A Look at The Key Roles in Data Science

A Look at The Key Roles in Data Science


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What is Data Science?

What is data science?

According to Joseph Gonzalez Data Science is defined as “ The application of data-centric computational and inferential thinking to understand the world and solve problems”. Data science in a layman's language is to use the existing data and convert it into meaningful and accurate content. To do this, one should know two things; 1) how to extract the data from source 2) process it into meaningful content. Data Science is widely used in fields like online businesses, manufacturing, agriculture, automotive, politics, and many more. Data Science is essential in Artificial Intelligence, Natural Language Processing, and Machine Learning.

What are the differences between a Data Scientist, Data Engineerand Data Analyst?

Data Analysts are the ones who extract information from a given set of data. A Data Analyst collects, processes, and performs statistical analyses of data and finds trends to help prepare data for the Data Scientists. One of the vital roles of a Data Scientist is to process the messy, unstructured data and then interpret the results to create actionable plans for the organization. Data Scientists are in charge of making predictions to help the business make accurate decisions. The primary task of a Data Scientist is to build models using machine learning. A Data Scientist possesses knowledge of machine learning algorithms. These algorithms are responsible for predicting future events.  Data Engineers work to support Data Scientists and Analysts, providing infrastructure and tools that can be used to deliver end to end solutions to business problems. Data Engineers design a format for Data Scientists and Analysts to work on.

What are the different skill sets required for a Data Scientist, Data Engineer and a Data Analyst?

Different skill sets required for Data Analyst, Data Scientist and Data Engineer

Different skillsets in Data Science Graph

Python or R?

Both Python and R are widely used programming languages for Data Science. Python is generally used when data analysis tasks need to be integrated with web applications and while incorporating statistics code into a production database. Whereas R is mainly used when the data analysis tasks require analysis on individual servers. R has been mainly used in academics and research. Python has better syntax, which allows the developers to code and debugs easily. Any programmer would find it easier to learn advanced R if you know the basics.

What are the skills to consider while hiring a Data Scientist?

Recruiters can look for different skills in three categories while hiring data scientist’s: maths and statistics, databases and programming, and business acumen. Look for candidates with a strong background in maths and basic statistics. Candidates should be familiar with model building. Having a good understanding of databases is essential to be a Data Scientist. Look for candidates with a strong SQL background. Strong programming skills will help candidates while processing the data. R, Python, and Matlab are some of the languages considered in most data scientist roles. Also, candidates with prior software development experience will have a good understanding of software development languages. They can pick up statistical programming languages easily. I have already discussed the use of Python and R in the above section. Data Scientists must understand the business very well to use the data and consider how this data can support the growth of the organization. Candidates with a good number of years of commercial experience will satisfy the business skills.

Why choose a Data Scientist career?

Harvard Business Review has named “Data Scientist” as the sexiest job of the 21st century. Data Scientist candidates can work in any industry and domain. They can explore roles in healthcare, sales, financial services, marketing, retail, etc. Data Scientists have high earning potential. I have given a detailed salary range below. I interviewed a few candidates who have shifted their careers from a different role to data science. Their collective opinion was that they have a high level of job satisfaction in their current roles. There were 200 unique Data Scientist roles posted in Ireland on LinkedIn in March 2020.

What is the salary range for a Data scientist, Data Analyst and Data Engineer?

  • An average salary paid for a Data Scientist in Ireland is €50,000
    • Entry Level: 30- 45K
    • Mid-level: 45 – 70K
    • Senior Level: 70+
       
  • An average salary paid for a Data Analyst in Ireland is €35,000
    • Entry Level: 25- 40K
    • Mid-level: 40 – 60K
    • Senior Level: 60+
       
  • An average salary paid for a Data Engineer in Ireland is €40,000
    • Entry Level: 30- 45K
    • Mid-level: 45 – 70K
    • Senior Level: 70+

In this blog, I have attempted to put together most of the insight that I have gained during my interaction with the candidates working in the Data Science field. If you ever wish to discuss regarding any of the above-mentioned Data Analytics jobs in Ireland, contact me through GemPool at ujwal.kiran@gempool.ie.


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