The Talent Gap in Data Science Today and Tomorrow (2022)
Afeefa
By Afeefa Maryam

May 29, 2022

With every business, organization, and enterprise adopting digital work structures, it is no wonder data science is drawing more attention than ever. However, despite its rising popularity, there is a huge talent gap in data science which is why many people don’t understand how it can revolutionize their businesses. So, with that being said, let’s take a journey with me down the data science road and learn possible solutions to the talent gap in data science.

What is Data Science?

Data science is a field of study in which huge amounts of unfiltered data is processed and dealt with by using modern techniques and tools, to make sense of the data and come up with productive business decisions.

Since the volume of data being produced by organizations is not going to be reduced anytime, data science is emerging as an essential part of the IT sector. For anyone who is new to tech, data science is an umbrella term for statistical, mathematical, computer, and programming knowledge and skills combined.

The crux of this vast discipline is to extract meaningful and beneficial information from the data using complex techniques like machine learning, algorithms, statistics, data mining, and visualization. Here is a practical example, Netflix uses viewing patterns to learn about user interests and make their Netflix original series based on that data.

Similarly, data scientists at companies like Target and Proctor and Gamble use data from customers to understand their shopping preferences and come up with productive strategies.

Now you must be wondering who is a Data Scientist? “Data scientists are experts who use their skills in science, programming, and mathematics, along with advanced algorithms and techniques to find meaningful trends in data to dig out the solutions to challenges faced by the organization.”

Data Scientists in Today’s Job Market

Today, more and more organizations are transitioning to data science as it is becoming apparent that without the expertise of data scientists, large sums of information is useless. No one can deny that modern businesses are overflowing with data. Which raises the question of what to do with it? Fortunately, this is where data scientists come into the limelight in today’s market.

Who are They?

Here is everything you need to know about a data scientist:

Education and Skills

Data scientists usually have a bachelor’s degree in data science or any other closely related field such as computer, programming, or mathematics. A bachelor's degree is not enough to be a skilled data scientist which is why a master's in data science is needed to pursue it as a career.

Then there are special skills that a person has to learn in order to be an effective data scientist. These include; data visualization, statistical analysis, machine learning, programming, software engineering, data mining, reporting and cleaning, cloud tools, and many more. Most data scientists get their first job after specializing in a particular area.

Salary

According to Glassdoor, a data scientist in the United States earns as much as $123,480 yearly, with a base salary starting from 104,496 per year. The demand for data scientists in businesses and organizations is significantly increasing. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts a growth of 31% between 2020 to 2030 in the field of data science.

Responsibilities

Following are the responsibilities of a data scientist:

  • Gathering raw and filtered data for acquisition, entry, and extraction.
  • Processing and cleaning the data so that it can be arranged and used.
  • Classifying the information using data mining, and clustering as it makes the analysis of data easier.
  • Performing analytical and mathematical operations on data to predict useful outcomes.
  • Communicating the insights and results to the company in the form of charts and reports.

How can Data Scientists Add Value to Any Business?

  • Data scientists explore and examine the incoming data to ensure that you are selling the right products to the right customers. They perform data mining to help companies develop products based on customers’ needs.
  • Using their analytical and statistical expertise, they can rule out any ambiguity in the data and prevent loss of money and time by eliminating the risk of fraud.
  • A data scientist evaluates both structured and unstructured data of an organization and empowers the management by recommending actions that will increase profits and decrease losses.

How Many Data Scientists are There in 2022?

Data scientists became increasingly popular a couple of years ago. Professionals from every other field were rushing to take a career chance in data science. However, the question many experts are asking today is whether data scientists are still popular in 2022?

And the answer is yes. Due to the pandemic, there was a surge of digital data at a global level, leading to a record number of data scientists hiring in the year 2021. In the US alone, 11,400 data scientists were working in different companies as of June 2015. So you can imagine how high the number would be in 2022.

How Many More Are Needed?

According to IBM, 2.7 million jobs in the field of data science and analysis were open in 2020 with a 39% growth in demand for data scientists. So, I would say a hell lot of data scientists are needed in 2022, considering all those companies that are new to data science.

Talent Gap and Opportunities Today

Those who are new to the job market should definitely put their feet in the vast ocean of opportunities that data science presents. But the problem is that the demand for data scientists is soaring whereas the supply is not up to the mark. This could either be because of the lack of talent or most likely because of the focused education at the university level.

The talent gap in data science can be filled if more and more universities are offering bachelor's, and master's degrees in data science and related skill-based courses. Newer opportunities in the field of data science can be provided to fresh graduates and job seekers if they acquire the necessary skills.

The Future Solutions

For those who are new to industry and seeking high paying salary, there are diversified solutions in the field of data science. They can contribute to filling the talent gap in today’s job market by becoming a data scientist.

If you have a degree in mathematics, statistics or computer-related fields, or even social sciences, you can play an important part in the success of organizations by enrolling in the right online courses.

Solution for You!

Interested in becoming a data scientist but don’t know where to start? O’Fallon Labs has a great solution for you. Our data science mentors provide professional mentoring and training in machine learning, Al consultancy, and other data science skills to prepare you for your job interview.

So what are you waiting for?

Enroll today!

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About O'Fallon Labs

In O'Fallon Labs we help recent graduates and professionals to get started and thrive in their Data Science careers via 1:1 mentoring and more.


Afeefa

Afeefa Maryam

Afeefa is a talent writer at upwork. She is interested in writing about a varioty of topics including careers in technology.

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