Actuarial scientist, data scientist and statistician are ranked among the top ten best jobs by various ranking agencies, such as CareerCast.com, World Report US News, Glassdoor.com. The growth rates of these three professions are the highest among all STEM disciplines up to 2029 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. CMU Career Services provides guidance on the journey toward your career as a data scientist, statistician or actuarial scientist. When it comes to landing an internship or job, Career Services is your first stop for resume writing tips, mock interviews, consultations and advice.

At career fairs on campus you'll meet employers ready to hire CMU interns and graduates. Come prepared with your resume and meet dozens of employers in one afternoon.

Statistics has the highest growth rate among all STEM disciplines. It is projected to have a 35% increase in job growth by 2029 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Graduates of CMU's statistics program will find a variety of career options in business, industry, government and more. Although statisticians work mostly in offices, they may travel to oversee a survey design, plan implementation or to collect data.

Below is a list of potential careers, median salary over the course of the career and projected job growth.
  • Job | Median Pay | Job Growth through 2026
  • Statistician | $93,270 per year | 35% (14,900 more jobs)
  • Data Scientist | $98,230 per year | 31% (10,300 more jobs)
  • Financial Analyst | $83,660 per year | 5% (26,800 more jobs)
  • Market Research Analyst | $65,810 per year | 10% (130,300 more jobs)

Also be sure to explore the following actuarial science internet resources:

Important Professional Organizations for Statistics

American Statistical Association
The American Statistical Association (ASA) is the largest professional organization to promote the practice and profession of Statistics.

International Statistical Institute
The International Statistical Institute (ISI) is a professional association of statisticians. It was founded in 1885. The ISI supports and promotes the understanding, development and good practice of statistics worldwide.

The International Biometric Society
The International Biometric Society is an international society promoting the development and application of statistical and mathematical theory and methods in the biosciences.
Actuarial Science has much faster growth rate than most STEM disciplines. It is projected to have a 18% increase in job growth by 2029 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Most Actuaries work full time in an office setting, but actuaries who work as consultants may frequently travel to meet clients. Actuaries often develop, price and evaluate a variety of insurance products and calculate the costs of new risks.


Below is a list of potential careers, median salary over the course of the career and projected job growth.
  • Job | Median Pay | Job Growth through 2026
  • Actuary | $111,030 per year | 18% (4,900 more jobs)
  • Financial Analyst | $83,660 per year | 5% (26,800 more jobs)
  • Financial Manager | $134,180 per year | 15% (108,100 more jobs)
Also be sure to explore the following actuarial science internet resources:

Important Actuarial Professional Organizations

The Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS)
The Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS) is a leading international organization for credentialing and professional education. Founded in 1914, the CAS is the world’s only actuarial organization focused exclusively on property and casualty risks and serves over 8,000 members worldwide.

The Society of Actuary
The Society of Actuaries (SOA) traces its roots to the Actuarial Society of America. It was formed by a select group of chief actuaries at established life insurance companies. The SOA evaluates the universities and Colleges with Actuarial Programs (UCAP) in three levels of recognitions as UCAP –Introductory Curriculum (UCAP-IC): offers at least two SOA exams; UCAP-Advanced Curriculum (UCAP-AC): offers at least four SOA exams; and Centers of Actuarial Excellence (CAE). The Actuarial Science program in the Department of Statistics, Actuarial and Data Sciences is recognized as an UCAP-AC program.
Data Science is a new and very diverse interdisciplinary descipline. Due to the fast and unlimited data being collected by modern technology, the job market for data scientists is very broad, and continues to evolve into new types of jobs. Different types of jobs for students with a Data Science degree include; data engineer, big data manager, data scientist, data analysts, and business intelligence analyst. Any industry that generates huge amounts of data needs experts having data science training.


Below is a list of potential careers, median salary over the course of the career and projected job growth.
  • Job | Median Pay | Job Growth through 2026
  • Computer & Infor. Research Scientist | $126,830 per year | 15% (5,000 more jobs)
  • Financial Analyst | $83,660 per year | 5% (26,800 more jobs)
  • Market Research Analyst | $65,810 per year | 10% (130,300 more jobs)
  • Statistician | $93,270 per year | 35% (14,900 more jobs)
  • Software Developer | $110,140 per year | 22% (316,000 more jobs)
Also be sure to explore the following actuarial science internet resources:

Important Actuarial Professional Organizations

American Statistical Association
The American Statistical Association (ASA) is the largest professional organization to promote the practice and profession of Statistics.

International Statistical Institute
The International Statistical Institute (ISI) is a professional association of statisticians. It was founded in 1885. The ISI supports and promotes the understanding, development and good practice of statistics worldwide.

https://www.r-project.org/
The R Project for Statistical Computing. R is a free software environment for statistical computing and graphics. R provides a wide variety of statistical (linear and nonlinear modelling, classical statistical tests, time-series analysis, classification, clustering, …) and graphical techniques, and is highly extensible.

https://www.python.org/
Python is a programming language. Many data science techniques are available as packages in Python. It is becoming more and more popular for data science professionals.

https://www.datascienceassn.org/
The Data Science Association is a non-profit professional association of data scientists that serves our members, improving the data science profession, eliminating bias and enhancing diversity, and advancing ethical data science throughout the world.

https://www.acm.org/
Association of Machine Learning brings together computing educators, researchers, and professionals to inspire dialogue, share resources, and address the field's challenges. As the world’s largest computing society, ACM strengthens the profession's collective voice through strong leadership, promotion of the highest standards, and recognition of technical excellence.