Data Scientist: Job Description

A Data Scientist is an expert in Data Science, whose job is to extract knowledge from data in order to be able to answer the questions he or she is asked.

In this article you will find all you need to know about the job of Data Scientist, the skilled required, education and training, and the salary expectations.

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Also discover what are the differences between Big Data and Business Intelligence

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Data Scientist: the job

For the past few years, the job of data scientist has become increasingly relevant due to the growing popularity of Big Data. It is one of the most promising career paths in the IT sector.

Nature of the work

The Data Scientist’s job is based on 4 main missions:

• Identify the needs and problems that the company entrusts to him/her (several possible areas: marketing, HR, customer loyalty, etc.)
• Define a statistical model that will enable him/her to respond
• Build the appropriate tools to collect the data
• Collect and organize the data to exploit the results. The data can come from various sources.

Required skills of the Data Scientist

Ability to analyse and synthesise

The Data Scientist must be able to anticipate information needs and constantly seek new sources of information.

Technical skills

The mastery of certain technical skills is essential for the Data Scientist. Indeed, they must master NoSQL databases (MongoDB, Hadoop), R programming language, C programming with the Python language…They must also have a solid foundation in statistics as well as notions of machine learning, which can be a real asset.

Curiosity and open-mindedness

To work in this profession, you must also be able to detect the most interesting data. In addition, a passion for information processing and Big Data issues is obviously a plus.

Context

Two engineers from Facebook first used this term in 2008. Harvard Business Review voted Data Scientist as the “sexiest job of the 21st century”. As a result, in large companies, the job is divided into several sub-categories: the data miner (collects data), the data analyst (administers and creates databases), and the data scientist (interprets the data).

Thus, data scientists can be found in different fields, such as the commercial sector or security.

Salary

Depending on the company, Data Scientists work in several areas such as marketing, information systems or the finance department.

Their salary varies between 500 and 800 euros.

Data Scientist: Training and Education

In conclusion, to embark on a career as a data scientist, you need a minimum of 5 years of higher education, with a master’s degree in statistical analysis or computer programming. Many also have a doctorate (bac +8)