How to Become a Statistician

About Statistician

A Statistician is someone who deals with gathering data that is relevant and necessary to their research. Statisticians have been playing a long and important role in the field of research and academia. Due to the proliferation of data generation, there has been witnessed a spike in the demand for statisticians in the business world. The professionals in the field apply statistical models and methods to real-world problems. They analyse, gather and interpret data to help business in making decisions. 

Statisticians can work in several companies such as business, health and medicine, government, physical sciences, and environmental sciences. They practise the data to make decisions, research, analysis and get conclusions. They apply the numbers to various fields or issues for public safety, health care, or the environment. 

If you’re looking to make a career dealing with data, and a decent salary, then Statistician is perfect for you. To get into a career as a Statistician, it is important to know how to become a Statistician, the career path, opportunities, roles, etc. Check out our guide on how to make a career as a Statistician. 

Highlights

Aspirants who want to make a career as a Statistician should know the overview and details on how to become a Statistician. Check the table mentioned below to know a quick overview of Statistician. 

Types of Job Roles

Career as a Statistician is quite a roller coaster ride as it offers various job roles to a candidate, Students can make a career as Consultant, Professor, or Data Analyst. Following are some job profiles that a Statistician can work on. 

Statistician: Statistician is a professional who works with statistical methods to solve real-world problems. They collect, analyze, and work with numerical data in order to help companies. 

Consultant: A Statistical Consultant works as a consultant for a company to provide statistical advice, analysis and training. The Statistical Consultant can work with various companies and sectors including business, medicine, environment and government.

Professor: As a Statistics Professor, the processor can teach at a college or university. They can teach Maths, Statics, Economics, or any other subject. 

Risk Analyst: Risk Analysts are the ones who support the technical side of an organization. They work to solve, calculate, and analyse the data that has been compiled and evaluated. They work on possible solutions and insights. 

Data Analyst: A Data Analyst process, inspect, and review data to identify key insights into a business. They work on the data and ways that can be used to solve the problems of an organisation and its customers. 

Business Analyst: A Business Analyst works between an organisation and a client who processes, interprets and documents business processes. They are also responsible to collect and analyse data on products, services and software. Their work is to increase business efficiency. 

Mathematician: A Mathematician is someone who works and uses their knowledge of mathematics for the work they do and solves mathematical problems. Mathematicians are responsible and work with numbers, data, structure, space, models, and change. 

Data Scientist: A Data Scient is someone who analyses and interprets complex digital data by using Statics. They work on scientific methods, processes, and algorithms to extract knowledge to assist a business in its decision-making. 

Biostatistician: Biostatisticians are the ones who collect and analyze data in the field of biology and public health. They use math and statistics to do groundbreaking research, from medicine to agriculture to solve public health problems. 

Eligibility to become Statistician

To get into this career, it is important for candidates to know ‘How to Become a Statistician?’. For that, they will be required to meet the following eligibility criteria.

Subject Combination: No specific requirements as such but, subjects like Mathematics, Statistics, Economics, etc help in the career. 

Minimum Age Required: 20 Years

Educational Qualification: 

• There are no specific educational requirements to become a Statistician but, there are certain degree programmes that help in making big in this career. 

• Candidates should either have a bachelor’s degree or master’s degree which provide a good foundation in mathematics/ statistics/ computer science/ economics/ econometrics/ material science.

• The degree/s must have been issued by a recognised university.

Soft Key Skills:

• Technical skills

• Leadership skills

• Analytical skills

• Communication skills

• Problem-solving skills

• Speaking skills

• Critical thinking skills

• Writing skills

Technical Skills:

Technical skills that a statistician must possess are:

• Expertise in theoretical and applied statistics, summary statistics and hypothesis testing

• Machine learning

• Mathematics which should include linear algebra, calculus and probability

• Proficiency in languages like R, SAS, C, C++, Python, Perl, Java

• Databases such as cloud computing and NoSQL

• Data mining, visualisation and cleaning

• Expertise in technical programmes

• Hadoop-based analytics like Pig, Hive, big data, etc.

How to Become a Statistician?

• To become a statistician, candidates must have a relevant degree. 

• It could be a bachelor’s degree or master’s degree. 

