“A data scientist combines hacking, statistics, and machine learning to collect, scrub, examine, model, and understand data. Data scientists are not only skilled at working with data, but they also value data as a premium product.”
Introduction
Data is sometimes referred to as the “new oil,” to be mined and purified to be profitable. The data scientist’s role is to alter and convert complex data structures into a high-yielding output, which helps industries to flourish.
The data scientist job is one of the notable profit-making jobs in the 21st century. Later on, the concept and the scenario improved and advanced, which reflects the current status of the data scientist jobs in the market. The number of students pursuing a data science degree or any related field has steadily increased in recent years. Many students enrolled for Master’s in Data Science, and Computer Science, which shows a growth of 17% between 2011 and 2022. [ ed ]
Data scientists are in high demand in the current job market with wide employment opportunities projected to grow faster than other average occupations. Its increasing demand is due to its handsome scope for getting highly paid in the modern AI-influenced world, which excites people to search “How to become a data scientist”. The data science job positions continue to rise, estimating 36% of the growth rate until 2031, which significantly shows the importance of data scientists in business. [ 365datascience ]
What is a Data scientist?
A Data Scientist is a data expert who collects, analyzes, and interprets complex data sets to help organizations in decision-making and acquire skills. He/ she can work in fields like computer science, mathematics, statistics, predictive modeling, etc to unlock new opportunities and strategies.
What Does A Data Scientist Do?
A data scientist analyzes the accessed complex data structures and interprets them by extracting workable insights to help organizations make informed and data-driven decisions.
Their role consisted of creating data models, engineering data pipelines, and supervising extract, transform, and load (ETL).
Data scientists build predictive models by designing machine learning models and evaluating their performance using metrics to improve their accuracy.
They provide suitable solutions after identifying and studying the problems and then hand over the results to the team members for further decision-making.
What Is The Role Of The Data Scientist?
A data scientist’s role is to accumulate raw and complex datasets to help businesses identify their problems and help them make better decisions at the right time. When asked how long it takes to become a data scientist, we conclude by following the process given below.
Gathering and Analyzing the Data
Data scientists collect and analyze structured and unstructured data from various sources like Databases, APIs, etc, using appropriate tools like machine learning languages, algorithms, and statistics. ‘How long does it take to become a data scientist’ starts from here, i.e., from gathering complex data structures followed by analyzing and interpreting.
Identifying Trends and Patterns
Data scientists recommend data-driven approaches to optimize the running processes through effective patterns and relevant trends.
Data Visualization
Data scientists construct useful charts, graphs, and diagrams to showcase the trends and predictions to improve model accuracy and business outcomes.
Communication
Data scientists convey the information, messages, findings, and insights to both technical members and non-technical stakeholders clearly and understandably.
Problem-solving
Data scientists apply statistical and mathematical analysis, machine learning, etc to extract insights to solve business problems and to make smart decisions.
Collaboration
Data scientists work with cross-functional teams, such as Engineering and IT professionals, and legal teams, to identify and resolve technical issues.
Professional Development
Data scientists collaborate and mentor the talented people within their team, to foster professional interpersonal growth as well as to enhance the proficiency of the team.
Current and Updated
Data scientists are well acknowledged with the present scenario with the latest and newest trends and developments in data science and technology.
Data Scientist Qualification And Requirements
According to the job industry, the query on how to become a data scientist is answered by several factors. These include the employer, the job position, and the data scientist qualifications for professionals; which may vary.
A Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Statistics, or any related field is essential for Data analysts and data engineers.
A Master’s degree in Data Science, or related disciplines like Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, etc., is required for a data scientist or Computer and Information Research scientist, as demanded by most employers in the business.
If someone completed a Bachelor’s unrelated to this field, they should go for an online course related to the data science field under a reputed platform like Coursera, edX, Udemy, etc. or a data science boot camp.
Technical skills proficiency is one of the data scientist skills needed to handle programming languages like SQL, Java, etc.
A deep knowledge of machine learning algorithms is mandatory.
Communication skills are very important in all sorts of data scientist jobs.
Certain certification courses like DASCA [Certified Data Scientist], Google Professional Data Engineer, etc. can also help to master and qualify for data scientist jobs.
Data Scientist Education Requirements
Undergraduate Degree
Candidates need to have a bachelor’s degree in relevant disciplines like Computer Science , Statistics, Mathematics, Data Science, Economics, Physics, or Engineering for entry-level positions.
