Jobs and careers in statistics?
Consider the following quote from http://www.statsci.org/careers.html (accessed 28 July 2003):
There is currently a very marked shortage of professional statisticians across a range of disciplines in Australia. The hottest areas are biostatistics/bioinformatics and financial modelling, but more traditional areas such as survey designs are also feeling the pinch. Advertisements for biostatisticians are going unfilled for a long time. The methodology division of the Bureau of Statistics reports that the output of honours graduates in statistics is no longer sufficient to fill its annual recruitment needs. The need for statisticians is more recognized than even before in Australia and there are far more employment opportunities than ever before. There are several jobs for every honours graduate that Australia is producing. It is very difficult to understand why the number of graduate statisticians being produced by Australian universities is decreasing rather than increasing.
The following links may prove useful in learning about job opportunities in statistics.
- Job Opportunities
- A number of job opportunities in Australia and New Zealand in statistics can be found here. This list is updated frequently (at least weekly, and often daily).
- www.math-jobs.com/ This page lists a number of jobs in mathematics and statistics from around the world, and includes a section on jobs in statistics.
- ASA Job Web is hosted by the American Statistical Society, and collect statistics jobs from around the world, with a particular focus on the United States of America.
- Graduate programs offer a way for graduates to enter many government departments, and receive some training on the job. These are very popular programs for graduates.
- Mathematics jobs listed by the Australian Mathematics Society.
- Employers of Statistics Graduates Many companies employ statistics graduates.
- Careers in Statistics Discover some of the careers where statistics can take you!
There are many opportunities for employment in the area of statistics (though not all jobs titles use the words "statistics" or "statistician"). The following disciplines employ statisticians:
- bioinformatics;
- biology (biostatistics or biometrics);
- climatology;
- computing or computer science (statistical computing is a highly sought-after skill);
- economics (econometrics);
- finance (financial statistics);
- psychology (psychometrics);
- physics (statistical physicists is a modern discipline in physics);
- the health industry (medical statistics).
Previous statistics graduates from USQ have obtained jobs at employers such as the Queensland Office of Gaming Regulation, Queensland Treasury and the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
As well as offering a major in statistics, USQ also has two other programs of study that draw heavily on statistics in combination with other disciplines: Climatology and Bioinformatics.
The Statistical Society of Australia has recently introduced an accreditation procedure so that the profession of statistics will be recognised Australia wide. It will also maintain a code of ethics and promote statistics as a viable profession.