CAREER IN DATA SCIENCE.
“The Sexiest Job of The 21st Century”, as they say. It pays for knowing how to play with data and make relevant analysis.
A data scientist should ideally be the ‘Jack of all trades’ related to data science. Data scientists are responsible for designing and implementing processes used for modelling, data mining and research purposes. At the same time, they also contribute towards the development of data mining architectures, modelling standards, reporting and data analysis methodologies. Research is an integral part of a data scientist’s job. They also work closely with application developers to create data definitions for new databases and extract data relevant for analysis.
Skills Required:
- Extensive knowledge of data-driven programming languages like R, SAS, Python, SQL, Hive, Spark etc.
- Proven expertise in distributed computing and statistical modeling.
- Proficiency in database architecture, process management, data modelling, data mining and data analysis.
- Working knowledge of various data analytics, visualization and reporting tools.
- Solid background in mathematics and statistics.
- Research-oriented mindset.
- Mentoring skills to provide guidance to junior team members (data engineers, analysts and statisticians).
Salary Prospects:
According to PayScale.com, data scientist is a lucrative career choice in the United States with an average salary of $91,588 per year. A top-level data scientist with extensive experience in the industry can earn as much as $148,000 a year – making it one of the highest paying positions in the entire IT industry. Given below is the salary trend for data scientists at different levels of their career –
Experience Average Salary
- 0-5 Years $89,000
- 5-10 Years $109,000
- 10-20 Years $121,000
- 20+ Years $148,000
