Data science is a relatively new field, yet it changes by the minute with the rapid development of technologies. Examining the job search landscape over the past few years will help you determine where to invest your efforts.
Let’s start with the findings from studies on job offers in the field of data science.
365’s Job Offers Study
They performed a keyword analysis on 1,170 job descriptions and extracted the most cited skills, programming languages, and machine learning techniques.
Based on the frequency of mentions Machine Learning, Statistics, and Python programming are the most sought-after skills.
Undoubtedly, Python was the undisputed winner among the programming languages required for data science roles. But R and SQL also appeared frequently in job descriptions.
Why is that?
Data scientists need Python or R as a programming language and SQL to retrieve and explore data in a firm’s database.
Regarding Machine Learning, the most in-demand techniques were Deep Learning, Clustering, and Natural Language Processing (NLP).
Last but not least, most job ads emphasize communication and business skills.
The Anaconda Report
These are the primary skills employers expect from data scientists.
Will the demand remain unchanged?
They looked for an answer in the 2022 Anaconda report and the and the skills gaps identified by over 1,440 people working at data science and ML departments of different organizations.
According to them, the main areas of expertise needed but currently missing are:
- Data Engineering
- Probability and Statistics
- Big Data Management
- Business Knowledge
- Communication Skills
- Python
- Data Visualization
Regarding technical expertise, Python, R, and SQL will withstand the test of time.
All things considered, the law of supply and demand indicates the data science job outlook is more than optimistic and so should you be you in pursuing your data science career goals.
