Before we dive into the ‘how’ let’s be familiar with who a data scientist is and what does he do.
Who is a Data Scientist?
Data Scientists are high skilled professionals who work with a vast amount of data to find patterns and trends ultimately giving a solution which leads to growth in business. They collect and analyze large amounts of structured, semi-structured and unstructured data. Data Scientists are highly analytical, they use industry knowledge/expertise, contextual understanding and also use doubts of existing data to find hidden patterns and trends.
What do Data Scientists Do?
Data Scientists solve real business problems by studying data and that can be considered as their main role. Their analysis and study of data leads to change in business in forms of insights, data products and product recommendations. This Data analysis also leads to influence in Business decision making.
Data scientists draw theories from mathematics, statistics, computer science and information & technology to make predictions and decisions. They do this by using perspective analytics, machine learning and predictive analytics. All in all, these are experts who combine both IT and Business and bring out the best of both worlds for the development of a business.
How to Become a Data Scientist?
Data Scientist is one of the most sought after jobs in this day and age. With the rapid advancement of technology, the demand for this position is increasing day by day. Businesses are requiring more efficient and quick solutions/actions for their growth. As India sets forward to become the next big tech hub, the career as a data scientist is becoming increasingly popular in the country as well. More and more youth are inclined towards this profession. There is a high demand for these professionals in big metropolitan cities like Mumbai and Delhi-NCR with an equal demand in cities like Bangalore and Pune.
Also Read: Top 10 Highest Paying Jobs in India 2021
To become a data scientist, you generally need to follow this pathway,
• Graduate degree in Computer Science, Information & Technology, Maths, Physics or any relevant field.
• Postgraduate degree in Computer Science, Information & Technology, Data analytics, Data Science or any other related field.
• Online Data Science courses
• Relevant work experience
After completing your graduate studies in Computer Science and other related fields, you can take an online data science course, which can easily make you enter the field. Many recruiters though look for a work experience of minimum two years. With a master’s degree in Data Science and related fields, securing a Data Scientist position becomes easier. In addition to this, a data scientist aspirant must also have a thorough knowledge of programming languages such as R, Python, SQL (Structured Query Language), SAS (Statistical Analysis System) and Hive etc.
Skills Required to Be a Data Scientist
• Must know a programming language, likely R, Python, SAS, SQL etc
• Have a sound knowledge of Mathematics, Statistics, Algorithms, Computer Science and Information Technology as a whole
• Knowledge of Machine Learning (Advanced)
• Data extraction, transformation and loading
• Big Data Processing Frameworks
• Data Visualisation, Understanding of Business and Communication Skills
Roles and responsibilities of a Data Scientist
• Gathering large amounts of data (structured and unstructured), transforming them into operational insights
• Put forward data-driven solutions to solve complex business problems
• Identify the data-analytics solutions with the most potential to bring growth in business
• Using analytical techniques such as machine learning, deep learning and text analytics to analyse data and find hidden patterns.
• Clean and validate data to maximise data accuracy and efficacy.
• Communicating the findings and profitable observations to company stakeholders with Data Visualization.
Salary Scale of Data Scientists in India
The average base salary of a Data scientist in India is INR 818,994 Lakhs per annum according to payscale.
Entry-Level (Fresher experience of less than a year earns around) – INR 5 lakhs per annum
Early level (1-4 years experience) – INR 6-6.5 lakhs per annum
Mid-Level (5-9 years experience) – INR 10-11 lakhs per annum
Senior level (10+ years experience) – INR 15+ lakhs per annum
