Data science is the new age engineering
With data and AI becoming the fuel for companies, demand for data science skills is growing exponentially
Many don’t understand what data science is, often mistaking it for data entry, database administrator or a similar entry-level job. Humans have learnt to use oil effectively by refining it. Data science is the ‘refining of data’ to make it useful, and unlike oil, every company needs to use data to solve complex issues. Consider the case of the new coronavirus. Using data science techniques, one can sift through massive volumes of data to detect and monitor the spread of this highly contagious virus. Companies like BlueDot, an AI startup, have developed a software that could determine the chances of disease occurrence. Data science started off as a tool used by banks to detect fraud but is now being used worldwide in areas such as internet search, health care, speech recognition, image recognition and even airline routing. “Data science is the present and the future of mankind and has the potential to revolutionise the way our life is organised today,” said Dr Abhijit Dasgupta, director of the Bachelor of Data Science program at SP Jain School of Global Management. This statement defines the way data science has evolved — as a lucrative and high-growth career option for youngsters. Big Data Analytics has already established its position as a pre-requisite for formulating effective and insightful business and communications strategies. For three years in a row, the role of a data scientist has been named the number one job in the US by Glassdoor. According to a report by the US Bureau of Labour Statistics, the rise of data science needs will create roughly 11.5 million job openings by 2026. The World Economic Forum predicts that by 2022, data scientists and analysts will become the number one emerging role in the world. Data science experts are needed in virtually every job sector, not just technology. In fact, five of the world’s biggest tech companies — Google, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, and Facebook — contributing to over 52 per cent of the world’s market capitalisation globally, are the biggest employers of data scientists and engineers. According to Glassdoor, in February 2020, the base pay for data science professionals touched an all-time high of AU$114,000 in Australia (average salaries were reported to be between AU$90,000 and AU$200,000 for a data science graduate vis-à-vis AU$40,000 – AU$60,000 for business graduates). In the US, the average data scientist salary is US$113,000, according to Glassdoor. With the demand of data scientists showing no immediate signs of slowing down, salaries for this position will continue to remain high, especially for those who have a degree in data science or related fields.
Source: Economic Times, 17/03/2020
