What Does It Take To Be A Successful Data Scientist In India?
Data scientists are currently among the most in-demand and well-paid job professionals. Large-scale and small-scale organizations, hospitals, and academic institutions all need to handle, analyze, and interpret an array of data while maintaining efficiency and ease of data access. A data scientist has the necessary skills, knowledge, and expertise to handle these requirements efficiently.
But even though there is a high demand for data scientists in India today, getting the job and being successful in it, in the long run, can be a challenging feat. Data scientists handle sensitive data, and their interpretations of this data largely affect the working of the whole organization. This is why institutions prefer candidates who have the relevant skills up their sleeves and some experience working in the data science industry.
So, what does it take to be a successful data scientist in India? While the path ahead in this field is challenging and requires full dedication, having a plan for your steps makes the journey much easier.
This article talks about the eligibility and requirement for becoming a data scientist with some bonus tips to follow.
Who Is A Data Scientist?
A data scientist collects fragments or sets of organized or unorganized data for analysis, manipulation, and interpretation to obtain valuable insights. This data can be retrieved from one or many sources, including social media feeds, emails, smart devices, and others.
The information acquired by a data scientist is then utilized in developing business plans, getting customer insights, managing functional operations, and observing trends and patterns. This helps any organization elevate the quality of its services, enhance the company-customer relationship, decide the most efficient and profitable working arrangement, and devise plans.
A data scientist has a good hold on technical skills, statistics, mathematics, machine learning, data wrangling, data clearance, and programming languages. These skills are all used together to analyze and interpret simple to complex data to procure maximal information.
Eligibility To Become A Data Scientist In India
To become a successful data scientist in India, you must be well-versed in the necessary skills and have a degree in a field-relevant course. Analyzing complex datasets, visualizing the available information, and presenting it coherently is crucial to becoming a good training scientist.
The sections below give you a brief account of the eligibility for becoming a data scientist.
Relevant Educational Qualification
To become a data scientist, you must complete your 10+2 from the science stream with computer science, physics, and mathematics as compulsory subjects. Most institutions require you to pass this educational level with 60% or above aggregate marks.
Following that, you must have a bachelor’s degree in any field-relevant stream like data science, computer science, statistics, etc. This ensures you are familiar with the technical and/or theoretical concepts required for the job.
You can pursue a post-graduation in a related field as well. And while you don’t need to hold a master’s degree, it does work in your favor when applying for a job.
Hone Your Skills
You require several skills outside of your academic aspects to become a successful data scientist. Therefore, you must take out some time to practice and sharpen your skills. These include machine learning, programming languages, data wrangling, data clearance, and a few others.
A certificate course is an excellent way to obtain these skills while getting a professional certificate to back up your resume. A diploma or postgraduate diploma in any related field also makes your portfolio significantly noticeable.
Create An Impressive Portfolio
A portfolio where you showcase your qualifications, skills, and work experience contributes a lot to whether or not you get a job. So do not hesitate to boast about your hard work here.
If you do not have any work experience, attend a certification course that provides hands-on practical work opportunities. You can also obtain publicly available datasets and analyze and work on them as your project. Another option is to go for an entry-level job in the data science industry and move up the chain as you gain experience and expertise.
Skills Required To Become A Successful Data Scientist
As discussed above, you must have a certain set of skills to fit the requirements of this job. These skills are necessary to carry out even the simplest nuances that a data scientist handles.
Some of the most crucial skills are discussed below.
Data Analysis, Manipulation, And Interpretation
The job of a data scientist revolves around working with different datasets. They should be able to analyze and interpret even complex data, integrate data from various sources, manipulate it, and obtain insights from it.
Technical And Programming Skills
Computer operations, machine learning, and the knowledge of one or more programming languages are essential for a data scientist. Invest your time mastering programming languages and database tools like Python, R, SQL, C++, and others.
Mathematics And Statistics
The analysis and interpretation of data require the use of mathematical concepts and statistical theories and operations. Regression analysis, descriptive studies, hypothetical tests, algebra, and mathematical functions are frequently used to procure optimal information from a given dataset and outline the information cogently.
Specialization
Data science is a vast world in itself, with multiple specializations. There are subjects such as data analytics, statistical analytics, data architecture, data administration, and numerous others. Deciding your specialization and working your way toward it from the beginning prevents you from getting sidetracked and reaching your goals faster. You focus on developing your skills and knowledge and creating expertise in that field. This also gives you a better job prospect.
Conclusion
Job prospects for data scientists in India are still in the progressive stage. While professionals in this field are in high demand, getting a secure job and setting yourself up for success is more challenging than it sounds. However, if you have the relevant qualifications and skills and are dedicated to this profession, establishing yourself as a successful data scientist is highly potential.
