What You Should Know About Becoming A Data Scientist

There's no denying that working as a data scientist puts you on a promising career path—one that's in high demand, rewarding, and lucrative.

But what exactly is a data scientist's job? And how do you go about getting a job as a data scientist?

Continue reading if you want to learn how to become a data scientist. I'll show you step-by-step how to get into this dream job.

What Does a Data Scientist Do?

Before I go into detail about how to become a data scientist, I want to make sure you understand what a data scientist's role entails. Data scientists are employees in the middle to upper management who are in charge of organising and analysing large amounts of data. They then use their findings to make predictions and identify actionable steps that businesses can take to achieve their objectives.

It's not accurate to picture a data scientist sitting alone in front of a computer all day. Yes, data scientists must be extremely analytical (hello, complicated quantitative algorithms!). They must also be intuitive and with problem-solving abilities. However, in order to communicate their technical findings to non-technical teams, data scientists must be highly collaborative and excellent communicators.

What does a job description for a data scientist look like?

The needs of the company hiring a data scientist can greatly influence the job description.

In terms of responsibilities, data scientists may find themselves in the following situations:

• Large amounts of data from company databases are collected and cleaned.
• Constantly evaluating the efficacy of data collection methods and making improvements.
• Statistical modelling, machine learning, and algorithms are being developed and applied to data mining.
• Analyzing the data in order to solve problems and discover opportunities.
• Predictive modelling is used to identify trends and patterns that can be used to improve customer experiences and other business outcomes, resulting in higher revenue.
• Executives and other key stakeholders should be informed of the findings.

What are the skills that data scientists require, and how do you acquire them?

You'll need to know which skills to learn if you want to learn how to become a data scientist. The following are the most in-demand skills:

• Programming languages (Python, R)
• Query languages (SQL, Hive, pig)
• NoSQL databases (MongoDB, Cassandra, HBase)
• Big data processing frameworks (Hadoop, Spark)
• Data visualization tools (D3.js, GGplot)
• Machine learning techniques (regression, decision trees)
• Applied statistics (distributions, statistical testing, regression)

A data scientist bootcamp is a 3-6-month intensive programme that teaches you everything you need to know about data science. A student will have a portfolio of completed work and should be prepared to apply for an entry-level data scientist position after completing the programme.

If you're not quite ready to commit to a full bootcamp programme, you can begin by focusing on one or two skills to get you started. Take our self-paced Python for Web Apps & Data course, for example, to start honing your skills. Python is a very versatile programming language, so even if you don't end up liking data science, it's still a marketable skill to have on your resume!

How to Land a Data Scientist Job?

It's time to find a data scientist job once you've acquired the necessary data scientist skills. What are the best ways to prepare and find the right job for you?

Network with the Data Scientist community

Networking is an effective way to make genuine, face-to-face connections with other data scientists, and it can be done even before you're ready to start looking for work. You can find data scientist events in your area by using sites like Meetup.com. You could also go to a data scientist conference, such as the Strata Conference or the Knowledge Discovery in Data Science Conference.

When it comes to finding a data scientist job, the earlier you start making connections, the easier it will be.

Apply for Data Scientist jobs

Start applying for jobs and preparing for interviews once you have the skills and portfolio to prove it! The usual suspects, such as Glassdoor and Indeed, are always good job boards, but you can also look at Data Elixir, Data Jobs, or the Data Analytics Association, which are job boards dedicated to data science jobs. Working with a data science recruiter is also something to consider.

Even if you don't meet all of the requirements, apply for a job. You don't have to be familiar with every skill listed on a job description (for example, programming languages), especially if there are more than ten. Apply if you meet the job's main requirements.

It's also a good idea to think of each application and interview as a learning opportunity. Each time you apply and/or for interview, you'll gain a better understanding of which skills employers are looking for. And if you don't have any of them, you'll know where to focus your efforts to improve your qualifications for the next job you apply for.

Hopefully, you've gained a better understanding of how to become a data scientist. Making the transition will take time and effort, but the rewards can be enormous: a rewarding career in a rapidly growing field, as well as a sizable pay check.