The Federal Job Series 1500 – Mathematics and Statistics covers jobs that use mathematical and statistical theories, techniques, and procedures to solve issues, do research, and help make decisions for a wide range of federal programs. These jobs are important for making policies based on facts, doing scientific research, predicting the economy, and coming up with new technologies.

This group of jobs has a number of specialized series:

• GS-1510 is an actuary, which means utilizing math, statistics, and financial theory to look at financial risks, usually in fields like insurance, pensions, and social programs.
• GS-1520—Mathematics, which focuses on both theoretical and applied math, such as modeling, algorithm creation, and quantitative analysis.
• GS-1529 is a Mathematical Statistician, which means they use both statistical theory and mathematical rigor to plan studies, create models, and look at complicated data sets.
• GS-1530: A statistician who collects, analyzes, interprets, and presents quantitative data to help make decisions about policy and operations.

Most jobs in this series require at least a bachelor’s degree in math, statistics, or a closely related discipline, with classes in calculus, linear algebra, probability, and statistical methods. For higher-level jobs, you may need to have a master’s degree or a lot of expertise in fields like data science, econometrics, or machine learning.

People who work in the 1500 series work for a number of government agencies, such as the U.S. Census Bureau, the Department of Defense, the National Institutes of Health, and the Department of Labor. Their job helps with everything from keeping an eye on public health and making economic policy to keeping the country safe and doing scientific research. These jobs require strong analytical skills, attention to detail, and the ability to explain complicated findings simply to people who are both technical and not.