• Many firms or organisations usually hire people with experience in the filed. 

• So, it is helpful for candidates to first gain work experience and learn the workings of the field. 

How to Become a Statistician in India?

Students can make a career as a Statistician in India after 12th, graduation, and post-graduation. Students must have the interest and skills to learn and analyse data. Here are the details of how to make a career as a Statistician in India. 

How to Become a Statistician After 12th Class

Aspirants who want to make a career as a Statistician can choose to pursue graduation courses after the 12th class. Students must have Maths, Economics, and Statistics as compulsory subjects in the 12th class. Students must have passed the 12th class with a minimum of 50% marks from a recognized board. 

Top Entrance Exams to Become a Statistician After 12th Class

There is no particular or specific entrance exam for students to become a statistician, However, after the 12th class, students can choose to attempt entrance exams conducted for graduate degrees at top colleges. Here is the list of top entrance exams graduation courses. 

• Department of Statistics and Operations Research Entrance Exam at Aligarh Muslim University
• Indian Statistical Institute Entrance Exam 
• Delhi University Entrance Exam 
• University of Pune Entrance Exam

Graduation Courses to Become a Statistician After 12th Class

The list below shows the graduation courses to become a Statistician after 12th class. 

How to Become a Statistician After Gradution 

Students who are graduates and looking to make a career in a career as a Statistician can pursue post-graduation courses. However, students will require to complete the graduation and 12th classes with a minimum of 50% marks and Maths and Statics as compulsory subjects. 

Top Entrance Exams to Become a Statistician After Gradution

After graduation, aspirants can opt for the entrance exams to study the Statistician post-graduation courses at the best college to become a Statistician in India. Here is the list of top entrance exams for Statistician courses after graduation. 

DUET: Delhi University Entrance Test

JNUEE: Jawaharlal Nehru University Entrance Examination 

BHU PET: Banaras Hindu University Postgraduate Entrance Test

Graduation Courses to Become a Statistician After Gradution

The list below shows the famous graduation courses to become a Statistician after the completion of a gradution degree.

Types of Job Roles Statistician

Roles & Responsibilities

The roles and responsibilities of a statistician depend on the industry they are working for. However, there are some basic roles and responsibilities for every statistician in every industry. Whether they are working in a private firm or the government sector, understand changes in consumer behaviour and market trends in their basic role. Here are some of the required roles and responsibilities:

• Collecting and analysing data
• Interpreting data and conclusions 
• Identifying trends 
• Designing data collection tools
• Shaping organisational strategy 
• Making business strategy
• Helping in Decision Making
• Finding inter-relations in data

Employment Sector/Industry for Statistician

A statistician can get employment opportunities in many fields. Some of the employment areas are mentioned below. 

• Education

• Sports

• Research and Development

• Psychology

• Data Analysis

• Private Companies

• Healthcare

• Government Sectors

• Financial Firms

Duties and Work Description of a Statistician

As a statistician, a professional gets involved in various roles which are defined below. 

• Choosing correct methods to procure data 

• Designing new data collection tools

• Determining problems related to data that need to be solved

• Carrying out procedures to collect data 

• Training others in collecting data using appropriate processes

• Analysing data to monitor its quality and finding new ways to improve the collection of data

• Analysing future projects

• Identifying trends in the data with the help of the combination of business understanding and technical skills 

• Reporting conclusions through data visualisation to the shareholders, which often includes non-technical audiences

Pay Scale/Salary of Statistician

• A statistician can earn anywhere between INR 2.3 LPA to INR 20 LPA in India. 

• The salary differs for people with different experiences and working in different locations. 

• A highly experienced statistician in the USA can earn up to INR 75 LPA.

Candidates can check out the different salary package at different cities in India.

Source: Payscale

Books & Study Material to Become Statistician

Here are the top 10 must-read books for statistics that will help aspiring statisticians. 

Pros of becoming a Statistician

• High salary

• Technical advancement, at times, comes handy to increase efficiency at work and ease it out

• Different areas of focus, hence more scope

Cons of becoming a Statistician

• Long working hours

• Some projects may require staying away from home

• High usage of computer screens may lead to eye or wrist strain

• Positions including independent research require a PhD