When Google's chief economist Hal Varian said, “The sexy job in the next 10 years will be statisticians,” little did we understand the depth of that prediction. We are in the midst of a data revolution. Massive quantities of data are generated and garnered every day that need to be unraveled, analyzed and mined for usage. The demand for applied statisticians, experts who can uncover the hidden information from complex data sets and correctly convey them to the decision makers, is increasing. As the digital enterprise increasingly amasses data, companies are desperately looking for data scientists and statisticians to make sense of the information they’ve compiled.
Understanding the Demand
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the demand for statisticians and related jobs will grow 33 percent by 2026. The figure implies that an additional 13,500 candidates, well versed in the science of data and applied statistics, will be needed to drive critical business decisions. Graduate programs that prepare students with these essential skills will be at the forefront of change.
Like many other industries in their nascent stages, data science is employing existing talent to perform futuristic tasks. In this case, computer scientists have stepped in to help. But we have a long way to go before the talent gap can be bridged. The availability, relatively low cost and ease of use have made it easy for non-statisticians to handle statistical software. But without a strong understanding of statistical concepts, it is hard to interpret the outputs generated from the software.
The Importance of Applied Statistics
Applied statisticians will play an important role in the interpretation of data. They use statistical concepts and the use of statistics to solve problems. They employ the statistical skills that they have learned and statistical thinking to learn about the client’s problem and how to meet the client’s requirements and interests. Communications is an integral part of an applied statistician’s role. Once the data is mined and analyzed, they create a concise summary of the analysis for business interpretations. Their report has to be less heavy on the technical details so that that stakeholders without statistical knowledge can understand and draw conclusions easily.
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How To Master the Art and Science of Applied Statistics?
As the amount of data at our disposal grows, our opportunities to exploit it will only multiply. Non-statistics graduates who want to enhance their knowledge in applied statistics will find help in the form of a master’s degree in applied statistics. Programmers, analysts, mathematicians and statisticians who utilize data every day will gain some valuable insights as well.
The torrent of data includes essential information like users' preferences and habits that an organization can use to predict future consumer behavior, find ways to improve its products and make a profit. Understandably, almost all methods that are used in data science, data mining, and big data analysis are related to statistics. Applied statisticians can help fill the data gaps in computation by offering constant analysis and feedback.
A focused curriculum that addresses these gaps and teaches students to take their data interpretations and apply them to business applications is the need of the hour. The various skills they need include statistics and data visualization, a good knowledge of programming and even machine learning.
What Can You Do With a Master’s Degree in Applied Statistics?
The versatile MS in applied statistics degree will prepare you for a wide range of opportunities across industries; there’s not a sector that big data doesn’t touch. A quick look at the top jobs you can get with an online masters degree in applied statistics.
- Statistician
- Environmental statistician
- Biostatistician
- Data scientist
- Data analyst
- Data engineer
- Business analyst
- Actuarial director
- Health research analyst
- Marketing research manager
- Machine learning researcher
Key Features of a Graduate Program that Make Students Industry Ready:
- Teaches students to do more than write smart machine learning algorithms to drive insight.
- Prepares them to work with business owners, developers, and technology experts to create analytical reports for easy interpretation, translate models into the creation and mature of scalable products.
- Provides students with a variety of skills to manage big data, to analyze and make inferences using existing and rapidly evolving statistical methodologies.
- Teaches students to combine their course proficiency in complex applied statistical modeling techniques and coding with imagination and storytelling skills. This will provide product owners the data to construct AI/data products and emotionally connect with millions of users.
Michigan Tech’s Master’s in Applied Statistics online program is designed to empower students with the data analytic skills that will make them more in demand with the growing data revolution. Students learn to distill information and articulate the findings to be easily understood by a broad audience, a skill that makes them highly employable upon graduation. The program aims to reach a wider audience including traditional and non-traditional professionals and students who are looking to expand career opportunities through building statistical expertise.
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Sources:
- https://hbr.org/2012/10/data-scientist-the-sexiest-job-of-the-21st-century
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4FQsYTbLoI
- https://www.bls.gov/ooh/math/mathematicians-and-statisticians.htm#tab-6
- https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/are-data-scientists-really-a-breed-apart/