Data Scientist
On this page
- What's it like to be a Data Scientist?
- How to become a Data Scientist
- Latest Data Scientist jobs
- Top skills and experience for Data Scientists
What's it like to be a Data Scientist?
Data Scientists collect large amounts of data to analyse and arrange into meaningful data sets. They can then extract insights and trends from these data sets. This information influences data-driven decisions, including business strategies and policies. Data Scientists use skills in mathematics, science and statistics to understand data and how it can be applied to decision making. In some cases, they may be required to communicate the results of their work through presentations and reports.
Tasks and duties
- Collating large data sets with specialised software.
- Interpreting data with a scientific approach.
- Extracting insights to help stakeholders understand how to approach business objectives.
- Cleaning and maintaining clean data sets.
- Creating data models.
- Presenting data findings to other team members.
How to become a Data Scientist
To prepare for a career as a Data Scientist, you usually need a bachelor degree, advanced skills in data analysis and a working knowledge of relevant programming languages.
- 1.
Complete a bachelor degree in data science, computer science, maths or statistics.
- 2.
Learn to use SQL databases and spreadsheets. There are online certifications you can take that are focused on SQL databases such as MySQL, MongoDB and PostgreSQL.
- 3.
Build experience with relevant programming languages used for data collection. These can include Python, R and SQL.
- 4.
Consider completing a postgraduate degree in data science or a related field to advance your career.