6 great careers where you can use your statistics degree

There are many degrees that teach you various transferrable skills. When you develop transferrable skills, you can then seek employment in a wide variety of fields. One of these useful degrees is statistics (perhaps more identifiable at UTS as Statistics and Data Science).

Here are six great careers where you can use your statistics degree.

1. Data Scientist

One of the top careers statistics majors tend to be drawn toward is that of a data scientist. A data scientist is able to apply statistics primarily in practical and educational ways.

Common tasks and applications of statistics in this role include pattern and trend identification, model development, establishing variables, creating data sets, analysing insights and data integration. Data scientists are also often called upon to explain their findings and methodology.

2. Machine Learning Engineer

As machine learning and artificial intelligence technologies gain traction and popularity, careers and roles such as machine learning engineer are increasingly available. This career tends to require a mixture of statistical and software engineering knowledge.

The statistics aspect is particularly important, because you need to be able to program algorithms and software that can learn on its own and adapt over time. Doing so requires knowledge of predictive analytics, computational statistics, exploratory data analysis, mathematical optimisation and data mining.

3. Market Researcher

Any career involving research is likely to be an excellent fit for a statistician. Of particular note is a career in market research. Roles involving research typically involve the collection and analysis of data, as well as the ability to synthesise that information into something easily understood and digested by your clients.

As a market researcher, you’ll likely be working on assisting your client or customer in making informed, sound decisions. These decisions may involve marketing campaigns, economic decisions and scalability.

One of the best things about being a market researcher is how flexible the work can be. You may choose to focus on quantitative research, where you’ll work more directly with statistics, or on qualitative research, where you can work more directly with people and subjective opinions.

4. Software Engineer

Statistics and probability are some of the most important aspects of computing and programming. If you have adequate knowledge of the theoretical and practical applications of statistics, you may be interested in a career as a software engineer.

You need to be able to work in tandem with programmers and IT professionals to gather and analyse data, as well as to develop upgrade strategies and application maps and models.

5. Financial Trader

Being a financial trader can be an incredibly rewarding career for someone who enjoys liaising with clients or other traders, making various trades and developing market predictions. You may associate this type of career with high levels of risk, as much of it involves the purchasing and selling of various assets for your client or investor, including shares and bonds. However, there are actually two types of financial traders: sales traders and flow traders.

Sales traders rarely need to take risks, as their work mainly involves acting on instructions they receive from their clients. Flow traders, on the other hand, tend to work with products such as commodities, options and futures, which can have higher levels of risk and reward.

6. Business Analyst

A business analyst or management consultant is able to apply statistics in real world settings. This career is useful for both those who wish to be self-employed and those who prefer working for an organisation.

In this role, you can use your statistics degree to collect, analyse and develop insights from data such as labour reports and financial statements. You can work on projects such as the identification of trends you should be using and the development of useful solutions for various business needs.

In this role, you’ll get to study all aspects of a business and work with people in various roles across the organisation.

The great thing about a degree in a discipline such as statistics is that it’s applicable across a huge number of fields. You can seek employment in nearly any industry with a statistics degree.

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