There are many career opportunities in Data Science.
Careers in data science are in demand. Step into the world of big data and machine learning.
In this article, I will unveil the best data science career opportunities in the world today.
What is Data Science?
Data Science is the study that deals with collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data to extract meaningful insights for business using modern tools and techniques.
Data Science is an essential part of many industries in the world today. Its popularity has grown over the years and it is a highly in-demand profession.
It combines the practices from various fields like mathematics, statistics, artificial intelligence, and computer engineering in the analysis of a data set.
Related: 10 Must-Know Libraries for Data Scientists in 2023
Who is a Data Scientist?
A data scientist is an analytical professional who possesses the technical skills to extract meaning from a large volume of data and interpret data to solve complex problems.
A data scientist is a professional who uses modern tools and techniques in the analysis and interpretation of data to help make decisions in an organization.
Related: How To Become a Data Scientist
What does a Data Scientist do?
~ Data Scientists gather and prepare relevant data to analyze
~ Data Scientists use various analytics tools to detect patterns or trends in data sets
~ Data Scientists develop statistical models and predictions
~ Data Scientists build data-driven products and create data visualizations and reports to communicate their findings
The 7 essential skills you need as a data scientist
To properly navigate your path to a successful career in the world of data science, below are the skills you need:
1. Programming
Programming languages such as Python or R are necessary for data scientists to sort, analyze and manage “big data”
2. Statistics and Probability
Data Scientists need to be able to collect, interpret, organize, and present data, and to fully comprehend statistical concepts.
3. Cloud Computing
As a data scientist, you’ll most likely need to use cloud computing tools to help you analyze and visualize data stored on cloud platforms. It is essential for data scientists to become familiar with cloud computing as most industries store their data in cloud platforms.
4. Database Management
Data Scientists should be familiar with the process of arranging, saving, and accessing data in a database system.
5. Machine Learning
Machine Learning allows data scientists to analyze data in real-time by developing workable algorithms and models. Having the knowledge of machine learning as a data scientist would elevate your future with data science career options.
6. Data Visualization
Data Scientists need to be able to create charts and graphs. As a data scientist, you should build familiarity with tools like Tableau, Microsoft Excel, and Power BI. With strong visualization skills, you would be able to use data to tell compelling stories of business insights to stakeholders.
7. Interpersonal Skills
Just as data visualization is important for communicating the data insights you extract, as a data scientist, having great communication skills, management skills and collaboration skills with teams are also vital.
Tools Used by Data Scientists
- SAS
This tool is expressly designed for statistical operations. SAS is used by large organizations for data analysis. It offers numerous statistical tools and libraries that data scientists use for data modeling and organization.
- Spark
Also called Apache Spark is a powerful l analytics engine and it is the most widely used data science tool. Spark comes with many machine learning APIs that facilitate data scientists to make repeated access to data for machine learning and to also make strong predictions with the given data
- MatLab
MatLab is a closed-source software that facilitates matrix functions, algorithmic implementation, and statistical modeling of data. MatLab is most widely used in several scientific disciplines. Its versatility makes it useful in the creation of powerful visualizations.
- TensorFlow
TensorFlow is an open-source machine learning platform that is particularly known for implementing deep learning neural networks. It offers an eager execution programming environment that runs operations individually without graphs which provides more flexibility for research.
- Excel
This is the most widely used data analysis tool. Excel can be used for data cleansing as it provides an interactable GUI environment to preprocess information easily.
- Tableau
Tableau is a data visualization software packed with powerful graphics to make interactive visualizations. It has the ability to visualize geographical data. It also has an analytics tool which can be used to analyze data.
- Julia
Julia is an open-source programming language used for numerical computing as well as machine learning. Julia combines the ease of a high-level dynamic language with performance that is comparable to statically typed languages like C
- Python
Python is the most widely used and popular programming language for data science and machine learning. It can be used for a wide range of tasks including data analysis, data visualization, artificial intelligence, natural language processing, and robotic process automation.
- R
R is an open-source programming language designed for statistical computing and graphics applications as well as data manipulation, analysis, and visualization. R is used to retrieve, cleanse, analyze, and present data. It is one of the most popular languages for data science.
