Statistician (Social Science)

The incumbent will serve as a Statistician in the Risk Management Agency (RMA), Deputy Administrator for Product Management, Actuarial, Filing and Prices Division, Actuarial Branch. As such, the employee is responsible for conducting complex statistical analysis, developing and validating actuarial rates and yield models, assessing program impacts, and contributing to the design and evaluation of crop insurance products and serves as a technical authority on statistical methodologies.

For more information on the qualifications for this position, visit the Office of Personnel Management's General Schedule Qualification Standards.

Degree: that included 15 semester hours in statistics (or in mathematics and statistics, provided at least 6 semester hours were in statistics), and 9 additional semester hours in one or more of the following: physical or biological sciences, medicine, education, or engineering; or in the social sciences including demography, history, economics, social welfare, geography, international relations, social or cultural anthropology, health sociology, political science, public administration, psychology, etc. Credit toward meeting statistical course requirements should be given for courses in which 50 percent of the course content appears to be statistical methods, e.g., courses that included studies in research methods in psychology or economics such as tests and measurements or business cycles, or courses in methods of processing mass statistical data such as tabulating methods or electronic data processing.

Combination of education and experience -- courses as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. The experience should have included a full range of professional statistical work such as (a) sampling, (b) collecting, computing, and analyzing statistical data, and (c) applying statistical techniques such as measurement of central tendency, dispersion, skewness, sampling error, simple and multiple correlation, analysis of variance, and tests of significance.

Examples of specialized experience at this level include conducting methodological research to existing mathematical or statistical methodologies, procedures; evaluating actuarial methodologies and premium rates using statistical methods; interpreting data from insurance and analyzing data collected to identify areas of comparable productivity and risk; on a recurring basis with minimal, if any, oversight or assistance.

Completion of at least three full years of progressively higher-level graduate education resulting in a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree from an accredited college or university, 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree, or LL.Related degrees include mathematics, statistics, economics, engineering, actuarial science, or other technical degree.

Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) beyond the second year(total graduate semester hours minus 36) by 18. Examples of specialized experience at this level include conducting methodological research and recommending improvements to existing mathematical or statistical methodologies, procedures, and insurance policy provisions; evaluating actuarial methodologies and premium rates using statistical methods; providing recommendations on interpreting data from insurance and analyzing data collected to identify areas of comparable productivity and risk; on a frequent recurring basis with minimal, if any, oversight or assistance. You must have experience using programming software packages used to manipulate databases (ex. R, SAS, STATA, SQL, etc.).

Examples of specialized experience at this level include conducting methodological research and recommending improvements to existing mathematical or statistical methodologies, procedures, and insurance policy provisions; developing and evaluating actuarial methodologies and premium rates using statistical methods; providing recommendations on interpreting data from insurance and analyzing data collected to identify areas of comparable productivity and risk; and initiating and planning developmental studies by providing significant and innovative recommendations for advancing insurance programs and methods. You must be proficient manipulating databases using various programming software packages (ex. R, SAS, STATA, SQL, etc.), Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional, philanthropic, religious, spiritual, community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment.