The perks of being a Data Scientist

Data Science   |   
Published June 26, 2018   |   

As the field of data science becomes more popular, plenty of job opportunities are now available. If you are looking for data scientist jobs, you can find fresh listings on quite a few job portals every day. Even if you’re considering a change in your career or just starting your career in this field with no background in data science, it still is a great career option. If you want to know the advantages of being a data scientist, then we’ve compiled a variety of the perks you’d receive.

1. Sexiest job of the century

A Harvard Business Review article says that “data scientist” is the sexiest job of the 21st century. There are many reasons that justify this title. Many old industries that work in data field have replaced their job listing titles with “data scientist.” And not just the title either. Companies that work in finance, statistics, and operational research are taking interest in data science more so than ever. Data Science is driving value to many businesses and the data scientist job trend is growing steadily. Being in the most sought-after job clearly means that an individual’s career growth will be excellent.

2. Freedom to work

If you meet a data scientist and ask what they like best about being a data scientist, their answer would be – freedom. In data science, you’re not bound to work for a particular industry. One of the best advantages of being a data scientist is that you work with technology and it means you become a part of something that has huge potential. You are free to work on the projects that interest you. And more importantly, you are changing lives of thousands of people through your work in the field of data science.

3. A chance to work with big brands

As a data scientist, you are open to jobs in companies like Amazon, Apple, and Uber. For example, Amazon uses data science to sell product by recommending them to customers. The data Amazon uses comes from its huge customer base. Apple also uses big data to make decisions for its product features. Uber’s surge pricing is one of the finest examples of how big companies use data science.

4. The payoff is handsome

The median salary of a data scientist in the US is around $120,000. Since 2011, 94 percent of the US graduates have found data scientist jobs with an average salary of $114,000. The data scientist job holds the number one position among top 25 best jobs according to a 2016 report and in the current scenario, it still holds the position.

5. Proper training and certificate course

Data scientists, unlike many other IT jobs, do not have to create useless study material for beginners. Many courses in data science are backed by experts with solid experience and knowledge in the field. That’s why motivating yourself to learn about data science and visualization can help you gain more knowledge and skills in this field. Certified data scientists can expect around 58% pay raise, which is comparatively higher than non-certified professionals who get 35% chances. The road to promotion and resume shortlisting is very clear for certified professionals, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that self-taught data scientists can’t grow.

6. Data science jobs in demand

A data scientist can choose any path – project management, security, system architecture, consultancy etc. For these areas of expertise, there’s a huge demand for knowledgeable professionals. The job growth rate is even more than 100% for some profiles. For example, the job growth rate for information security analysts position is 279.69% and same goes for other profiles as well. More than 1.5 million data managers will be in demand by 2018’s year-end. IBM has predicted that the demand for data scientists will continue to rise.

7. Different roles in the industry

Data Science is exciting, and it requires individuals who fit into different roles to come to solve real-world problems. All around the world, large and smaller organizations are creating data, every single day. But not everyone is taking advantage of the data they generate. To help these companies, each individual with a background in data science is needed at different stages. They are needed for analysis, translating business problems into easy-to-understand data questions, implementation of a statistical approach to data, and bridging the gap between theories and programming. Not every job offers as much flexibility and endless learning opportunities.

8. A safe career to pursue

New technologies come and go and that’s why people have started believing that everything that shines in the tech world turns out to be a bubble. This is not the case with data science. It doesn’t necessarily mean that a data scientist should stop learning new skills because his job will remain safe forever. We all know that various aspects of today’s technology, including data science, will be automated. It means some areas will see automated processes but the field of data science will grow and the demand for data scientists will continue to grow. Those who will possess skills and the right mindset will not be thrown out of their positions.

9. Hang out with C-level executives

Data scientists work on many technologies and programming languages. They use many tools to solve business problems, and during the process, they gain the confidence of people from top management. Data scientists work with people from various industries and departments, and as long as they are working on improving their skills, they can be found hanging out with C-level executives.

10. Building a business becomes easy

When you know inside and out of many industries and when you build good contacts and gain the ability to solve real-world business problems, it becomes easy to establish your own business. Those who always dream about building their own business before retirement, their experience, contacts, and knowledge as a data scientist can be helpful in their future endeavors.
In conclusion, if you search “Data Scientist Jobs” on LinkedIn or anywhere else on the internet, you will see hundreds of job opportunities in the field of data science. Even if you don’t have a solid background in data science, you can build it through online learning courses and study material. Data science is hot right now and it will remain the same for years.