Are you interested in data and business? If so, you may be interested in working as a data scientist. The data science industry is one of the fastest-growing industries, so there is a lot of demand for new employees, and the work is both interesting and exciting.
This is partially due to the emergence of ‘big data’. In the past, businesses had to keep paper data records, which was time-consuming and sometimes inaccurate, but now most businesses have access to sophisticated data analysis tools. These tools provide in-depth, accurate reports about the business and how it functions, giving business owners the chance to streamline their business so that they can grow.
But most business owners don’t have the skills to analyze the data, so they hire a data scientist to do it for them. This means that there is a huge global demand for data scientists.
Are you interested in becoming a data scientist? If so, here are some good reasons to consider this career.
A Great Salary
One of the main reasons to consider working in data science is the great salary. The average data scientist salary in the USA is around $113,309, which is very impressive—especially when you consider that this doesn’t include bonuses. It is also possible to climb up the data science career ladder, with the average data scientist manager making around $140,000 a year. So if money is a motivator for you, you may want to consider working in data science!
Lots Of Potential For Career Growth
Data scientists also have a lot of potential for career growth—in fact, data science is currently the most promising job in the USA, according to LinkedIn. This is because employees with data skills are already in high demand, and as the industry grows the demand becomes stronger. So if you do study data science, you will have lots of jobs to choose from—and with very little competition, it should be fairly easy for you to climb the career ladder.
Interesting Day-To-Day Work
If you like analyzing data, you will enjoy the day-to-day work that comes with being a data scientist. This is because data scientists analyze lots of interesting information on a daily basis, including information about human behavior and social interactions. You will then use this information to create unique, original programs to help businesses (such as a helpful chatbot, or a website homepage).
There Are Lots Of Jobs To Choose From
As we already mentioned, the data science industry is huge (and rapidly growing). This means that there are lots of different jobs to choose from—you could work for ecommerce companies, helping them to boost sales, or you could help start-up companies to establish themselves online. You could even focus on only working with companies that matter to you, such as renewable energy companies, or online gaming companies!
Little Competition
There is a lack of data scientists in the USA, so if you do enter the industry you won’t have to face too much competition (unlike many other industries, such as business or IT). So when you finish your degree, you won’t have to worry about spending months (or even years) applying for jobs without hearing anything back, as you should be able to find a job relatively quickly.
Studying Can Be Flexible
If you want you can study data science at university, but if you already have a full-time job it is possible to take a part-time, online course. This means that you can continue working while you study, so you don’t have to worry about financing the course. You can also study at times that suit you best; for instance, if you work evenings, you could study online in the morning.
You Will Change Your Way Of Thinking
Data science will push you to become a more data-driven thinker. This will help you to make more informed decisions at work, but that isn’t all; it will also help you to make more informed decisions in your personal life. This means that you are more likely to make positive steps that will enhance your life, which will help you to be the best version of yourself.
You’ll Have A Set Of Diverse, Useful Skills
One of the main advantages of studying data science is the diverse, useful skills that you will learn while you are studying. You will learn technical attributes, analytic skills, data skills, coding skills, and communication skills, all of which can be used in other industries. So if you graduate and you decide you want to do work in a different area, no problem; you have the qualifications to work in lots of different fields.
You’ll Have Great Experience
Finally, you will gain a lot of experience working as a data scientist. This is because most data scientists work with a wide range of companies, from small start-ups to tech giants. Over time, this will build up a wealth of experience, which will open up lots of opportunities to you; for instance, you could start your own data business, or you could become a consultant for businesses in your niche.
Summary
There is a huge demand for data scientists in the USA, which means lots of benefits for anyone who decides to study data; you will be paid well, you will face little competition, and you will learn skills that can be used in a wide range of industries. This makes data science a great option for anyone who wants a well-paid and fulfilling career.
What You Need To Become A Data Analyst
Are you thinking about becoming a data analyst? If so, there are a few skills that you’ll need. Here are the skills and requirements that are needed in order to become a data analyst.
A Master’s Degree
If you want to be a data scientist, you’ll need a high level of education. Over 80% of data scientists have a Master’s degree, and nearly 50% also have a PhD; so if you want to work in this industry, you should pursue higher education. First, you will need a degree in a relevant field, such as data analysis or IT, and once you have completed that you should get your Master’s. With regards to data science vs business analytics, we suggest data science—but it is also possible to study business analytics and then later move into the data science industry.
Of course, it is possible to work in data science without a Master’s, but it will be difficult for you to move past entry-level work. This is because data scientists have special niche skills (for example, Hadoop skills or big data query skills) that allow them to advance up the career ladder.
Programming Skills
It doesn’t matter what company you want to work for; if you’re working as a data scientist, you will need to have programming skills. This includes statistical programming skills, such as being proficient with Python programming, as well as data query knowledge (such as experience with SQL). These are basic skills that you will need to get an entry-level data science job.
R Programming
It is important for data scientists to have knowledge of at least one or two analytical tools, and one of the most important tools is R programming. R programming is designed to be used by data scientists, so it is industry specific, and it can be used to help resolve any data science issue (that’s right—any issue.) Over 40% of data scientists use R programming to help solve issues, but it can be difficult to learn—especially if you don’t know a programming language. Thankfully, there are lots of online classes that teach R programming, and some Master’s degrees also offer R programming modules.
You can also use the internet to learn more about R programming if you already have programming experience. There are lots of free tools that you can use online (but you will need some basic programming knowledge to do this).
AI
It can also be useful to learn about AI (which is also known as artificial intelligence). AI has transformed the world of data programming over the last decade, but many data scientists don’t have AI knowledge—so if you want to stand out against the competition, it could be beneficial to study AI. This will teach you more about reinforcement learning, adversarial learning, and neural networks, and you will also learn new machine learning skills that make it easier for you to assess data.
Statistic Skills
Finally, you will need to have a good understanding of statistics and what they mean. You should have lots of experience with distributions, statistical tests, and likelihood estimators, as well as more complex statistical analysis tools. You will need these skills for every project you complete—whether you are working for a huge company or a small start-up.
There are lots of benefits to working as a data scientist, but you do need to have the right skillset and knowledge if you want to succeed. Use this useful guide to make sure that you are fully prepared to start your career in data science.
