What do statisticians do?

Some idea of the work they do has been described in the previous two sections Why should I be interested in becoming a statistician? and What is statistics?

To get a better idea of their very wide range of activities, please see the detailed information about various careers available on our website. A careers booklet is also available from us.

Areas in which statisticians work include:

• government
• medical and pharmaceutical research
• environmental science
• industry
• business and commerce
• finance and actuarial work
• the social sciences
• the life sciences.

It is not just the areas of work that make the job of a statistician interesting. It is also the nature of the work and the many other skills that are used. Usually you will be working as one of a team with your own particular expertise to contribute.

This requires real skills of:

• working with others
• communicating and explaining
• understanding new facts and ideas
• analysing data in a context
• solving problems
• reporting findings
• making recommendations.