Data Science can seem to be intimidating for those who are planning to start their career in it or those who are looking to make a shift into it. However, for three years in a row now, the job of a data scientist has been named as the top job in the USA by Glassdoor. So, trust us, the decision to move into data science might prove to be highly beneficial for you, and the growth of your career. However, knowing what all to learn, which language to excel in, what techniques to focus on, etc., will help you in the long run.
Who is a data scientist?
An essential question to begin with. A data scientist is an individual employed to analyze and interpret sets of complex digital data, such as the usage statistics of a website or product sales, etc. The output helps to assist a business in its decision-making processes. Data scientists are in demand in every organization, and not limited to tech or IT organizations because experts now predict that 40 zettabytes of data will be in existence by 2020. And to make sense of that data, we need data scientists.
Data Science Job Titles
As a qualified data scientist, you can fill up many roles. It’s vital to figure out where your acquired skills and interest lie. This can give your career the necessary push.
Business Intelligence Analyst
As the name suggests, a business intelligence analyst reads data to spot business trends. They help in transforming large data sets into desired outputs for the organization. Their duties also include tracking web analytics and examining A/B testing.
Data Mining Engineer
A data mining engineer is responsible not only for their own business but third parties as well. They perform batch-processing or real-time processing on gathered and stored data. It is their job to make data readable for data scientists.
Data architects oversee the building of data solutions for performance and design analytics applications for various platforms. They work with multiple teams i.e., users, system designers, and developers, to build successful solutions.
The role of a data scientist primarily means finding, cleaning, and organizing the data for companies. They have to analyze large amounts of complex, raw data and processed information to figure out patterns that might help their organization. Their research helps in strategic business decisions.
Machine Learning(ML) Engineer
Along with researching new approaches to understanding data and various algorithms, they’re also responsible for creating new data channels. ML engineers are also required to deliver software solutions.
Skills required in the Data Science Field
If you think you’re good at critical thinking and problem solving, then data science is for you. Along with that, being a great listener and persuasive in communication is very important. Industry learning cannot come without experience. So you’ll need to learn core skills like:
- Machine learning and Neural Networks
- Statistics and Applied Mathematics
- Hadoop and Spark
- Analysis and Databases: SQL and No SQL etc.
For training and certification, you can sign up on the Global Tech Council. You can sign up for Machine Learning Expert or Big Data Expert depending on your personal areas of interest. If you want to learn all about data science in-depth, from elementary topics like statistics and data management to advanced topics like neural networks and R programming, then you can sign up for the Data Science Developer certification.
Since this is an industry booming with new opportunities, once you have the relevant qualification and training, the possibilities are endless.
Job Market for Data Science
We understand that before you delve into a new field like data science, you’ll have apprehension about the money, time, and effort you’ll invest. According to The Quaint Crunch’s report on How the Demand for Data Science Skills is Disrupting the Job Market, the number of data science jobs are expected to grow up to 2,720,000 vacancies in the year 2020. These opportunities are likely to grow in the near future.
And big names like Oracle, Apple, Facebook, Twitter, Microsoft, Booz Allen Hamilton, State Farm, Walmart, etc. regularly post for openings to do with data science. At any given moment, there are 46,000+ jobs worldwide on LinkedIn for a data scientist.
Salary Packages in Data Science
Due to the high demand and short supply of qualified data science professionals, they enjoy competitive salaries. According to Glassdoor, the average pay data scientists get, is around $113,436. Freshers start with $40,000 to $50,000. The top 10 per cent who carry relevant experience make as much as $120,000. The salaries are affected by experience, job title, industry, company size, location, education, etc.
Therefore, data scientists are vital to the organization bringing with them the skills of a computer scientist, mathematician, and trend spotter. In fact, the rising popularity of this profession shows that now organizations are giving data it’s due importance. Data is ‘new gold.’
The demand for data science is huge, and prospective employers are investing their time and money to enrich their business through data-driven decisions. With the right education, training, and certifications, you can elevate your career. Global Tech Council provides all the support you might need and guides you in making strategic career decisions. Reach out to us today!