Data Science Career Opportunities: Trends and Insights
The knowledge of data science is needed in several sectors such as healthcare, e-commerce, marketing, and manufacturing to optimize processes, improve customer experiences, and identify new business opportunities.
According to Kaggle’s Survey, from 2017 till now:
- Growth Analysis:
The number of Nigerians in the field of data science peaked in recent times with more than 6 times the number of Nigerian participants in 2017.
- Education Analysis:
With over 50% of Bachelor’s degrees, Nigeria edges out the rest of the world in terms of traditional university education (Bachelor’s, Master’s, Doctorate). However, this lead is lost when only postgraduate studies are considered.
- Gender Analysis:
Just as it occurs in STEM, men have a larger percentage (82.4%) than their counterparts in the Rest of the World (78.7%) in the field of data science. But as it is, efforts are being made to involve women in tech-related activities
- Tools Analysis:
Python’s popularity is still ongoing with SQL coming a far second, both programming languages are data staples used by most data-related roles. For some participants with web experience, JavaScript has a higher ranking.
Conclusively, the employment rate for data scientists will grow by 36% from 2021 to 2031.
Lucrative career opportunities in data science
Below is a list of data science career opportunities for aspiring professionals:
- Data Scientists
Average Salary: 120,000 Naira
Job Role: Data Scientists analyze large volumes of data to find trends and patterns that will develop organizations and help steer vital business decisions
- Machine Learning Engineer
Average Salary: 250,000 Naira
Job Role: They create data funnels and work on software solutions. They often require strong statistics and programming skills and software engineering knowledge.
- Research Scientist
Average Salary: 128,500 Naira
Job Role: They research new data approaches and algorithms that will be applied in adaptive systems.
- Data Architect
Average Salary: 324,000 Naira
Job Role: They create new database systems, and develop ways of improving the performance and functionality of existing systems.
- Data Engineer
Average Salary: 158,000 Naira
Job Role: They are responsible for managing organizational data infrastructure. They build and maintain data pipelines that make information accessible for data sets. They perform real-time processing on stored data
- Statistician
Average Salary: 179,000 Naira
Job Role: They work to collect, analyze, and interpret data to enable them to identify trends and relationships that can be used to make powerful predictions.
- BI analyst (Business Intelligence)
Average Salary: 100,000 Naira
Job Role: They collect, analyze, and interpret complex data sets to provide actionable insights and strategic recommendations. They identify trends, patterns, and anomalies in data sets. They also provide proactive recommendations for process improvement and optimization.
- Data Analyst
Average Salary: 100,000 Naira
Job Role: They use the data of companies to answer business questions that will position them for maximum productivity. They transform and manipulate large data sets to suit the desired analysis of companies.
Benefits of a Data Science Career
A few of the perks of being in the field of data science:
✓ Data Science is greatly in demand. It is the fastest-growing job on LinkedIn and is predicted to create 11.5 million jobs by 2026
✓ Data Science is less saturated compared to other IT sectors. There’s always a vacancy for data scientists
✓ Data Science is one of the most highly paid jobs.
✓ Data Science is versatile. As a data scientist, you have the opportunity to work in various fields.
✓ Data Scientists are highly prestigious. They hold important positions in companies.
✓ Data Science would help your personal growth. Your problem-solving mastery would improve.
✓ Data Scientists have many opportunities to grow their careers. There’s really no room for stagnancy.
✓ Data Science will continue to grow, that is for sure. A career in data science is a secured career
✓ Data Science is not tied to any particular industry. Due to its versatility, you have the freedom to choose the kind of work environment you desire.
Is Data Science in High Demand in Nigeria?
Oh yes! The demand for data scientists in Nigeria is on the rise.
Overall
Pursuing a career in data science in Nigeria can be a rewarding and challenging path.
With the right education, training, and practical experience, you can become a valuable asset to organizations looking to help them make decisions from their data.
You can start your journey to become a data scientist by checking the #1 online data science training with 100% job prospect visibility.
