Statisticians work in fields such as:
- business, economics and finance
- engineering
- agricultural, biological, environmental, medical, physical or social sciences.
In any of these fields, they may:
- employ their knowledge of statistical theory and methods to solve data-centric problems
- design and apply statistical methodology
- invoke mathematics and computer programming to conduct research within the discipline of statistics.
In general, statisticians work with others to:
- design surveys and experimental studies
- analyze observational studies
- determine concrete and efficient data-collection methods
- analyze, summarize, and carry out inferences from collected data
- use statistical software and write code to conduct data analysis
- write reports and present findings in the form of tables and graphs.
In business and industry, corporations employ statisticians to work in:
- market research
- human resource forecasting
- inventory control
- cost analysis
- process improvement.
For example, statisticians in business and industry may design, conduct and interpret customer satisfaction surveys.
In government, statisticians work in:
- program planning
- technological research
- policy analysis
- operational research
- agricultural research
- urban planning
- wildlife management
- energy and resource management
- labour and economic forecasting
- social research.
In research, statisticians work with other professionals to plan and conduct studies and experiments. For example, statisticians involved in medical research work with clinicians, such as physicians and nurses, to investigate the causes of disease, and assess new drugs and medical treatments.
Duties of statisticians are similar to those of data scientists. For more information, see the Data Scientist occupational profile.