Of these people, approximately 30 percent worked for governments (federal, state, or local). Statisticians may benefit from a strong background in computer science. For example, studies of chemistry, biology, or health science can be helpful for testing products. A statistician is an individual who helps companies and businesses solve real-world problems through the use of statistics and data. What does a Biostatistician do? According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of 2014, 26,970 jobs were classified as statistician in the United States. They then present their conclusions about their findings to colleagues, employers, and other shareholders to inform business strategy. Speaking very broadly, a mathematician is concerned with studying the structure of abstract forms and patterns associated with quantity. Statisticians provide algorithmic muscle for the machine learning engineer and data scientist’s products. As of May 2016, the median pay for statisticians in the United States was $80,500. As for the professional part of my day: Sitting behind one or multiple screens, cleaning data. Nature of the work. Learn all about statisticians, including what they do, how to become one and what they can expect for a career outlook. Statisticians must obtain accurate data, process vast amounts of raw data, and analyze these complex data sets with specialized software. Making sense of data and extracting information that will drive effective decisions are constant challenges. Statisticians can be found at most levels and in most fields of government work. A government statistician must also be able to deal with the government’s particular brand of bureaucracy, a specialized skill in itself. What does a Statistician do? Companies, government agencies and other organizations are awash in large amounts of data. A major in applied mathematics is also useful for a statistician. Many different areas are useful for statisticians depending on their desired job outcome. Anytime statistics like “75% of people who smoke develop lung cancer," are heard, one can be sure that the hard work of a biostatistician was behind it. Mathematical Statistician Job Description. Math Required: Statisticians are valuable employees in many industries. Like most of the careers that are branches of statistics, they are likely to be engaged in extensive data analysis and interpretation, but their work tends to lean more to the mathematical rather than towards software or product development.