Why Data Science Is Important

Nowadays, data is changing the business world.

From the targeted ads, so accurate that they are making people believe someone is stalking them, to decision making based on trends and predictive models, companies big and small are spending a big part of their revenue on analyzing and managing data. However, data in itself would be worthless without data science. In order to take full advantage of it, the gathered data must all be processed so the raw facts are converted into meaningful information that can be used by corporations.

Reports show that every day more than 2.5 quintillion bytes of data are created, and with the continuous development of technology and the internet this stat is just going to keep increasing. Nowadays, data is considered the world’s most valuable resource, and that makes data science equally valuable. In case you are contemplating pursuing a career in this field, this article will hopefully erase any doubts you may have by showing you why data science is worthy of pursuing.

It Helps Businesses Reach Another Level

Data science has become a must for every business, and rightfully so since according to a study, organizations that are data-centered are 58% more likely to exceed their revenue goals and improve the customer experience. Below are listed e a number of ways how data science helps businesses improve.

Decision-making

Through collecting survey responses to users testing their products, or analyzing how a new product is performing in the market, companies gather data and then use that data to be more informed during their decision-making process.

According to a survey conducted by PwC with over a thousand senior executives, companies that are data-driven are three times more likely to make improvements in decision-making than those who rely less on or not at all on data.

Understanding customers better

The “Customer is king’’ mantra is an age-old business mantra, and it isn’t entirely wrong. Knowing what your customers want and need is key to providing good customer services, as well as to your company’s success. Data can help you better understand the audience’s response to your product or service, what you have done right, what you should improve or change, and how you should engage with customers to prompt sales.

Managing themselves effectively

Data science also helps companies get insight into their own business, the success rate of their strategies, and their performance, among other metrics. Through their gathered data, businesses can monitor their workers’ performance and take the necessary management steps by promoting or releasing employees. By properly analyzing their data, companies manage themselves more effectively.

Many Career Options to Choose From

If you want to pursue a data science career, becoming a data scientist is not the only option you get. Because more and more data is created each day, and there are various steps to go through in order to manage, analyze, and understand it, there are also many career options that you can choose from.

Data scientist

As a data scientist, your primary job would be to find, clean, and organize data. Data scientists use the information processed from data to find patterns or anomalies that will benefit the company in its decision-making process.

Data engineer

By becoming a data engineer you would have to deal with the processing of gathered and stored data. You would be responsible for creating and supporting data pipelines that are later on used by data scientists.

Statistician

Statisticians have to identify the current trends in the market by gathering, analyzing, and then interpreting data. This profession is essential in helping companies with their business decision-making.

Data architect

These professionals have to use the company’s data sources to create blueprints for their management systems. Oftentimes, they also find different ways to improve the functionality of their database systems.

Data analyst

This profession requires you to track and analyze large amounts of data for companies. You would have to prepare reports of the insights gathered from the various data analyses, and use them to improve the company’s decision-making process.

Other careers include machine learning engineer, machine learning scientist, applications architect, enterprise architect, and countless others.

A High-in-Demand Field

The demand for data science professionals is still quite high, even after years of topping the rankings as the best job in the US. The reason why data science is still a highly requested field is that companies need data to make informed business decisions. Seeing how many companies and organizations get a boost through analyzing and managing their data, then they want to do the same so as to not be forced out of business. This way, more companies are starting to work more closely with data and thus demand for data science professionals to hire.

High Earning Potential

Jobs that are high in demand but low in supply provide high earning potential. Data science is undoubtedly one of them. Data science professionals are paid well across various industries. For example, Glassdoor reports that in the U.S., a data scientist earns an average salary of $115,654, although this salary varies depending on the company you work for, and what level of employment you are. Nevertheless, even an entry-level data science job pays a competitive salary.

It Contributes to the Society

At the end of the day, data science is a rewarding career, not only for you as an individual but for society. There are many ways how different types of data are used for good causes.

The case-in-point is its use in medicine. Although not all diseases are preventable, through data science we can screen for predisposition and try to prevent it before the disease becomes worse. By analyzing data of previous patients, data scientists can determine who is more at risk and together with doctors determine guidelines on who should get screened, how often, and when. Data science can also help professionals predict and map potential outbreaks, such as Mosquito-borne Diseases or Ebola Outbreaks.

The society also benefits greatly from the algorithms created by data scientists. In an instance, immigration officials in Switzerland used the research conducted through data science in order to place the immigrants in areas where they were most likely to find jobs. There are even specific organizations, such as Benefits Data Trust that use data science to help people. The BDT reaped the benefits of data science by processing and linking to public services more than 850,000 applications. They secured over $7 billion in benefits and various services that help people in need of food, housing, and healthcare.

Pursuing a career in the field of data science is a very smart move. Because of the high demand for this profession, you are almost guaranteed a job that comes with a great salary. To top it all off you will also have the chance to help solve global issues and make the world a better place one byte of data at a time.