How to become a Data Scientist
Data Scientists investigate large datasets and interpret them to make insights and recommendations for clients or employers that is easy to understand and important for future practice.
Personal requirements for a Data Scientist
- Meticulous and extremely organised
- Good communication skills to a variety of people
- Measured judgment and decision
- Making skills
- Strong problem
- Solving skills and logic
- Good presentation skills
- Good written comprehension and expression skills
- Able to understand basic mathematic principles
- Motivated and able to find various avenues to succeed
- Prior understanding of programming
Education & Training for a Data Scientist
Data Scientists normally need a bachelor’s or postgraduate degree in fields such as statistics, data programming or computer science. Prerequisites can vary between institutions, so it’s important to contact your preferred institution to ensure you have fulfilled these requirements. Obtaining a bachelor’s degree is usually a priority when it comes to securing an entry-level Data Science job.But most Data Scientists study further to achieve a master’s degree in Data Science. Completing a master’s degree in the field is also a requirement for many Data Science careers that demand more complex knowledge on data trends and computer software. Some Data Science workers also have VET qualifications in IT, statistics and computer science that can benefit a bachelor’s or master’s degree. All of these courses usually require at least a Senior Secondary Certificate of Education alongside prerequisite subjects completed in English, IT and mathematics. Contact the institutions you are interested in to ensure you have completed what is required before you enrol.For further details, visit www.goodeducationguide.com.au .
Additional information
The amount of people working in Data Science has grown exponentially in the past five years. Data Scientists receive the opportunity to work from home or travel overseas to work abroad, depending on their employer. Certain versatile environments will allow flexible working arrangements depending on the projects required. Certain master’s degrees in Data Science or Computer Science may allow students to achieve professional memberships of certain groups or organisations. This includes The Australian Computer Society, the Information Technology Professionals Association (ITPA) and the Data Science and AI Association of Australia (DSAi). Eligibility for these organisation’s memberships varies and may require certain qualifications. Check organisation websites for further information.
Duties & Tasks of a Data Scientist
Data Scientists:
- Organise complex and large amounts of data into spreadsheets, charts and graphs for stakeholders to read
- Extract and clean large amounts of ‘messy’ or unstructured data and formulate it into presentable pieces of information
- Make business decisions and solve business problems through undirected research
- Use their knowledge in social science to create plans and make recommendations for other business members or clients
- Become a connector between the backlog of data a company has and their workers to ensure the company maintains correct practice
- Discover new algorithms to solve data and business problems while creating automatic future approaches to sorting through data
- Communicate with important stakeholders to explain complex data trends and how to resolve issues that arise within data trends
- Constantly amend and fix the data foundations upon which data is entered into to prevent errors
- Manipulate data sets to help make decisions for businesses on future costs/ expenditure
Working conditions for a Data Scientist
Data Scientists may work individually but usually work in a group or team, depending on the size of the business and their data. Data Scientists may communicate largely through e-mail and face-to-face meetings, where personal communication skills are critical.
Employment Opportunities for a Data Scientist
Data Scientists can work in environments such as public services, private sectors, scientific and professional research, financial services and industry corporations. Data Scientists usually work within a team unless the business’ size is small enough to only hire an individual for the role. Data Scientists are normally employed full-time, but can also receive contract for small projects depending on the business.
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