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
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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
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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?
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Most practicing statisticians help
investigators solve problems
 The problems ordinarily have some quantitative
aspect
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Do statisticians mainly sit at a computer
doing statistical analyses (tests)?
 NO !!!!!
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My substantial areas of activity:
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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)
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From automobiles (Ford)
To computer chips (Intel)
To the petrochemical industry (Phillips)
To aerospace (Boeing)
To drug manufacture (Bristol-Myers Squibb)
Medical
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Drug research
Cancer research
Health maintenance organizations (HMO)
Evaluation of medical/surgical procedures
HS-AP STAT # 5
WHAT FIELDS USE STATISTICS?
(continued)
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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)
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Business
Internet usage
Banking
Marketing – market analyses
Publishing
(current announcement from Freeman)
 Accounting/auditing
 Statistical consulting firms
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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
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English
 “Reading” & “Writing”
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Math
 “Arithmetic”
 As wide an exposure to “word problems” as possible
Computer usage
 General science
 Learning is hard work!
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 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