Data Scientist

Career Overview

Mathematicians and statisticians analyze data and apply mathematical and statistical techniques to help solve real-world problems in business, engineering, healthcare, or other fields.

Education

In private industry, mathematicians typically need an advanced degree, either a master’s degree or a doctorate. For jobs with the federal government, candidates need at least a bachelor’s degree in mathematics or significant coursework in mathematics.

Future Outlook

Employment of statisticians is projected to grow 35 percent from 2019 to 2029, much faster than the average for all occupations. Growth is expected to result from more widespread use of statistical analysis to inform business, healthcare, and policy decisions.

Work Environment

Mathematicians and statisticians typically work in offices. They also may work on teams with engineers, scientists, and other professionals.

Recommended High School Courses

Computer Programming
Computer Science

Active Learning - Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Complex Problem Solving - Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Learning Strategies - Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
Mathematics - Using mathematics to solve problems.
Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Persuasion - Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Systems Analysis - Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
Systems Evaluation - Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
Time Management - Managing one's own time and the time of others.
Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

Category Flexibility - The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
Flexibility of Closure - The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
Fluency of Ideas - The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
Information Ordering - The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
Mathematical Reasoning - The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.
Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
Number Facility - The ability to add, subtract, multiply, or divide quickly and correctly.
Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Originality - The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

Advise others on analytical techniques.
Analyze business or financial data.
Analyze data to identify or resolve operational problems.
Analyze data to identify trends or relationships among variables.
Analyze data to inform operational decisions or activities.
Apply mathematical principles or statistical approaches to solve problems in scientific or applied fields.
Determine appropriate methods for data analysis.
Develop procedures to evaluate organizational activities.
Develop scientific or mathematical models.
Prepare analytical reports.
Prepare data for analysis.
Prepare graphics or other visual representations of information.
Present research results to others.
Select resources needed to accomplish tasks.
Update technical knowledge.
Write computer programming code.

Schools

Bentley University

Berea College

Bethel University

Bethel University (indian...

Biola University

Birmingham Southern Colle...

Bismarck State College

Bluefield State College-...

Bob Jones University

Boise State University

Bowdoin College

Bowling Green State Unive...

Bradley University

Brandeis University

Brescia University

Brigham Young University-...

Brooklyn College

Broward College

Brown University

Bryant University

Cal Poly Pomona

California Baptist Univer...

California Institute Of T...

Campellsville University

Canisius College

Capella University

Capitol Technology Univer...

Carlow University

Carnegie Mellon Universit...

Carroll College

Central Connecticut State...

Centre College

Chapman University

Charleston Southern Unive...

Claremont Mckenna College

Clarion University

Clarkson University

College Of Saint Elizabet...

College Of Saint Scholast...

Colorado State University...

Columbia University - Ny...

Creighton University

Dartmouth College

Davidson College

Denison University

Depaul University

Duke University

Florida Polytechnic Unive...

Frostburg State Universit...

George Mason University

Georgia Institute Of Tech...

Georgia State University

Golden Gate University

Goucher College

Hamline University

Harvard University

Harvey Mudd College

Herzing University- Akron...

Herzing University- Atlan...

Herzing University- Birmi...

Herzing University- Brook...

Herzing University- Kenos...

Herzing University- Madis...

Herzing University- Minne...

Herzing University- New O...

Herzing University- Onlin...

Howard University

Illinois State University

Indiana University-purdue...

Johns Hopkins University

Johnson And Wales Univers...

Juniata College

Kent State University

Lake Forest College

Lehigh University

Lewis University

Loyola University - Maryl...

Manhattan College

Maryland Institute Colleg...

Maryville University

Massachusetts Institute O...

Merrimack College

Miami Dade College- Wolfs...

Mount Holyoke College

New College Of Florida

New Mexico State Universi...

Northeastern University

Northwestern University-...

Notre Dame University Of...

Ohio Christian University

Ohio Northern University

Ohio Wesleyan University

Oklahoma Christian Univer...

Olivet Nazarene Universit...

Pace University- Nyc Camp...

Pennsylvania State Univer...

Pomona College

Pratt Institute

Regis University

Rice University

Rochester Institute Of Te...

Rose-hulman Institute Of...

Saint Joseph's University

Saint Mary's College - No...

Saint Mary's University O...

Saint Xavier University

San Jose State University

Seton Hall University

Siena College

Slippery Rock University...

Smith College

Southern Arkansas Univers...

Stanford University

Stetson University

Stonehill College

Suny At Albany

Suny At Old Westbury

Suny At Stony Brook

Suny Buffalo State Colleg...

Tennessee Tech University

The New School- Nyc Campu...

Thomas Edison State Unive...

Towson University

Tufts University

United States Military Ac...

University Of Arkansas- L...

University Of California-...

University Of Central Flo...

University Of Central Mis...

University Of Charleston

University Of Chicago

University Of Denver

University Of Detroit Mer...

University Of Houston- Do...

University Of Illinois At...

University Of La Verne

University Of Maryland- B...

University Of Maryland- S...

University Of Massachuset...

University Of Memphis

University Of Michigan- A...

University Of Michigan- D...

University Of Minnesota-...

University Of Montana

University Of New England

University Of North Carol...

University Of Northwester...

University Of Notre Dame

University Of Pennsylvani...

University Of Rochester

University Of Southern Ca...

University Of Southern In...

University Of St. Francis

University Of St. Thomas

University Of Texas- Aust...

University Of The Science...

University Of Vermont

University Of Virginia

University Of West Florid...

University Of Wisconsin-...

Utica College

Valparaiso University

Walsh University

Washington University- St...

Wesleyan College

Wichita State University

Willamette University

William Jewell College

Wittenberg University

Worcester Polytechnic Ins...

Yale University

Athabasca University

Bishop's University

Bow Valley College- Do...

British Columbia Insti...

Brock University

Canadian Institute Of...

Carleton University

Centennial College

Durham College- Oshawa...

Lambton College

Langara College

Mcgill University

Mcmaster University

Metro College Of Techn...

Nova Scotia Community...

Saint Mary's Universit...

Simon Fraser Universit...

St. Mary's University

Thompson Rivers Univer...

University Of Alberta

University Of British...

University Of Lethbrid...

University Of New Brun...

University Of Ottawa

University Of Quebec-...

University Of Victoria

University Of Winnipeg

Western University

York University- Glendon...

Potential Scholarships

Ache Police Officers And...

Alaska Space Grant Progra...

Aqha Region 1 Quarter Hor...

Aqha Arizona Quarter Hors...

5 Strong Scholarship

Agnes M. Lindsay Scholars...

Aqha Christopher Lawrence...

- Traditional Fulbright P...

Approx Salary Expectation

Currency:

Low End:

$52,690.00 /yr

Avg/Med:

$91,160.00 /yr

High End:

$146,770.00 /yr

Related Careers

Software Engineer

Database Administrator

Network and Systems Administrators

Database Administrator

References

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, https://www.bls.gov/ooh/.
Trend Analysis - Explorer the Market, Labour Market Information, Government of Canada https://www.jobbank.gc.ca/trend-analysis.
O*NET OnLine, National Center for O*NET Development, https://www.onetonline.org/.