Graduate Degree [Optional]
Data scientists pursue advanced degrees in Data Science, Machine Learning, Business Analytics, or Applied Mathematics to deepen their expertise and improve job prospects.
Online Courses & Certifications
Platforms like Coursera, Udemy, etc., offer certifications (e.g., CDS, CAP) that validate proficiency and boost career opportunities.
Hackathons & Competitions
Participation in hackathons and data science competitions demonstrates practical expertise and an ability to tackle real-world challenges.
Data Scientist Jobs And Salary Growth
Data scientist jobs are fundamentally important and inevitable in the business environment because they help identify and address business issues in a timely, methodical, rational, and efficient manner. In this high-tech, AI-influenced world, data scientist positions are the most demanding and fastest-increasing, with an average of 36% growth in the area between 2021 and 2031. A data scientist typically makes $125,426 a year, plus an additional $16,862 in benefits, according to (builtin).
The global data science job market is predicted to grow significantly in the coming years, reaching $103 Billion in 2027 compared to $84 Billion in 2024. (Global Data Revenue Forecast)
The shortage of skilled professionals and the high average income of data scientist jobs put them in high demand in the job market, and hence data scientists have a bright future. (365datascience)
| SL. Number | Job Title | Responsibilities | Average Annual Income |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Data Scientist I |
• Assistance in the execution of objectives. • Collection, synthesis, and Analysis of data. • Perform Routine procedures • Create Reports after scientific and synthetic analysis of data. |
$125,446-$142,324 (builtin) |
| 2 | Entry-level Data Scientist |
• Attend weekly meetings to discuss operations • Participate in sessions to improve leadership skills • Connect with executives and senior leaders. • Participate in team building and job shadowing events. • Create reports and dashboards. • Use SQL, R, or Python to organize data. |
$31.76 – $42.34 per hour |
| 3 | Numerical Modeler |
• Professional presentations • Marketing material • Website copy • Breaking down complicated texts • SEO titles and meta descriptions • Project briefs/directions |
$60,221 |
| 4 | Statistician |
• Ensuring the system’s effectiveness in company policies, procedures, and task assignments. • Contributing to the design and development of statistical analysis plans. • Analysing the programming environment. • Collaborating with data management to establish study data processing. • Performing intricate data checks. • Produce tables, figures, and data listings for verification study and clinical study records. • Communicating basic statistical principles to the project team. |
$64,000 – $128,000 |
| 5 | Algorithm Engineer |
• Take part in creating algorithms. • Carry out discovery analysis. • Participate in System V & V, Product Test and Evaluation, Requirements Analysis, Risk Analysis, etc. • Gather, arrange, examine, and record test results. |
$95,500 – $190,900 |
Data scientist jobs will continue to be the fastest-growing jobs in 2024, according to the (US Bureau of Labor Statistics bls). It is estimated a projected increase in the field of data scientist jobs from 2022 to 2033, is about 35% to 36 percentage with an average of 20800 new data scientist job openings per year. To become a data scientist everybody should acquire some tech, math, and statistic skills and competencies along with relevant machine learning programming languages. Hence, nowadays all people are rushing towards acquiring these data scientist skills to become a data scientist as it hits the jackpot for a lucrative career.
Everyone would be rushing for this money-making job deal for tomorrow and for the days after when looking ahead to the job market status, heading in 2024.
FAQs
A bachelor’s degree in Computer science, Engineering, Mathematics, Data science, or a related field is usually required to become a data scientist. A master’s degree in data science, Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, or a related discipline is sometimes demanded by employers.
Yes, there are many online courses designed for aspiring data scientists, like the IBM Data Science Professional Certificate under Coursera, Data Science MicroMasters under edX, Machine Learning A-Z under Udemy, etc. These platforms offer both free and paid courses and most of them issue certificates too.
A fixed timeline is not decided to become an efficient data scientist. It varies according to your prior knowledge of data science basics, formal education, experience, and sector of choice. However, the answer to the question of how long does it take to become a data scientist is dependent on your availability and time. An average duration of 4-6 years is primarily needed to complete both undergraduate and graduate courses and an additional timeline is also essential to complete a self-learning course.
No, a formal bachelor’s or Masters is not needed to become a data scientist. Employers check the practical skills and experience in data handling, solving, and implementing knowledge of the aspirant.
