Life as an academic medical statistician and how to survive it.

This article aims to review the professional life of academic medical statisticians. Topics covered include training opportunities, the shortage of medical statisticians, the relevance of PhD degrees, the varied working life (teaching, research, computing, refereeing etc.), research priorities across consultancy, collaborations and methodology, professional recognition and the variety of working environments. In conclusion, some tentative suggestions are made on how to survive happily in the world of academic medical statistics.