Job Description of a Statistician
Accurate information is necessary in order for a variety of individuals and institutions to make informed decisions. Statisticians are responsible for collecting data from a variety of sources. This data is collected using mathematical principles that are used to create numerical representations of real life events and trends. Statistical data is collected through surveys and experiments, which use opinion polls and measuring devices to collect numerical data.
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Function
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Statistics are used in almost every area of specialty in order to determine policy and practices. For instance, a researcher who is studying the effectiveness of journaling vs. blogging in a classroom setting might collect data on the final grades of the students and compare the grades of the students in the classroom that wrote journals with the grades of the students that blogged. Almost every government agency hires statisticians, many larger private organizations have statisticians and many universities have faculty who are statisticians. Institutions that do not have staffed statisticians sometimes rely on independent polling organizations, such as the Gallup Poll.
Procedure
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Statisticians use a variety of methods of collecting data and only some methods are considered reliable. Polls need to be conducted by randomly selecting participants in a way that won't bias the participants. However, depending on the nature of the survey, the participants can all be part of one demographic. For instance, a survey examining the social interactivity of elderly men in retirement homes can include only elderly men in the survey, but from that demographic, the participants must be randomized. According to SurveyDesign.com, the questions that the participants are asked must be unbiased so that the phrasing of the question does not encourage the participants to answer a certain way. These surveys also need to be repeated several times to make sure that the results are consistent. If each survey produces completely different results, the results of the polls are not considered statistically significant.
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Education
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Statisticians usually need a master's degree in mathematics or statistics to work as a statistician, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. However, many organizations employ statisticians from a variety of backgrounds and provide them with whatever training they need. Statisticians need analytical skills to interpret the numbers from the data sampled.
Outlook
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In 2008, 22,600 statisticians held jobs, according to the BLS. Between 2008 and 2018, 13 percent more statisticians will be needed. These statistics become more important as businesses become increasingly more competitive and utilize more statistics to make decisions about how to serve customers.
Earnings
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The median earnings for statisticians in 2008 were $72,610, according to the BLS. The highest 10 percent of statisticians earned more than $117,190, while the lowest 10 percent earned less than $39,740. Statisticians working for the federal government earned more than the average, earning a median of $92,322.
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References
- Photo Credit woman reading business statistics image by forca from Fotolia.com
