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Example Career: Biostatisticians

Career Description

Develop and apply biostatistical theory and methods to the study of life sciences.

What Job Titles Biostatisticians Might Have

  • Associate Director of Biostatistics
  • Biostatistician
  • Biostatistics Director
  • Professor of Biostatistics

What Biostatisticians Do

  • Draw conclusions or make predictions based on data summaries or statistical analyses.
  • Design research studies in collaboration with physicians, life scientists, or other professionals.
  • Analyze clinical or survey data using statistical approaches such as longitudinal analysis, mixed effect modeling, logistic regression analyses, and model building techniques.
  • Provide biostatistical consultation to clients or colleagues.
  • Write research proposals or grant applications for submission to external bodies.
  • Prepare articles for publication or presentation at professional conferences.
  • Calculate sample size requirements for clinical studies.
  • Write detailed analysis plans and descriptions of analyses and findings for research protocols or reports.
  • Monitor clinical trials or experiments to ensure adherence to established procedures or to verify the quality of data collected.
  • Review clinical or other medical research protocols and recommend appropriate statistical analyses.
  • Prepare tables and graphs to present clinical data or results.
  • Develop or implement data analysis algorithms.
  • Prepare statistical data for inclusion in reports to data monitoring committees, federal regulatory agencies, managers, or clients.
  • Write program code to analyze data using statistical analysis software.
  • Read current literature, attend meetings or conferences, and talk with colleagues to keep abreast of methodological or conceptual developments in fields such as biostatistics, pharmacology, life sciences, and social sciences.
  • Assign work to biostatistical assistants or programmers.
  • Teach graduate or continuing education courses or seminars in biostatistics.
  • Plan or direct research studies related to life sciences.
  • Determine project plans, timelines, or technical objectives for statistical aspects of biological research studies.
  • Apply research or simulation results to extend biological theory or recommend new research projects.
  • Collect data through surveys or experimentation.
  • Design or maintain databases of biological data.
  • Develop or use mathematical models to track changes in biological phenomena such as the spread of infectious diseases.
  • Analyze archival data such as birth, death, and disease records.

What Biostatisticians Should Be Good At

  • Mathematical Reasoning - The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.
  • Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
  • Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
  • Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
  • 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.
  • 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).
  • Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
  • 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.
  • Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
  • Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
  • Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
  • Category Flexibility - The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.

What Biostatisticians Should Be Interested In

  • Investigative - Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.
  • Conventional - Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.

What Biostatisticians Need to Learn

  • Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
  • English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
  • Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Sun iconThis career has a bright outlook.
Diploma iconThis career requires a graduate degree.
Median Salary: $104,110
  • O*NET Code: 15-2041.01

This page includes information from by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the license.