If you are interested in getting a job as a data scientist, you are not alone, with data scientist being voted the best job in America again in January 2017. With a competitive salary and thousands of job openings monthly, it really can be a great career to get into if you aren’t already. Of course, you need to have a good level of understanding of data science to pursue the career but below are some more skills that companies look for when hiring.
Use Of Basic Tools
Every company that you apply for will want to know that you understand and have used the basic tools and software associated with data science. This can mean a statistical programming language such as Python and a database querying language such as Structured Query Language (SQL). If you already know how to use these, then you are on your way to becoming a data scientist. If not, then there are many tutorials online to get you started.
Problem Solving
As a data scientist, this will be a vital part of the interview techniques and your role. You need to be able to problem solve in a data orientated way to get the best possible results. You will need to determine what is important and what isn’t, what role you would have as the data scientist and what you would ask the engineers and software developers to do. If you wish to expand your knowledge and problem-solving skills further it may be worth looking at completing an online data science masters, which will help you to solve problems using the latest analytical methods and tools in the business.
Basic Statistics
As a data scientist, you will need to know at least basic statistics. If you know more, even better. You need to be familiar and get yourself acquainted with statistical distributions, tests, and many more, things you should have been taught in your basic statistics classes. As a data scientist, you should know when different techniques should and shouldn’t be used in order to make a valid approach.
Communicating Data
Being able to communicate data to those who do and don’t understand it in as much depth as you are incredibly important, especially if you are applying for a job in a new business. This can mean describing your data findings or the way a certain technique works in a way that all audiences will be able to understand and consider, using both technical and non-technical terms when needed.
To become a data scientist, you need the necessary skills and a particular knowledge set. If you have these, you are sure to find a job in the data science field. Gaining a job means finding a company that you want to work for and who need your skill set, so they can help develop those skills further. Having a masters in data science can also give you a better understanding of what is involved in this career and give you the confidence to become a great data scientist.
