Why Become a Data Scientist? A Look at this Growing Career

Data Science is a new and growing field around the world, and it will only grow as a field. It has to. The world is only producing more data as time goes on, and new solutions are essential to organizing it and making sense of it. From a company’s data to Big Data, the amount of data is staggering. To put into perspective, as of 2020, the world collectively produced the equivalent of 59 Zettabytes, which is approximately 59 trillion gigabytes. Even more staggering, however, is the estimate that we will have produced 175ZB by 2025.

This is more data than any brain could process. Where the brain fails because it works in understanding patterns, computers thrive. Computers, however, do not automatically have the ability to sort and understand the information in question. People are still essential in creating the necessary programs and then understanding the data after it has been sorted.

India’s tech sector is massive, which is why it’s no surprise that they are the second-highest country recruiting data scientists and data analysts in the world. They are only second to the United States. Currently, there are around 50,000 positions available, and the job role is expected to grow as more businesses wizen up to the importance of data analysis and start to bring in data scientists in-house.

How Much Do Data Scientists in India Make?

Data Scientists earn very healthy incomes, even when they first start out. The average for entry-level data scientists is ₹500,000 per year, whereas the average is ₹698,412. Wages only go up the more years of experience that you have, with mid-level data scientists earning around ₹1,004,082 per year and senior positions bringing in ₹1,700,000.

This is the average wage bracket. Those in the highest percentile earn more towards ₹2M.

And that is just for data scientists. Those with an MS Data Science online degree from a top American university can apply to several different kinds of roles, including data engineer, AI engineer, Big Data engineer, and more.

The average salary for an entry-level data engineer, for example, is ₹7,37,257, whereas mid-level engineers earn around ₹1,218,983.

For those that understand the process behind data analysis better than the process of creating programs for data analysis, there are options also available to you. The pay for data analysts is typically half of what a data engineer would make but are still very in-demand and allow you to bring in a healthy salary for your work.

What Do Data Scientists Do?

Data scientists, in simplest terms, create programs that collect structured and unstructured data. These programs often work to also understand that data by structuring it in such a way that the data scientist can then extract actionable insight.

The insight extracted can help solve a variety of business problems and dilemmas. It can even help to improve the company in ways that no one expected.

Understanding the data available to you is imperative. It is key to understanding where the company is at and what is really going on. Going into the decision-making process without clearly understanding the current state of things is how bad decisions are made. Understanding the current state of affairs intimately means better decisions that solve your issues can be offered.

As you can tell, this makes data scientists extremely valuable to every business. The only difference is that some companies can afford to have data scientists, analysts, and engineers, and others cannot.

What are Data Science Related Fields on the Rise?

There are multiple job roles that are increasing annually, making it far more appealing to new graduates.

• AI Specialists are experiencing a job growth rate of 74% per year since 2015. They work to design and maintain AI programs, either for cognitive simulation work or work to create applied AI programs that solve problems better and faster than people ever could.
• Data Scientists work to extract and understand value. They gather data from multiple sources, often with a program that they have designed or at least understand the mechanics of, and then use that data to find solutions to business-specific problems.
• Data Analysts are a growing field that work to also collect and understand data, but with one key difference: they do not create the programs that data scientists do to collect and understand data.

There are multiple data science-related job roles on the rise, and the best part is that you can often opt for any of them when you have the right foundation with your data science degree.

How Do You Become a Data Scientist?

To become a data scientist, you need a few key qualifications.

First, you need to be experienced with at least one programming language, though the more you know and are familiar with, the better. If you don’t currently have this, there are multiple tools online, including courses, that you can take to learn the ropes.

You will also want to have experience with creating algorithms, with math (particularly statistics). Having a related undergraduate degree is perfect, though you can technically earn foundation degrees and potentially be able to apply for the necessary master’s that way.

The master’s degree in question should offer you a solid foundation and the ability to customize your degree towards the direction and work that you find most enjoyable.

Furthering Your Career in Data Science

Though the average for those who work within data science is already high, there are a few key tips and tricks that you can use to work your way towards the upper percentile. The best way is, by far, to change employers every few years. Start looking for a new, or even next-level role after two to three years. When you get that next job and are in the negotiation stage, always negotiate for a higher wage.

This is the best place to negotiate a higher wage, particularly if your employer does not seem keen to give you appropriate pay increases at your current work.

Data science is a big career, and it is growing, use that to your advantage to get the role you deserve.