Data Scientist: who he is and why he is important

data scientist

I am writing this article because data science is one of the things I am studying these days. Today let’s look at who the data scientist is, what they do, why they are an important figure in a company, how to become one and how much they make.

If you’re ready to discover the world of data scientist, we can get started already, shall we?

Let’s Go!

Who is a data scientist?

The figure of the data scientist is a profession that has appeared only in recent years. This profession was born along with the technological evolution by companies.

A data scientist is a person who is able to work with large amounts of data, called big data. Why is big data important to this professional figure?

Thanks to the enormous amount of data collected by companies, the data scientist is able, through Machine Learning techniques, to make predictions necessary for the improvement of the company in which he or she works or for which he or she works.

What does a data science person do?

data scientist

As I have already mentioned, this type of professional works with data, large amounts of data. Thanks to these data taken from a dataset (a table of data) he can make useful analysis for the company’s business.

From the analysis done, many of the business decisions are determined. 


Because unlike other professions that may include the same skills, what sets the data scientist apart is being able to analyze and manipulate unstructured data.

Structured data: are the types of data that are organized, have an order, and can be easily read and organized by an automated system.

Unstructured data: this is the data that is not in order, data that is usually derived from user input, messages, emails, etc. and is therefore more difficult to organize and classify automatically.

The data scientist in addition to being an expert in analyzing and manipulating data, is a professional who must know the industry in which it operates, must have knowledge of business.

This is needed because he is in charge of guiding, thanks to the data and forecasts on them, the decisions that the company should make to get to the goal set.

So why is this an important role?

This type of profession is highly sought after by companies because it is a role that is considered critical to business growth.

It’s not a figure you’ll find everywhere, and we’ll understand why that is in a moment.

To date, what many people ignore is that in the digital world, data is what’s most valuable that a company can get from any person, more than money itself. Why?

Once a company has managed to take your data, they can get a lot out of it and may be able to get you to buy the same company’s products and/or services over and over again.

So having a figure who can read all this information, manipulate it and then use it to make the company generate more profits is really important today.

Now that we know who they are, what they do, and why it’s important for a company to have a figure like the data scientist in-house, let’s take a look at how to become a data scientist.

How to become a data scientist and everything you need to know

data scientist - programmazione

One of the questions many people ask is “how do you become a data scientist and what skills and subjects do you need to know?

There are several paths you can take to enter this profession.

The first path you can take is through university. University is one of the longest routes because of the years it takes you to get your degree; there are several degree paths that have to do with this profession, but this depends on the city and the university you would like to go to.

Another way to enter this profession is to study through online or offline courses done by prestigious universities that are dedicated to training students who want to enter the world of digital work and data.

One example is John Hopkins University’s Data Science course, which also leaves you with a valid certificate to get a job in the field.

Finally, one last avenue I can suggest is to study independently.

How to study independently?

If you choose this path you need to be as disciplined and determined. You can also study here through online courses that you can find for free or for a fee. This, in my opinion and a bit more complex path if you don’t have a direction to follow to study what you need.

Okay, so what does a person working in data science need to know and be familiar with?

There are necessary skills that a data scientist must have.

This professional needs to be very good at subjects like algebra and statistics. Working with data, you need to know how you can manipulate this data and what analysis you can draw based on your knowledge of these subjects.

Obviously the deeper your knowledge, the more accurate your analysis will be, so these two subjects are FUNDAMENTAL.

You need to know how to program, this is another feature that is important. With knowledge of a programming language like Python (the most widely used in data science) you can manipulate data much more easily.

As I also mentioned earlier, a data scientist must have business knowledge, at least in the industry he or she is in. He has to know the product so that he can make a better prediction.

To finish the list of necessary knowledge, we have communication skills. Yes, because one thing I didn’t tell you before is that, the data scientist is the person who communicates, to those who can’t interpret the data, what the data says.

All right, having said all that, let’s get to the final and most climactic part of this article.

How much does a data scientist make?

As one of the most sought after professions by companies and one of the professions that requires the most skills for a single person, this position is well paid.

A data scientist’s salary varies based on experience and the type of role, whether freelance or junior or senior employee.

A junior figure of this type can earn up to $70,000/85,000 gross per year. The senior figure instead, at the time I’m writing this article can get to earn up to $ 130,000 gross per year.

Obviously, it all depends on the company you are hired by, the type of contract, and most importantly, your experience and additional skills.

. . .

Well, as you may have read the path to take up this profession is not entirely simple, but I still hope to have cleared your mind with this article.

To conclude I recommend you to read this article on “How to study Artificial Intelligence“.

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