Statisticians practice the science of using data to make decisions. They decide what data they need and how to collect it, design experiments, analyze and interpret data, and report conclusions. And unlike most professions, statistics can be applied to a vast number of fields or issues, like the environment, public safety, health care and sports. As the famous mathematician and statistician John Tukey once told a colleague, "The best thing about being a statistician is that you get to play in everyone’s backyard."

Devan Mehrotra, executive director of the biostatistics department at Merck Research Laboratories, says, "I absolutely fell in love with statistics. Any real-world problem almost always is going to require some data to be analyzed and interpreted, generating value-added solutions by using statistics."

Going forward, Mehrotra sees statisticians working closely with collaborators from the biomedical, computer, environmental, genetics and social sciences as well as contributing to quantitative solutions involving human rights and counterterrorism. "Statistics is one of oldest professions in the world; it dates back to the 1700s. There’s a tremendous history ... and now more exciting opportunities. It has never been a better time to be a statistician," Mehrotra says.

While some may confuse statisticians with the growing data scientist profession, the fields have some key differences. Statistics is just one component of data science. Data scientists should have a basic working knowledge of statistics. However, data scientists tend to focus more on software programming and machine learning than statisticians do. Data scientists may serve as the lead software engineering coordinator at companies with smaller data science teams. Data scientists should possess the skills to log data, which is not necessarily expected of statisticians.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 31.6% employment growth for statisticians between 2022 and 2032. In that period, an estimated 10,500 jobs should open up.

To qualify for statistics-related jobs, statisticians should have at least a bachelor’s degree in statistics, though a master’s degree in statistics, mathematics or survey methodology might open more doors. However, to teach or conduct research, professionals may need to get their Ph.D.

"People need statisticians, folks with the right level of training, who ask the relevant questions, who know how much data should be collected and know how to employ statistical principles," Mehrotra says. "These days, even people with undergraduate degrees in statistics will have tremendous potential."