Statistical Modeler

Business is a lot like gambling. Although it often feels like a matter of good luck and bad luck, the pros know the truth: Winning is all about knowing the numbers and playing the odds, which is why companies hire Statistical Modelers.

When you’re a Statistical Modeler, it’s your job to collect quantitative data culled from experiments, product testing, simulation, surveys, etc. — anything that can be measured and counted, such as sales, pricing, spending, employees, output, etc. — then analyze it using mathematical equations called “statistical models” in order to develop forecasts and conclusions that will help your company make business decisions based on probability.

For example, if a manufacturer wants to know how rising gas prices will affect its business, it will pay you to model different scenarios to determine how a $0.05, $0.10, $0.50, $1, or $2 rise in gas prices could affect the cost of producing its products, and how that in turn could affect prices and, ultimately, sales and revenue. Then, it will ask you to determine the likelihood of each scenario so it can prepare itself for impending circumstances and make decisions that optimize outcomes.

Your typical day as a Statistical Modeler is spent designing, developing, and executing statistical analyses; using software to create and solve mathematical equations; plotting and graphing data; choosing appropriate statistical models and statistical modeling techniques, such as regression and segmentation; and interpreting data for your company’s decision-makers. In the end, though, you’re basically a business Bookie, taking mathematical bets on your company’s future and doing your best to stack the deck in its favor.