Just as statistics have become more important for making sense of our world, an ability to understand and use statistics has become increasingly essential for a variety of careers. Whether you are working in business, government, or academia, it is increasingly expected that assertions and decisions are backed up by data. Thus, you’ll need a familiarity with statistics whether you’re an operations manager preparing a presentation on process improvements for a CEO or a policy analyst writing a research paper on criminal justice reform for a legislator.

If you have a passion for building Markov chain models or debating the relative merits of frequentist and Bayesian statistics, you can pursue a career as a full-time statistician. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, statisticians earned a median annual salary of $91,160 as of May 2019, and these jobs are expected to grow much faster than average due to the demand for keen statistical analysis across all fields. Statisticians typically have at least a bachelor’s degree in mathematics, computer science, or other quantitative fields, and many positions require a master’s degree in statistics.

Yes, with absolute certainty. Coursera offers individual courses as well as Specializations in statistics, as well as courses focused on related topics such as programming in Python and R as well as the applied use of business statistics. These courses and Specializations are offered by top-ranked universities such as the University of Michigan, Duke University, and Johns Hopkins University, ensuring that you won’t sacrifice educational rigor to learn online. You can also learn about statistics through Coursera’s hands-on Guided Projects, which allow you to build skills with step-by-step tutorials from experienced instructors to help you learn with confidence.