statistical fields. Salaries and opportunities for advancement are competitive and reflect the current demand.

Salary Information

ASA publishes salary reports throughout the year in the Professional Needs section of the ASA web site

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The Statistics Program at University of Tennessee

The general perception of "statisticians" is most often associated with sporting events. The life of a professional statistician, however, is much more varied and interesting than computing the average rushing yards per play. Actually, statistics is the science of learning from data, and all processes generate data. Statisticians determine how to collect and manage this necessary information; they interrogate the data and present the results in a clear fashion so that wise decisions can be made.

Statistics is used in various areas of business, industry, science, and government. The fields of opportunity for statisticians are limitless—i.e., economics, finance, market research, e-commerce, engineering, manufacturing, transportation, education, medicine, psychology, agriculture, computer, and social sciences.

There are two basic types of statisticians: applied and theoretical. The focus of the undergraduate program at UT is on applied statistics. Applied statisticians help to improve processes and solve real-world problems. They may forecast economic or population growth, evaluate results of a new marketing program or the effectiveness of a new drug, identify quality control issues in manufacturing, or design experiments to help engineers and scientists determine the best design for a jet airplane.

Prospective statisticians must have a strong aptitude for mathematics, a solid computing background, and an earnest curiosity to explore the practical application of statistics. The skills you will learn as a statistics major at UT will enable you to understand and convey the scope and power of statistical thinking—resulting in significant contributions toward solutions to a variety of important problems. Well-paying jobs are available at the B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. levels.

See what the American Statistical Association has to say about the question: What Is Statistics? The Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook also contains valuable information about the statistics profession.

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