Biostatistician vs data analyst

The differences between biostatisticians and data analysts can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a biostatistician, becoming a data analyst takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a biostatistician has an average salary of $85,645, which is higher than the $74,342 average annual salary of a data analyst.

The top three skills for a biostatistician include data analysis, patients and data management. The most important skills for a data analyst are data analysis, python, and power bi.

Biostatistician vs data analyst overview

	Biostatistician	Data Analyst
Yearly salary	$85,645	$74,342
Hourly rate	$41.18	$35.74
Growth rate	31%	11%
Number of jobs	17,972	167,520
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 47%	Bachelor's Degree, 65%
Average age	37	44
Years of experience	2	4

What does a biostatistician do?

A biostatistician specializes in gathering and analyzing data for medical and biological research. Typically, their responsibilities revolve around devising the ideal questionnaire or survey for significant results, maintaining accurate records of data, developing conclusions and research papers, contributing findings to publications, and even collaborating with other scientists. There are also instances where biostatisticians may train junior statisticians, conduct corrective measures on inconsistencies and data error, and develop new strategies for scientific outcomes. Most importantly, a biostatistician must adhere to the laws and regulations on data gathering processes.

What does a data analyst do?

Data analysts are responsible for interpreting the company's statistics and providing sound recommendations to the organization. They manage the organization's data sets, usually related to market performance, finance, or human resources. They are in charge of studying the available data, spotting trends, interpreting what the data and the trends mean, and recommending suggestions that will help the organization perform better. Their recommendations should also be relevant and backed up with strong analyses. Data analysts are expected to have a good grasp of the current market trends in the industry.

Biostatistician vs data analyst salary

Biostatisticians and data analysts have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Biostatistician	Data Analyst
Average salary	$85,645	$74,342
Salary range	Between $60,000 And $120,000	Between $53,000 And $103,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Richmond, CA
Highest paying state	California	New Jersey
Best paying company	Meta	The Citadel
Best paying industry	Pharmaceutical	Finance

Differences between biostatistician and data analyst education

There are a few differences between a biostatistician and a data analyst in terms of educational background:

	Biostatistician	Data Analyst
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 47%	Bachelor's Degree, 65%
Most common major	Statistics	Business
Most common college	Johns Hopkins University	Northwestern University

Biostatistician vs data analyst demographics

Here are the differences between biostatisticians' and data analysts' demographics:

	Biostatistician	Data Analyst
Average age	37	44
Gender ratio	Male, 55.8% Female, 44.2%	Male, 50.2% Female, 49.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 5.1% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 7.6% Asian, 22.7% White, 59.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%	Black or African American, 7.5% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 8.5% Asian, 14.5% White, 64.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	9%	12%

Differences between biostatistician and data analyst duties and responsibilities

Biostatistician example responsibilities.

Extract and manage data from different sources, proficient in query language SQL.
Act as project director for managing the preparation of safety and efficacy reports for NDA submission.
Manage Medicaid fraud and abuse portfolios by analyzing medical and pharmacy claims data.
Provide suggestions to clients in classification algorithms, ANOVA, experimental design, and various hypothesis tests.
Design clinical plans, new product or improvement protocols, co-ordinate CRO and clinical site contracts and IRB submissions.
Create views using SQL programming.

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Data analyst example responsibilities.

Manage patient s data in UNIX system.
Manage loan performance in Hyperion Financials using SQL and PL/SQL tools.
Manage and contribute to EDI processes ensuring HIPAA compliance and access to clearing house review on individual case status.
Develop Java application to automate reformatting of text files for an internal application.
Execute deterministic modeling and Monte Carlo simulations in MATLAB to achieve greater mathematical confidence in results obtain from analysis.
Manage weapon system project websites via SharePoint, including troubleshooting technical issues and developing guidelines for public/private information and user permissions.

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Biostatistician vs data analyst skills

Common biostatistician skills

Data Analysis, 9%
Patients, 7%
Data Management, 6%
Statistical Analysis, 5%
Study Design, 5%
Data Collection, 4%

Common data analyst skills

Data Analysis, 10%
Python, 7%
Power Bi, 6%
Data Management, 6%
Visualization, 5%
Data Quality, 4%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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