How do I Start a Career in Data Science?

04-Feb-2021

The world has transformed completely because of technology. Technology has not left a single sector or industry untouched. Now the capabilities and reach of businesses and organizations around the world have expanded so much that they are attempting projects of greater and greater magnitude. They are also incorporating more and more technology into their operation chain in order to make it more efficient and in order to make it produce a greater amount of output. As a result of this, businesses and organizations are generating ever-increasing amounts of electronic data.

Now, this world has entered the information age. In this age, data is just as valuable a currency as rupees or dollars. Businesses and organizations around the world are realizing this and are therefore trying to perceive the enormous amounts of data they generate on a daily basis as a valuable asset. In order to effectively utilize this valuable asset, they need the help of data scientists. If one takes a Postgraduate program in data science he can help companies in this way.

What is a data scientist?

A data scientist is a person who is trained in the art of sifting through massive data sets in order to extract some meaningful information out of them. The first step they take in the process of utilizing data is to convert it to a format in which it can be processed by humans. So contrary to popular speculation, 90% of a data scientist’s job is to engage in data cleaning and data wrangling. Only when the data is in a usable format can the data scientist begin to process it with his sophisticated tools, techniques, and algorithms. These are all taught in a Post Graduate Program in data science course.

Next he begins to put the data through various statistical and mathematical algorithms (built on the foundations of computer science) in order to extract meaningful patterns out of it. This step is what is popularly understood to be data science. Once he has extracted the patterns, he studies them carefully and painstakingly in order to spot emerging trends in the data. Next, he communicates these emerging trends to the management staff. With the help of this information, they can make more informed and data-driven decisions about their business tactics. So one should take a data science certification so that they can analyze data in this way.

Which data science careers are in high demand?

• Data Scientist – Have to locate relevant large data sets, clean them, and make them structured and usable.

• Machine learning engineer – Have to design and build machine learning systems such as self-driving cars or a newsfeed which customizes itself automatically.

• Machine learning scientist – Have to research, design, and implement one-of-a-kind deep learning algorithms.

• Application architect – Have to manage the overall architecture of a business or organization.

• Enterprise architect – Has to ma
• intain, upgrade, redesign, and eliminate components of legacy systems.

• Data architect – Develops database solutions for managing company information.

• Business intelligence developer – Generates reports from various company metrics including data visualizations.

• Data analyst – Improve the quality and efficiency of data collection processes in a company.

What is the education path of a data scientist?

The general education path a data scientist follows is this -

1. Obtain a bachelor’s degree in any of the following fields – IT, Computer Science, Mathematics, Physics. This step is very important.

2. Obtain a masters degree in computer science or data science. A majority of the professionals working in the data science field have a master’s degree.

3. Join a data science certification training course and obtain a data science certification online.

4. Work in the field of one’s interest as a professional and gain some practical experience.

5. (Optional) Qualify for and obtain a doctorate degree. A large percentage of professionals working in the data science field possess a doctorate degree.

Which is the best option to learn data science?

1. University or college – One can join a 4 year degree program at a university or college. While the teachers and teaching materials are usually top-notch and high quality, the classes are at fixed times and are rarely repeated. Also, there are hundreds of students so there is not much scope for one on one interactions between the students and the teachers.
2. Bootcamp – These typically last for a few weeks to a couple of months. They cost much lesser than a univeristy degree but rush the learners through the course curriculum. They also have very extensive and exhausting application procedures and have very fixed and inflexible class schedules.
3. MOOC – These tend to be very high quality in terms of both instructors and course study materials. They are also usually free and only charge for providing a certificate of course completion. However, literally thousands of learners participate in these. So there is no interaction between the learners and the instructors and the setting is very uni-directional or one-way.
4. Online data science certification course – This is the best option for learning data science. The instructors are world-class, the course study materials are high-quality, and the course curriculum has been designed painstakingly to contain all the pertinent topics of the data science field. Also, there is regular 1-on-1 interaction between the instructors and the learners in the form of special doubt-clearing sessions.

Related Blog Posts:

1. How to Get a Government Job as a Data Scientist?
2. How to Get Data Science Training and Internship?
3. Can You Become a Data Scientist Without any Experience?
4. Top 80 Data Science Interview Questions & Answers
5. The Importance of Machine Learning for Data Scientists

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