STATISTICS AS A PROFESSION N. Scott Urquhart Director, STARMAP Department of Statistics Colorado State University Fort Collins, CO 80523-1877 HS-AP STAT # 1 OUTLINE FOR TODAY Questions are WELCOME Start with “Truth in Advertising” What a statistician does Fields of endeavor which use statistics High school courses relevant to continuing in statistics Personal experience with agricultural, ecological and environmental scientists HS-AP STAT # 2 TRUTH IN ADVERTISING! My objective today: Interest you in considering statistics as a career Come to Colorado State University – good idea Ü Other good undergraduate programs exist Why? Real shortage of trained statisticians Ü Environmental statisticians in particular EPA funding to CSU – Statistics Ü Cooperative agreement CR-829095 Ü Although people at EPA have encouraged me to visits high schools, I do NOT speak for EPA. HS-AP STAT # 3 WHAT DOES A STATISTICIAN DO? Most practicing statisticians help investigators solve problems The problems ordinarily have some quantitative aspect Do statisticians mainly sit at a computer doing statistical analyses (tests)? NO !!!!! My substantial areas of activity: Ü Ü Ü Ü Ü Designing responses – how to measure things Designing studies – experiments and surveys Helping people relate analyses to objectives Interpreting analyses Planning and/or conducting analyses HS-AP STAT # 4 WHAT FIELDS USE STATISTICS? Simple answer = MOST! Manufacturing (Development, QA, & HR) From automobiles (Ford) To computer chips (Intel) To the petrochemical industry (Phillips) To aerospace (Boeing) To drug manufacture (Bristol-Myers Squibb) Medical Drug research Cancer research Health maintenance organizations (HMO) Evaluation of medical/surgical procedures HS-AP STAT # 5 WHAT FIELDS USE STATISTICS? (continued) Government Environmental agencies EPA to cities (Portland, OR) Health – CDC = (Centers for Disease control and Prevention) Security – FBI & CIA; Homeland Security Departments of transportation Agriculture Social sciences Census Bureau National Park Service Public utility commissions HS-AP STAT # 6 WHAT FIELDS USE STATISTICS? (continued - 2) Business Internet usage Banking Marketing – market analyses Publishing (current announcement from Freeman) Accounting/auditing Statistical consulting firms Academic Most disciplines use statistics in some way Ü Engineering to literature! Ü Psychology to crop science! HS-AP STAT # 7 HIGH SCHOOL COURSES RELEVANT TO CONTINUING IN STATISTICS English “Reading” & “Writing” Math “Arithmetic” As wide an exposure to “word problems” as possible Computer usage General science Learning is hard work! Most marketable skills require hard work to learn Easy courses of study lead to lots of competitors in the workplace HS-AP STAT # 8 MY EXPERIENCES WITH ECOLOGISTS/ENVIRONMENTAL/AGRICULTURAL SCIENTISTS TO ILLUSTRATIONS HS-AP STAT # 9