What are my next steps in becoming a statistician?

To become a statistician, you should expect to stay in education after the age of 16. There are opportunities for doing statistics for people who leave school at 16, but they are limited. If you choose that route, you might think of studying for the professional qualifications of the Royal Statistical Society, starting with the Ordinary Certificate which is at a level between GCSE and A-level.

If you are staying on at school until you are 18 but not continuing in education to university, you can still find jobs using statistics in many fields. You could start as, say, a statistical assistant and work up through your organisation with on-the-job training. You should choose the A-level or equivalent courses that are appropriate for the career you want, and look for ways to emphasise the statistical elements in them. An AS or A-level in Statistics might help here as a supplement to your main career choice subjects. There is also a statistics strand in the Free Standing Mathematics Unit in England. You can find examples of careers which use statistics in the detailed information about various careers on our website and in the careers booklet available from us. Many large organisations such as National Statistics or local government can offer jobs as statistical assistants and give training so that progress can be made.

Most professional statisticians, however, are university graduates. This means that you need to choose appropriate courses for your A-levels or the equivalent in other systems. You will generally need to have a qualification in mathematics if you want to become a statistician at any sort of high level. A-level mathematics courses all include some options in statistics that you can take. You might also be able to take an AS or A-level in Statistics.

It is also possible to become a statistician through specialising in a numerate subject, such as economics, but you will still need to have good mathematical ability.

Help and information about university courses involving statistics is available in the prospective undergraduates section of our website.