According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the statistics profession (the science of measuring data and interpreting, controlling and communicating uncertainty in data) will be one of the fastest growing professions in the near future. This expected increase is the continuation of an already existing 15-year increase in demand, which also manifested itself in earnings.

Based on the feedback of the students who graduated here, it was easy for them to find a job, and the knowledge they acquired with us proved to be marketable.

The compulsory 120-hour internship included in the programme proved to be a significant help from the point of view of their employment – after the internship period, several of them were immediately offered a job. At the same time, students who are preparing for a scientific or research career or training in a doctoral programme can complete the internship as a demonstrator, by taking practical courses on statistics taught by the Faculty of Social Sciences, or by undertaking research assistance with our instructors. Preparation for a scientific career is supported by international scientific conferences, study tours, and part-time courses abroad, in which our students can participate in.

The main areas of employment for students with a degree in Survey Statistics and Data Analytics: the analysis department of market and public opinion research corporations, the market research management of corporations, the non-profit sector and the methodological group of scientific research institutes. A special target group is professionals who analyse research in the public administration, or on behalf of the public administration, who are preparing to launch tenders and examine their effectiveness. These areas already show a significant demand for specialists who are trained in the programme, and the demand is expected to increase even more in the future. Our graduates work for the following companies (not exhaustive): AonHewitt, Telekom, AdWare Research, Hétfa Research Institute, Ipsos, Nielsen, Ringier Publishers, Maven7, MKIK Economic and Business Research Institute, State Audit Office, Hungarian Central Statistical Office, TV2, Infinety, NRC, ClementineConsulting, Telenor, Precognox.

At the same time, several graduates work in research institutes or at universities, as the master programme prepares for participation in doctoral training as well, potentially in all the disciplines included in the programme (applied mathematics, statistics, social sciences, computer science). Doctoral programmes to which our students have successfully applied in the last two or three years: Corvinus and ELTE doctoral school of sociology, Sussex University Economics doctoral programme, CEU Network Science doctoral programme.

Why choose the ELTE Survey Statistics and Data Analytics MSc?

The results of the search term 'survey statistics’ on LinkedIn give a broad view of the career opportunities offered by the master programme. In addition, below you can read some extracts from interviews with students who graduated a few years ago.

‘I was looking for a master programme that has a modern curriculum competitive even abroad and provides specialized knowledge. I liked that it is a mixture of social sciences and mathematics, and that it also teaches programming at a basic level (...) I use complex statistical methods on a daily basis and code them in Stata. Without survey statistics, this would be out of the question.’
Panka Bencsik, PhD student, University of Sussex, Department of Economics, London
Interview (in Hungarian)

‘I particularly liked that the education is organised in small groups in the master's programme, which was beneficial both in terms of efficiency and the community. The relatively low number of contact hours and a lot of homework helped the development of the ability to work independently, but also made it possible to work during the programme, so after graduation, the majority were not career starters without work experience.'
Levente Séd, financial team leader at an NGO
Interview (in Hungarian)

‘The survey courses equipped me with a set of knowledge that still helps me to take my place on the international research stage, since the syllabus kept pace with the methods common abroad. As a doctoral student and researcher, I often come across new methods that have only been used in a few articles. The mathematical and methodological skills I acquired during the programme are essential to being able to apply these new methods correctly myself.’
Zsófia Ignácz, PhD student, Berlin Graduate School of Social Sciences, European PhD for Social-economic and Social Statistics, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin
 
‘I owe it mostly to the survey statistics major that I was able to work as a researcher a few weeks after graduating, which was a decisive period in terms of the development of my future career as well. In the field of media research, I come across new methodological problems every day, and the methodological confidence gained in the specialization and the problem-solving approach that treats theory together with practice help me a lot in solving them.’
Katalin Melles, Ipsos Ltd, director of media research

‘In my work, I deal with the advantages, disadvantages and organization of different data collection methods, so I can make maximum use of what I learned in the course. Among the knowledge acquired in the course, I consider the methodological approach to be the most important.’
Natalie Jamalia, Hungarian Central Statistical Office, Data collection methodology department

‘In the operation of a research company, it is essential that the analysts and programmers understand each other well, for which the social science approach in itself is not sufficient from the analyst's side. The mathematical and basic programming knowledge acquired at the programme enables joint brainstorming and a better understanding of each other's work, which is an invaluable asset during everyday operation and development.’
Orsolya Vásárhelyi, analyst, Maven Seven Network Research Ltd