How To Become A Principal Biostatistician: What It Is and Career Path

What is a principal biostatistician and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Rhonda Bacher PhD

Biostatistics is a valuable tool used to analyze public health trends, clinical pharmaceutical trials, the spread of diseases, and more. The insights gathered by principal biostatisticians are often used to develop public health campaigns such as immunization distribution, contact tracing, and connecting vulnerable patients to care.

Principal biostatisticians have important jobs, so it's only natural that they have to be highly qualified for their positions. Most have an advanced degree in biostatistics or a related subject, such as a master's or Ph.D., and many years of experience in the field.

Principal biostatisticians need to have experience with statistical analysis, including specific programming such as SAS and R. They need to have an excellent analytical mind to make sense of the data they collect and leadership skills to manage a team of more junior biostatisticians on projects that could change the world.

What general advice would you give to a principal biostatistician?

Rhonda Bacher PhD

Assistant Professor, University of Florida

When starting your career as a Biostatistician, there are a several ways to maximize your salary potential. Having a Master's level degree or higher boosts your base pay, though the time and cost of those degrees is a major consideration. There are some remote Master's degree programs designed with flexibility for working professionals, we offer one in Biostatistics at the University of Florida that is equivalent to our campus program.

Additional computational skills and data analysis experience should not be overlooked as ways to increase your value to potential employers. Highlight your interdisciplinary collaborative projects or work experience to demonstrate your communication and interpersonal skills, which are both highly valued professionally for biostatisticians.

ScorePrincipal BiostatisticianUS Average

Salary

8.1

Avg. Salary $120,026

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

4.3

Growth rate 31%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

2.7

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.22%

Asian 22.75%

Black or African American 5.06%

Hispanic or Latino 7.59%

Unknown 4.95%

White 59.43%

Gender

female 17.39%

male 82.61%

Age - 35

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 35

Stress level

4.3

Stress level is moderate

7.1 - high

Complexity level

9.8

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

7.4

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a principal biostatistician

Explore principal biostatistician education requirements

Most common principal biostatistician degrees

Doctorate

33.3 %

Bachelor's

33.3 %

Master's

33.3 %

Start to develop specific principal biostatistician skills

Skills	Percentages
Clinical Trials	17.43%
QC	12.11%
Statistical Analysis	11.73%
Clinical Study Reports	9.30%
Statistical Methods	8.60%

Complete relevant principal biostatistician training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New principal biostatisticians learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a principal biostatistician based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real principal biostatistician resumes.

Research principal biostatistician duties and responsibilities

Present at investigator meetings for international and domestic sites, CRAs, and country leads.
Manage qualification, preventative maintenance and calibration of equipment and reagents used in testing as per GLP standards.
Lead a team of 11 direct reports and 35 indirect reports to solve development problems for multicapillary electrophoresis instruments.
Provide technical support, measuring run parameters using GC, HPLC, viable cell count, enzyme assays and other protocols.

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