Statistician : Training

In most cases, training takes place on the job. New recruits gain experience by working under the supervision of experienced staff until they are ready to work alone. Statisticians are expected to keep their knowledge up to date by reading current literature and attending conferences.

Many employers will support part-time study for an MSc in Statistics. For information about postgraduate courses see Postgraduate Statistics Opportunities .

It is also possible to seek the professional qualification of Chartered Statistician (CStat), which gives professional affiliation to the Royal Statistical Society (RSS) . This requires a portfolio of five years of experience and is the society's highest professional grade.

Short courses run by organisations such as the RSS and the Statisticians in the Pharmaceutical Industry (PSI) are also available. PSI provides training for new recruits through its 'Introduction to Industry Training' programme, which introduces different aspects of pharmaceutical research. E-learning courses are also available.

Hundreds of other short courses in statistics and statistical software packages (SAS, SPSS, Minitab) are offered by universities and other organisations such as the Southampton Statistical Sciences Research Institute .