Statisticians practice the science of using data to make decisions. They decide what data they need and how to collect it, design experiments, collect data, analyze and interpret data, and report conclusions. And unlike most professions, statistics can be applied to a vast number of fields or issues, like the environment, public safety, health care and sports. As the famous mathematician and statistician John Tukey once told a colleague, "The best thing about being a statistician is that you get to play in everyone's backyard."

Devan Mehrotra, executive director of the biostatistics department at Merck Research Laboratories, says, "I absolutely fell in love with statistics. Any real-world problem almost always is going to require some data to be analyzed and interpreted, generating value-added solutions by using statistics."

Mathematics is an integral part of data science. Any practicing data scientist or person interested in building a career in data science will need to have a strong background in specific mathematical fields. Depending on your career choice as a data scientist, you will need at least a B.A., M.A., or Ph.D. degree to qualify for hire at most organizations. A significant portion of your ability to translate your data science skills into real-world scenarios depends on your success and understanding of mathematics. Data science careers require mathematical study because machine learning algorithms, and performing analyses and discovering insights from data require math. While math will not be the only requirement for your educational and career path in data science, but it’s often one of the most important. Identifying and understanding business challenges and translating them into mathematical ones is widely considered one of the most important steps in a data scientist’s workflow. Will you be a data scientist, machine learning engineer, business intelligence developer, data architect, or another industry specialist? Maybe you don’t yet know the exact path you will take in your data science career. But take a look at the various types of mathematical requirements and what they are used for in data science. You will have a better understanding of your skills and interests and can ultimately better pursue your choice of mathematical education. Let’s start by taking a look at the different types of math used in data science so that you have a better idea of what you really need to know when it comes to mathematics and your data science career.