What Is a Biostatistician? 2025 Career Guide

Biostatisticians are data collectors and analysts who focus on biology in fields such as medicine, agriculture, and public health. Working at the intersection of health and data science, they are the wizards who produce and verify statistics like: “The risk of hospitalisation from COVID-19 after vaccination is about 10 percent.” [1].

The India Brand Equity Foundation projects that India's health care market will reach 638 billion USD in FY25 [2]. With the rising use of data to inform decisions and the continuously increasing volume of health data, demand for biostatisticians will continue to grow in the coming years. 

Biostatisticians do important work. What makes them unique is the complexity of the problems they’re solving, such as COVID-19. There is an urgency to conduct rigorous analyses promptly to save more lives. While most biostatistician jobs require a bachelor’s degree in statistics or mathematics, many look for a master’s degree or higher.

Love working with health data and think it could be for you? Here’s a complete guide to becoming a biostatistician.

What is a biostatistician?

Biostatisticians use maths and statistics to collect and analyse biological and public health data. Biostatisticians are critical to advancing ground-breaking research, from medicine to agriculture to public health.

If you’re a data-minded individual interested in a career in medicine or health but do not want to become a clinical doctor, nurse, or specialist, this could be a good choice.

As a highly trained and educated biostatistician, you would analyse data and determine factors that impact human, animal, and ecological health and overall well-being. You and a team of researchers would use this information to deliver statistics, predictions, and studies on diseases and other health risks. Biostatisticians gather data at every stage of an experiment or clinical trial to ensure detailed results from a big picture perspective.

Biostatistician jobs in India: Where do biostatisticians work? 

Biostatisticians can work in various settings and different types of research studies. Besides clinical settings, they can also work in government or non-profit organisations, academia, technology, or business organisations. 

Biostatisticians sometimes work for pharmaceutical companies during their clinical studies to determine whether a drug is effective. They might do the same for a medical device company. They may work for a public health-focused non-profit to evaluate programs that inform policy-making. In government-related roles, they help shape public health and education policies. 

Biostatistician salary in India

Biostatisticians can expect to earn an above-average salary. According to PayScale, the average base salary for biostatisticians in India is ₹4,09,634 as of July 2025 [3].

What does a biostatistician do on a daily basis?

Biostatisticians typically work in a team of scientists and researchers to perform analyses, develop plans, and interpret results. 

Some job tasks and duties of a biostatistician include:

• Developing methodologies for collecting data

• Designing studies and clinical trials to solve a specific problem or question

• Collecting and analysing large data sets

• Interpreting results and disseminating findings through papers and presentations

• Preparing and writing up reports that advise public health, education, or environmental policy

How to become a biostatistician 

Biostatisticians are highly educated and trained in their fields, meaning a master’s degree in statistics or public health is often required or recommended. Employers like to see that job candidates have experience with complex statistical analysis.

1. Earn a bachelor’s degree.

It is wise to consider a bachelor’s degree if you aspire to become a biostatistician, and some jobs require at least a master’s degree or doctorate. Biostatisticians work with data to produce insights that can affect entire populations, so they must be experts at data analysis. 

If you’re considering becoming a biostatistician, a bachelor’s degree in a quantitative field, such as mathematics or statistics, can set you up for success. However, don’t fret if you’ve already earned a bachelor’s degree in an unrelated field, such as humanities or social sciences. A master’s in mathematics, statistics, or another data-related field, plus a strong foundation in programming and data software management skills, can help you land a junior-level position as a biostatistician.

2. Gain relevant biostatistician skills.

Biostatisticians need technical and workplace skills to succeed. The specific skills and experience required may vary depending on the type of organisation you aim to work for, so look at actual job descriptions to understand what you’ll need to learn.

Technical skills:

• Programming languages, such as R, Python, C or C++, JavaScript, MATLAB, and SQL

• Ability to manage and clean data using the data analysis software SAS

• Strong knowledge of statistical theory, including longitudinal and complex data analysis 

• Expert experience in a specific area, such as epidemiology or public health

Workplace skills:

• Ability to multitask or contribute to multiple projects simultaneously

• Excellent communication and collaboration skills

• Strong academic-level writing skills

Biostatisticians are typically curious and intellectual individuals who like to investigate a problem from beginning to end. They are logical, using systematic data collection methods to inform public health decisions.

3. Go for a master’s degree.

If you’re serious about becoming a biostatistician, you might be interested in pursuing a master’s degree in biostatistics, statistics, mathematics, or public health (with a focus on data and statistics). 

With bachelor’s degrees being more ubiquitous, having a master’s degree for this specialised, technical job can help you stand out from the rest of the applicants. Some jobs may even require a master’s degree or higher.

Is biostatistics a stressful career?

Biostatisticians may experience an unbalanced work-life equilibrium from time to time due to potentially long working hours resulting from intensive analysis of complex and large data sets, pressure to meet research deadlines, and the need to reach a high level of precision and accuracy in their analysis. However, setting clear boundaries between work and personal time, prioritising tasks and delegating them to team members, learning to use automation and statistical analysis tools, and regularly investing in self-care routines can help you mitigate stress effectively and maintain a balanced workload. 

Prepare for biostatistician roles on Coursera

If you’re looking to further your skills in biostatistics, look no further than the Biostatistics in Public Health Specialisation from the best school for public health, Johns Hopkins University [4].

This Specialisation is for public health and health care professionals, researchers, data analysts, and social workers who need biostatistics concept primers. After taking this course, which requires four months or less, you’ll be prepared to participate as part of a research team.