The Job of Data Scientists and what it takes to become one with IBM

Rising alongside the relatively new technology of big data is this new job prospect - Data Scientists. It's the hot new career every B-school student is eyeing as more and more corporates and even startups today, are on the lookout for great data scientists.

It requires a solid foundation typically in computer science and applications, modeling, statistics, analytics and math to begin with.
What sets the data scientist apart is a strong business acumen, coupled with the ability to communicate findings to both business and IT leaders in a way that can influence how an organization approaches a business challenge.
Good data scientists will not just address business problems, they will pick the right problems that have the most value to the organization.

The data scientist role has been described as “part analyst, part artist.” Anjul Bhambhri, Vice President of big data products at IBM, says, “A data scientist is somebody who is inquisitive, who can stare at data and spot trends. It's almost like a Renaissance individual who really wants to learn and bring change to an organization."

What it takes to become a data scientist:

- Whereas a traditional data analyst may look only at data from a single source, a data scientist will most likely explore and examine data from multiple sources.

-The data scientist will sift through all incoming data with the goal of discovering a previously hidden insight, which in turn can provide a competitive advantage or address a pressing business problem.
-A data scientist does not simply collect and report on data, but also looks at it from many angles, determines what it means, then recommends ways to apply the data. They are an inquisitive lot: exploring, asking questions, doing “what if” analysis, questioning existing assumptions and processes.

-Armed with data and analytical results, a top-tier data scientist will communicate it to the company heads so that they can make informed business decisions and finetune business to build closer relations with customers.
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