"Statistics are the heart of democracy."— Simeon Strunsky, essayist and editorialist, NYT 1944
In the information age, as the volume of digital and electronic data increases exponentially, the field of statistics is enjoying its heyday. In honor of Mathematics and Statistics Awareness Month in April, it’s time to take a fresh look at statistics, which not only plays a pivotal role in modern society but is also a pretty great career choice!
Statistics is the field of learning from data. Statisticians use math to collect, analyze, organize, interpret, and present data to answer questions or solve problems.
Statistics is a window to the world. Once you learn how to look through that window, you’ll be a more critical thinker, able to question what you read or hear (including statistics!) rather than accept information at face value.
Cool Stat: There are far more trees on Earth (about 3 trillion) than there are stars in the Milky Way (about 100 billion). — WorldAtlas.com
People use statistics every day to improve society, have fun, satisfy curiosity and make money. But statistics isn’t just about crunching numbers. Like math, it’s a tool and a method for understanding the world. Every time you check the weather, read about business or elections, buy a retail product or take medicine, statistics played a role in making that information or product available and in determining its price. Want to fight for human or animal rights? You’ll need stat for that. Want to solve a global health crisis, cure cancer or save the environment? You’ll need stat for that, too.
We read or hear statistics all the time, often without realizing it. Source: Statusbrew.com
Most science, technology, business or government organizations use statistics (and statisticians) to solve problems and improve decision-making. Statistics-specific jobs are available in wide array of fields, from astrostatistics, which analyzes astronomical data, to statistical finance, which applies statistics to financial markets.
Most people who use statistics in their job aren’t necessarily called “statisticians.” Job titles include manager, engineer, professor, researcher, and analyst, among others. There are hundreds of cool statistics jobs, such as
(Source: Thisisstatistics.org)
Students interested in becoming full-time statisticians typically obtain a bachelor’s degree in mathematics, economics, computer science or another quantitative field. They often go on to earn a master’s degree in a quantitative field or in another area, but with a focus on statistics.
Why is statistician such as great career? The expected salary, work/life balance, room for career advancement and skills required for the job compare very favorably to other careers. (Mathematician was also highly ranked, at #3, #9, and #14, respectively.)
Because statistical analysis has become so central to making informed business, healthcare or policy decisions, jobs for statisticians are expected to grow much faster than average occupations: 31% from 2018 to 2028. That dramatic statistic comes from … wait for it … the (very important) U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Cool Stat: The U.S. leads the world in time spent watching television, with an average of more than 4.5 hours each day. — The Nielsen Company
We can’t talk about statistics without defining the two main statistical methods (or branches), both of which are important: descriptive and inferential.
Descriptive statistics describes data, for example, in a chart or graph. A baseball player’s batting percentage is a descriptive statistic. (Known as sabermetrics, the analysis of baseball statistics became widely known through the book and movie, “Moneyball.”) These descriptive statistics are certain, without room for doubt.
Inferential statistics uses data to infer — make generalized predictions — to a broader population. With inferential statistics, the results are uncertain, because you’re using a sample to understand a larger group.
Source: statisticsguruonline.com
For example, let’s say you ask a sample of 100 guests attending a theme park if they eat cotton candy. You could make a bar chart of “yes” or “no” answers (descriptive statistics) that would be true for those 100 people. Or, you could use your research (and inferential statistics) to estimate that around 60-65% of the population (all guests in all theme parks) eat cotton candy. Both types of statistics would be helpful to the theme park’s owners.
It’s easiest to remember that statistics answer questions that don’t have a single answer. For example, "How much do you weigh?" is not a statistical question. But "How much do the students in your school weigh?" is.
Statistics can find trends and, in presenting them to the public, change behavior. Source: www.plg-pllc.com
Whatever your or your child’s passion, statistics used in that area to identify trends and present information that makes a difference. Although many students (and their parents) are intimidated by statistics, a good teacher, book or website can illustrate not only the “how to,” but also the “why” of statistics. We hope you’ll click on some of the recommended links below to learn more about how statistics work, the many ways they’re being used, and enjoy some really fun facts!
Recommended websites:
Statistic Brain Research Institute
What's Going On In This Graph?, a weekly New York Times' feature
Some "Cool Careers" that incorporate statistics:
Archeologist, Anthropologist...Crime Fighter?
Yankee Lives His Dream, Thanks to Mathnasium
Numbers “Talk” for This Storyteller
Entrepreneur Needs Math to Bring Revolutionary Products to Life
Written by Joanne Helperin
Mathnasium meets your child where they are and helps them with the customized program they need, for any level of mathematics.
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