We all have heard, or if not, now you know that Data Science is termed as one of the most interesting subjects that one can learn. This has been contributed to by factors such as Data Scientist are in high demand especially in the AI revolution field. The evolving of the data science has also been on the rise and is expected to stir towards enhanced discovery, innovations, and insights: It is the future!
The value of data is determined by what can be obstructed by it, and the organizations that need this data require data analysts to extract the value. This field includes learnings from engineers, computer scientists, mathematicians, and statisticians. With the increasing demand for data scientist skills, most people are undertaking this subject, and it is later in the course of their learning that some facts start manifesting. It is therefore essential to keep in mind the following 5 facts about data science.
Data is everywhere
It is estimated that the digital universe is made up of around 3.2 Zettabytes of data and it is expected to increase to 40 Zettabytes in the next 6 years. In a day, 2.5 quintillion bytes of data is created, and this is an indication that 90% of the data has been created in the last two years. This data has numerous sources such as digital pictures & videos, social media posts, sensors used to collect climate information, cell phone GPS signals, and purchase transaction records among others.
In a recent interview, Mark Zuckerberg, co-founder of Facebook, stated that more than 1billion content was shared through Facebook and more than 10 million photographs are shared every hour. And approximately 3 billion ‘like’ buttons are used every day. Google is another platform that receives massive data and the platform processes more than 24 petabytes of data each day. YouTube is also another channel that is linked to big data and statistics show that for every minute, 48 hours of video is uploaded and this is an indication that every day, there is nearly 8 years of content uploaded.
Individuals create around 70% of the data and organizations only analyze 12% of this data. It is therefore clear that there are few big data science analysts who can integrate the data into useful assets of the companies.
The Value of Data Usage has Increased Job Opportunities, But There are Few Specialists
Although data science courses are offered in various universities and colleges, most people are still hesitant about undertaking it which is quite normal with newly introduced courses. However, with the increasing demand for specialists, there has been a rise in data science graduate programs offered. There is a lot of different programs that you can choose from, but the issue with some of the programs is that they claim to prepare you in the field while as they end up teaching drastically different skills.
Some of the recommendable data science graduate programs that will provide the necessary information and skills to become competitive in the market include;
- An MS in applied mathematics or statistics degree
- An MBA with an analytics focus
- An MS degree in computer science with a machine learning or AI focus
- An MS in data science
Undertaking either of these courses will help you acquire the data scientist education requirements that will see you secure a job in this field. Other elements for you to become a data scientist include earning a master’s degree in data or any related field. You will also have to gain experience in the field you are willing to work. You can undertake the data science course full time or part-time. The subjects are quite technical, and you might need some assistance with some assignments or research projects. In this case, you can you can try essay writing service on Edubirdie and you are guaranteed that your course will be much easier and you will obtain a better grade that will land you in an incredible job position.
Big Data Means Big Money
After pursuing a bachelor’s degree, masters and Ph.D. in big data science, then you can count yourself lucky since you are about to land a job with an impressive figure pay. This is as a result of the high demand for data scientist skills accompanied by the minimal supply shortage.
Employees who have a Ph.D. in these courses have the pleasure of securing a six-figure salary. The basic salary of a staff data scientist is $ 120,000 while that of managers is $160,000 for managers. These are estimates carried out in the US, however, the difference is not significant in other countries. And is quite a motivation to students undertaking data science courses.
95% of the Tasks in the Employment Field do not Require Deep Learning
Even after spending time pursuing data science graduate programs, masters, and Ph.D., most of the work in the job field will be technical and to solve real-world problems will need more: such as understanding the problem, the problem domain, the decision makers as well as the end users.
You will realize that not all problems will have to be solved using complicated means. There are times when the complex problems only need simple model solution strategies. But this does not mean that you don't need the complex solution models.
Big Data is Just a Tool
There has been much hype about big data science that people tend to forget that big data is just a collection of tools that are used to handle a large volume of data. The best thing, however, is that these tools can handle a massive amount of data within a reasonable time and they utilize commodity grade computer hardware.
It is important to keep in mind that analytic problem design, scrutinizing eyes of astute analysts and modeling best practices cannot be replaced when using Big Data. However, this does not mean that there is no stiff competition in the Big Data field. As a matter of fact, with the increasing advancements, soon there will no longer be small data. Always remember that tools will come and go but machine learning experience will persist and is the most important thing since you will be able to handle any other new tool developed.
Since there are many data science graduate programs, it is advisable to get lots of project works and internships as this will boost your experience. Most employers are more concerned about the real experience than the academic credentials. Also, keep in mind the above facts in case you get carried away with the thrill of undertaking data science course.
About the Author
Sandra Hayward is a professional data scientist with a Master’s degree in Computer science and writer at EduBirdie. She works as a data and analytics consultant where she helps various organizations to solve problems through the application of the scientific methods. Her interests are inclined to the intersection of data science, machine learning, and customer experience.
