The Starting Salaries of Statisticians
The average starting salary for newly graduated statisticians was $47,807 in 2009 according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Adjusted for a 2.7 percent increase in the cost of living, that amount would be $49,047 in 2011. The BLS statistician starting salary data can also be corroborated using statistician income data compiled by the National Association of Colleges and Employers. Several factors that influence the starting salary of statisticians also affect the likelihood of a statistician being above or below the average starting salary.
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Industry
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The type of industry statistical services are used in can have considerable impact on the starting salary. Sports, finance, biomedical, educational, and mathematical statisticians have industry specific pay-scales. For example, a medical statistician performing statistical analysis using data from test research will have pay linked to the the biomedical sponsor's budget. Alternatively, a government statistician will be financed with government revenue such as tax dollars.
Qualifications
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Experienced statisticians and those with graduate degrees in statistics are often able to acquire a premium starting salary over statisticians with less experience or know-how. For example, research data from the American Statistical Association states the median salary for biomedical statisticians who had recently graduated with master's degrees in statistics had salaries $16,000 lower than those with between 11 and 15 years of experience since graduation. Both groups however, are stated to have median salaries higher than the national average.
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Location
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Where statistician jobs are situated also influence the amount of the statistician's starting salary. This is because regional economies differ within the national economy. For example, Salary Expert, a company that aggregates salary data, lists Sports Statisticians jobs paying approximately $20,000 higher in Chicago than in Houston. This is also substantiated by comparing the average incomes of the Houston and Chicago areas, which are $10,000 apart per data from Fannie Mae and despite similar cost of living in both cities.
Forecast
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The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a continual demand for statisticians in the future, and expects a 13 percent increase in the number of employed statisticians between 2008 and 2018. It attributes this demand in part to increases in the capacity of technology that allows various industries more potential to make business decisions using statistical information. The Department of Labor also forecasts the total number of statisticians to rise as a percent of total workforce.
Measurement
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The measurement of statisticians' starting salary is also relevant to the statistical accuracy of starting salary figures. Quantitative data on statistical starting salaries is sometimes descriptive rather than accurate. This can make the statistical validity or accuracy of the result a factor. To illustrate, part-time, contract and sub-contract statisticians are not always included in salary survey data, which can skew starting salary statistics.
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References
Resources
- Government Accountability Office: Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections
- University of Minnesota:NACE Salary Statistics
- Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupation Employment and Wages, Statisticians
- U.S. Inflation Calculator: Inflation Calculator
- CareerPlanner.com: Job Outlook for Statisticians
