What is Statistics?

Statistics is...SEXY
In an article in the New York Times, Hal Varian, chief economist at Google declared: "The sexy job in the next 10 years will be statisticians, and I'm not kidding."

But WAIT -- there's more!

Statistics is...

"The scientific application of mathematical principles to the collection, analysis, and presentation of numerical data. 

Statisticians apply their mathematical and statistical knowledge to the design of surveys and experiments; the collection, processing, and analysis of data; and the interpretation of experiments and survey results. 

Statisticians may apply their knowledge of statistical methods to a variety of subject areas, such as biology, economics, engineering, medicine, public health, psychology, marketing, education, and sports. Many economic, social, political, and military decisions cannot be made without statistical techniques...There will always be a demand for the skills statisticians provide." 

Educational Qualifications

Bachelor's Degree 
Entry-level statistician job in the Federal Government

Master's Degree
Minimum requirement 
for most jobs

Ph.D. 
Research and academic jobs 


Statistician Annual Salary Information

Average (as of March 2011) :

$95,695 (Federal Government statisticians)

$108,868 (Mathematical statisticians)

Median (as of May 2010) : $72,830 

Middle 50% : $52,730 to $95,170. 

Lowest 10% : Less than $39,090

Highest 10% : More than $119,100  
[Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics] 
More Salary Information
          with Additional Analyses

[Source: American Statistican Association Salary Information]

Hans Rosling is a Professor of Global Health at Karolinska Institute in Sweden, co-founder of the Swedish chapter of Médecins sans Frontièrs (Doctors without Borders) and co-founder of Gapminder. His work focuses on global development. Watch videos of his TED talks here. (HINT: Be sure to watch the ending of the second video!)
To learn more, go to: 
American Statistical Association's Career Center 
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics 

What's the difference between Statistics, Informatics, Mathematics, and Computer Science? 

Picture
Comic from xkcd (http://xkcd.com/435/)