If you’re thinking of becoming a data scientist or a data analyst, here is an article that will help you decide which job you might be a fit for. In this article, we will talk about responsibilities, qualifications, skills and salary.
Data Scientist
Responsibilities
As a data scientist, you will have the following responsibilities:
- Identify opportunities by leveraging company data to drive business solutions
- Collect and determine the correct data sets that could stem from structured and unstructured data from various sources
- Ensure accuracy and completeness of data by cleaning and validating it
- Apply and develop models and algorithms using internal data sets
- Develop A/B testing framework
- Mine and conduct analysis of data to optimize and improve product development, marketing techniques and business strategies
Skills
As a data scientist, you will need to have the following skills to be successful:
- Statistical analysis and data mining skills (regression, statistical tests, random forest, text mining, properties of distributions, etc.) are useful to identify patterns in your company data or detect anomalies
- Knowing machine learning is a plus, your future employer will ask you to implement algorithms and statistical models using this technology
- Being able to write code with different languages such as Java, R, Python or SQL
- Having data storytelling skills to communicate and explain your actionable insights for a non-technical audience
- Excellent communication skills (both written and verbal) to be able to work with different stakeholders (engineering, product, business, leadership, etc.)
Qualifications
Usually data scientists have the following qualifications:
- Master Degree or higher is preferred
- PhD required for some positions
- Degree in Computer Science, Statistics, Mathematics, Economics or Physics
Salary
The salary for a data scientist depends usually on your location, but usually the average salary is quite high. Below, you will find the salary you can expect.
Data Analyst
Responsibilities
As a data analyst, you will have the following responsibilities:
- Work with business leaders to identify opportunities
- Create reports and dashboards internally and sometimes for external clients
- Manipulate, analyze and interpret complex data sets
- Acquire data from primary and secondary data sources
- Sift through business numbers and data to build a story from a hidden information
Skills
As a data analyst, you will need to have the following skills to be successful:
- Having coding skills in languages such as SQL, Python and/or R
- Being experienced with tools such as Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets
- Having analytical and problem-solving skills
- Being able to build reports and data visualizations using tools such as Tableau, Power BI or Looker
- Understanding of data warehousing and ETL techniques
- Knowledge of data cleaning and transforming techniques
- Having excellent written/verbal communication skills
Qualifications
Usually data analysts have the following qualifications:
- Bachelor Degree or higher is preferred
- Master required for some positions
- Degree in Computer Science, Statistics, Mathematics, Economics or Physics
Salary
The salary for a data analyst depends also usually on your location, but usually the average salary is a bit lower than the one for a data scientist. Below, you will find the salary you can expect.
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