Data Science Job Titles

All of us at some point during our web surfing have come across the Harvard Business Review article “Data scientist -The sexiest job of the 21st century” and perhaps that was a motivation factor for many to shift gears into Analytics or Data Science. Gartner studies suggest that 75 percent of the 10 lakhs registered companies’ jobs in India are going to invest in Machine learning and Data science.

Lets take a quick look into the world of Data Science.

So What is Data Science ?

“The term ‘data science’ refers to the practice of using advanced analytics to engage in systematic testing of data-driven hypotheses, which may be for pure science or for practical concerns in business, government, and other spheres of activity”… James Kobielus IBM’s Big Data Evangelist,.

Data science requires a culmination of skills from fields of traditional computer science to mathematics to art.

Are you a budding data professional but the fancy words have you all confused”? Read on (its going to be a long one, albeit!) to understand the various roles in in the multifaceted field of Data Science and do keep in mind the roles seem to be continually evolving.

1. Data Scientist

Data Scientists are the data wizards who possess formidable skills in computer programming along with mathematics & statistics. Their knowledge is put to use to clean, wrangle data and help businesses to uncover obscured solutions.
They are the champions in employing Machine Learning techniques, statistical algorithms and advanced analytics for predictive & prescriptive modeling purposes.
And also developing new algorithms for optimizing solutions as well as extraction, cleaning huge amounts of data obtained from both internal & external sources and draw insights and identify trends. These data ninjas provide data driven solutions to the hard core business challenges & communicating the same. Machine learning certification courses are extremely effective to get started in this domain along with a sound knowledge of Statistics for Data Science.

2. Data Analyst

Data Analyst job descriptions in some companies might be synonymous with Data scientists job listings.
It is an analyst’s job to write queries for data extraction with SQL from databases, having advanced Excel skills or create data visualization using Tableau master, and producing basic data visualizations and reporting dashboards while ensuring data quality and governance and conducting actual data analysis. Opt for Data Analytics certification courses to get started.

3. Data Engineers

Data Engineers coming generally from a pure IT background are the behind the scenes gurus who ease out the jobs of data scientists and data analysts.
In a way they empower the Data Scientists by building the data driven platforms like Data Warehouses, Data Lakes, streaming platforms and other solutions that gather or aggregate data and then load them into databases or data warehouses so that in the next step the Data Scientist can perform their jobs better. A good Data Engineer possesses an overview of Cloud based solutions in addition to more traditional architectures, ETL tools. As a Data engineers your job will be to create the software infrastructure that keeps the data flowing and maintain the architecture to support the business requirements such that the data can be analyzed by other professionals.

4. Business Analysts

One of the most coolest Data professionals are the Business Analysts. In addition to possessing data analysis skills their resume also lists specialized business domain knowledge which is utilized the operation of the business. They have an important responsibility of bridging the gap between IT and the business using data analytics.
Their role also includes understanding dynamic business needs, assessing the impact of those changes, capturing, analyzing, documenting requirements and deliver data-driven recommendations and reports to executives and relevant stakeholders. A Business Analytics certification where you can learn the basics of Data Science along with a knowledge of “R” for Data science and SAS will pave the way forward in your BA career!

5. Database Administrator

He is the Principal in the data world as he is the one responsible for enforcing procedures for accurate, complete, and timely updation of the databases and help in maintaining a successful database environment. Typically, armed with a Computer Science degree their roles may include designing, implement database systems; establishing policies and procedures pertaining to the management, security, maintenance, and use of the database management system; and also impart training to employees in database management as well as its usage. Maintaining Data Integrity is their topmost priority. They usually expected to have experience with one or more of the major database management system like MS SQL, Db2, Hadoop and Oracle database. A Big Data analytics certification course with Hadoop will be a great match for you.

So Which one is you ?

We hope this post helps you in choosing the right path. You can always get in touch with our faculty at Ivy Professional School to understand each of the roles better. Ivy is among the top 10 analytics training institutes in India, also consistently ranked as the Best Data Science Institute in Eastern India. You can opt for this Data Science course in Bangalore or Pune or Mumbai or Kolkata or do it online from wherever you want! I’ll leave you with a parting thought… the buzzword of 2018.. “Citizen Data Scientist “says Gartner. The term coined by the company is here to fill in the workforce gap of Data Scientists. It is estimated that there will be five times as many citizen data scientists than Data Scientists in times ahead. So Keep Learning & upskilling!
If you come up with examples of additional roles then please feel free to discuss them in the comments section below.

Shromona Kahali – Content Strategist, Ivy Professional School