The overall alteration in the landscape of the job market has been influenced by automation and the development of digital services. The economic slowdown and other macro factors have made employers rethink their hiring practices. Nowadays, companies are more focused on improving their methods of handling employees to utilize them more effectively.
Even though the hiring process of “Data Scientists” remains less affected by these modern macro and micro factors, you have to consider the current expectations of the companies and act accordingly to gain an edge and land your dream job.
Current Market Sentiments And Needs
As an aspiring data scientist, you can sense that the changes happened after the growth of artificial intelligence. Currently, most of the company’s prime targets would be “Technology Adoption” only. Hiring the right and skillful candidates is the only way a company can sustain this complex technology era. Companies expect their employees to be more proficient in both conventional and modern technologies, as they aren’t completely moved into modern tech.
They expect employees to be constantly learning, gaining certifications, and being innovative. Most importantly, you will be expected to perform all your duties and help the company solve its business problems with the help of data-driven insights.
Become A Professional With “T-Shaped Skills”
Employees are focusing on hiring employees who may possess T-shaped skills. T-shaped skills are the combination of Deep specialization in a particular niche and possession of transferable skills and broad knowledge. Nowadays, companies believe in hiring T-shaped employees over X and I-shaped employees.
- The vertical line of the “T” that extends towards the deep downside represents the deep expertise in your niche that your employer requires.
- For example, the IT and life science industry relies more on NLP; if you are a data scientist specializing in NLP, you are an asset to them.
- The horizontal line of the “T” that extends towards the left and right side represents the broader knowledge and flexible skills of a person. Without a doubt, as a data scientist, you are required to exercise not only your technical skills but also your soft skills, domain knowledge, and storytelling skills.
As a data scientist, you have to hone your skills in a particular domain, an area of niche expertise that falls within the large data science understanding, and the ability to work with team members effectively.
Some of the best online data science courses offer domain-specific training, more practical exposure through capstone projects, and extensive career assistance. Also, nowadays, you can get data science online course with certificate accredited by top-tier universities and companies.
Industry Specific Knowledge
As aspiring data scientists, one should know that studying general data science with technical skills will not help you in the current job market scenario. To become a domain-specialized data scientist, you should have data science knowledge as well as knowledge about the industry. For example, suppose you are a data scientist, and you are landing a job in a Biotechnology company or a life science company. For that reason, companies and employers have started to look out for data scientists with domain knowledge in their respective fields. As an aspiring data scientist, you can choose a domain-specialized data science online course with certificate to boost your job opportunities.
Contribution To The Business Impact
In this tech-driven era, Data Scientists play an important role. They are responsible for analyzing the data, employing machine learning models, coming up with solutions, developing strategies, and communicating the findings to the management. Companies expect employees from all levels of the organization to contribute to the business growth. Data scientists are responsible for finding actionable solutions, so the expectations will be set high by the management. As an aspiring data scientist, you have to understand that it is mandatory for you not only to complete your duties but also to think laterally to contribute effective solutions to the business.
You can find many best online data science courses available to help you with learning this aspect. Try to enroll in a data science online course with certificate to increase the visibility of your profile.
Being Innovative And Having Additional Skills
It is not mandatory to be innovative in your roles and responsibilities, but if you do act as a clever working professional, you can thrive in your career. Companies expect people with diverse skills, creative mindsets, and the ability to handle complex situations efficiently. The ability to be creative and innovative is required in almost every job. Also, as a data scientist, you can learn additional skills like project management, Open source contribution, Cloud computing, and DevOps. These skills are not required in your job role, but if gained, they will give you an edge.
Ethical Consideration And Being Trustworthy
As artificial intelligence and machine learning grow more complex day by day, not only has the demand for data scientists increased, but their ethical duties also. Companies expect data scientists who can follow the rules and ethical considerations that they are bound to comply with. As a data scientist fresher, you can provide your projects and practical experience to the employer to showcase your algorithmic bias and responsibility for implementing AI or ML models.
It is mandatory to comply with the ethics and rules of the organization so that you can win their trust. Being trustworthy is important when it comes to a profession like a data scientist. Even the company’s decision-makers rely on the insights that data scientists produce.
Summing Up
The technology landscape has changed in recent years due to the growth of various new-age technologies. To adapt to the change, companies have started to recruit data scientists who are skillful in both hard and soft skills. They possess domain knowledge, can work with people from different backgrounds, comply with ethics, rules, and regulations, and have lateral and creative thinking abilities.
If you are new to the data science field, try to gain these skills, and if you are an aspiring data scientist, enroll in an advanced data science program to learn comprehensively.