Data Science is among the fastest-growing industries in the world which almost every organization is trying to leverage for its advantage. This has led to increased demand for skilled data science professionals. Many students and young professionals are looking to get into the career of data scientist but they are often confused about what this job includes, what data science skills to learn, and how hard the data science field of work is.
In this article, we will have a clear look at the data science jobs and evaluate if they are hard for you to learn, whether you should go for a data science job, and understand everything regarding what it takes to become a successful data scientist.
First of all, what is data science, and what jobs are included in this domain?
Well, Data Science is a field of study that involves the use of mathematics, statistics, computer programming, and business knowledge. Yes, you read that right, these are the essential data scientist skills that contribute to making a successful data science professional. So before you start your career in data science, you must have the basics in these fields right and must have a strong interest as well. Data science professionals use these core skills to draw insights from raw data that are used for data-driven decision-making processes.
Before we can infer whether data science is hard or easy to learn, we must understand what data science incorporates, and what things are needed to learn.
Now, let us have a closer look at the different data scientist knowledge you need to master.
1. Mathematics and statistics
Data scientists must be good at mathematical concepts such as probability and statistics as they use these skills to analyze data, make predictions, and draw inferences. Probability distribution, hypothesis testing, and regression analysis require these core skills.
Apart from that they must be good at linear algebra which is required for tasks like matrix manipulation, a commonly used in machine learning algorithms. Then they should be good at calculus and optimization of models by using these core skills.
Difficulty level: Moderate to high
2. Programming language
This is one of the most essential data science skills to learn. Aspiring data scientists must be proficient in programming languages like Python, R, C, SQL, etc. These programming languages are necessary for every single task performed in data science projects, right from gathering data to analyzing or visualizing it. Proficiency in the programming language libraries can help in data manipulation includes working with data frames.
Difficulty level: Moderate
3. Business Knowledge
A data science must have domain expertise as well. They have to often work on projects for specific industries say healthcare, finance, e-commerce, etc. Having strong domain knowledge makes it easier for them to understand and define the business problem, choose relevant features, and interpret results.
With this must-have data scientist skill, efficient data scientists can easily communicate with the heads of organizations to easily understand the underlying problem that needs to be solved.
Difficulty level: Varies upon individuals
So, these are the three core areas you need to master to become a successful data science professional. So, how difficult is it to learn?
Learning any skill requires having a strong foundation in it so as to move towards even more advanced concepts. For example, if you go for data science skills to learn, you must have a background in mathematics, and computer science, without which you won’t understand the basics of data science. It is like, if we give a painter to write code, it will be impossible for him. Similarly, with proper fundamentals in place, writing code, and drawing patterns becomes easier.
Secondly, the difficulty to acquire the data scientist knowledge also varies from individual to individual. Every person is different in their capabilities. Someone might be good at languages, while someone might be good at visualization. So, based on your interests and individual capabilities, you must choose this career in data science.
Data Science Job Outlook
Since the data scientists are responsible for driving the data-driven decision-making process, they are paid handsome salaries. According to Glassdoor, data scientists in the US earn an annual average salary of $144,213 per annum.
Also, if we look at the data science market, then it is growing rapidly at a CAGR of 29% and is expected to reach a market value of $484.17 billion by 2029.
This indicates a huge demand for data science professionals in the coming years is going to soar high. If you are looking to get into this profession and are confused about its difficulty, then here is a clear path to easily learn data scientist skills:
1. Ensure you have the required educational qualification i.e. bachelor’s or master’s degree in mathematics, computer science, or related field.
2. Learn the programming language
3. Enroll in data science certification programs from reputed institutes to explore data analysis tasks, machine learning skills, etc.
4. Work on live projects do internships, participate in competitions, etc.
5. Update your data science skills regularly to stay relevant in the industry.
That’s it!
To sum up, how difficult data science skills to learn is depends upon several factors. It depends on your interests, background, and career goals.
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