Employers

There are approximately 39,090 statisticians employed in the United States. About 11 percent of these workers are employed by the federal government, such as the Departments of Commerce, Health and Human Services, and Agriculture, the Census Bureau, the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the National Agricultural Statistics Service, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Some work for state and local governments. Of the remaining statisticians, most work in private industry. Private-industry employers include insurance companies, research and testing services, management and public relations firms, computer and data processing firms, manufacturing companies, and the financial services sector. Statisticians also work in colleges and universities in teaching and research positions.

Jobs for statisticians can be found throughout the United States but are concentrated most heavily in large metropolitan areas such as New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C.

Starting Out

Most new graduates find positions through their college career services offices. For those students who are particularly interested in working for a government agency, jobs are listed with the Office of Personnel Management. Some government jobs may be obtained only after the successful passing of a civil service examination. College-level teaching is normally only open to candidates with doctorates. College teaching jobs are usually obtained by making a direct application to the dean of the school or college in which the statistics department is located.

Advancement may be seen more in terms of gradually increased pay rather than greater job responsibilities. After having acquired experience on the job and value to the employer, the statistician may be promoted to chief statistician, director of research, or, in teaching positions, full professor. Advancement can take many years, and it usually requires returning to graduate school or a special technical school to achieve a higher degree or more skills. Statisticians who advance most rapidly to positions of responsibility are usually those with advanced degrees.

Read Amstat News (https://magazine.amstat.org) to learn more about the field.

Visit https://www.amstat.org/ASA/Your-Career/home.asp for information about careers in statistics.

Visit the following Web sites for job listings:

• https://www.amstat.org/ASA/Your-Career/JobWeb.aspx
• https://awm-math.org/resources/careers
• https://www.siam.org/careers/resources