Described as the ‘Sexiest Job of the 21st century’ by Harvard Business Review, Data Sciences is growing at a rapid pace and is the most profitable career path.
Going by the books, Data science can be defined as the extraction of useful data insights from a large number of datasets (structured and unstructured) using different techniques and algorithms for applying them in various business domains, strategies and plans.
There is a great demand for professionals who can turn data analysis into a competitive benefit for companies and their businesses.
Who is a Data Scientist?
In a world where massive amounts of data like 2.5 quintillion bytes of data are produced every day, bright and inquisitive professionals who can organize this bulky data to provide business solutions is indeed the hero in shining armour called the Data Scientist.
Data Scientists work in multiple professional roles. They are computer scientists, mathematicians and trend spotters. They create actionable plans for companies and organizations by deciphering large amounts of data by analyzing, processing and monitoring and then interpreting the results.
Data Scientists are Data Wranglers capable of doing everything ranging from self-driving cars to automatically captioning of images. Due to these interesting applications, data science is the most sought-after career option.
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Data Sciences and Netflix
The popular media service provider, Netflix has over 120 million users all over the globe. For processing of such huge information, Netflix uses advanced data science metrics for presenting and creating better movies and shows for their users while showing recommendations.
Netflix uses data sciences extensively for measuring user engagement and retention for:
- When the users pause, rewind or fast-forward videos.
- When content is watched like at which day and what time.
- When and why did the user leave a particular show?
- The user’s location, his browsing and scrolling behavior.
- The device used to watch Netflix.
Academic Qualifications
- Associate degree in STEM field like mathematics, computer science and information technology since associate programs are not common in data sciences. The graduates can work as:
- Technical support specialists or support desk technicians,
- Web Developer,
- Statistical Assistant.
Various careers in data science require a bachelor degree in data sciences. The graduates work as:
- Operation research Analyst,
- Market research Analyst,
- Data Analyst,
- Data Engineer.
Master programs in data sciences help the candidates develop specialized skills and they can work as:
- Data Scientist,
- Political Analyst,
- Machine Learning Engineer,
- Business Intelligence Manager.
Doctorate Programs in data sciences prepares the students for a career in academia and research where they can work as:
- Computer and Information Research Scientist,
- Professor in Data Sciences,
- Top Executive.
Required Skills of a Data Scientist
A successful data scientist should possess coding skills along with statistical knowledge and the ability to think critically. The hot data science skills that will present huge career opportunities are:
- Proficiency in programming and coding languages like R, Python, MATLAB and Java.
- Working knowledge of analytical tools like Hadoop, Spark and databases like SQL, NoSQL and SAS.
- Statistics and Applied Mathematics.
- Machine Learning and Neural networks.
- Good communication skills with strong business sense.
- Expertise in deep learning frameworks like Tensor Flow, Keras, Pytorch.
- Ability to think creatively and good industry knowledge.
- Usage of big data platforms and cloud tools.
- Data Mining, cleaning and mugging.
- Visualization of data and reporting.
- Risk Analysis
Lucrative career roles for Data Scientists
The following list mentions the various job roles a data scientist can be employed with their average annual salary.
- Data Analyst- $65,470
- Data Engineer- $137,776
- Business Intelligence Analyst- $70,170
- Data Scientist- $120,931
- Data Administrator- $54,764
- Data Architect- $112,764
Data Scientist Job market and Career Outlook
Data scientists are in huge demand due to millions of job openings worldwide and it has become the hottest job of the decade. Data Scientists provide data insights that the companies are using to stay one step ahead in this competitive world with low overhead costs. There are regular job postings for data scientists in top companies like Google, Linked In, Amazon, Oracle, Apple, Microsoft, Wal-Mart etc.
According to reports by LinkedIn, there are over 57,000 jobs available worldwide for data scientists. In 2019, the Data Scientist’s job was ranked one of the top 50 jobs in the U.S and the most promising career.
The Bureau of Labor and Statistics states that from 2019 to 2029, the employment growth of computer and information research scientists including data scientists is projected at 15%.
Data collection by businesses will continue to increase and data scientists will be required to compile, organize, store and interpret the information along with discovering trends.
– Samiya Firdous
