If you have pondered over the idea of becoming a data scientist, prompted by the great reviews and appraisals that this job profile regularly receives, I would first wish you all the best for your journey. It is going to be a long and a hard one but every bit of it is worthwhile considering the magnitude of the goal. You must understand that the term Data Scientist is heavily loaded – it has got the word scientist in it. This means that training alone does not qualify you for this post. It takes a lot of industry experience to earn this job profile; 5+ years in the field of analytics, AI or Machine learning is usually a basic requirement.
When you are assigned the role of a data scientist, you are expected to know the subject upside down and inside out – you need to have an idea of all the possibilities and opportunities that a database may hold. And this, almost intuitive knowledge, is achievable through experience and that alone. At the other hand, regardless of how much experienced you are your background and training should be in line with the requirements of this job. So, first there comes rigorous training, then learning by working in many minor roles and building your way through to the “sexiest job on earth”.
It really helps if you have had a steady background of statistics, mathematics or computer science – data science has more to do with these disciplines than any other. As matter of fact you have to excel in multiple disciplines to get a strong ground. Now, if you have these things up to the desired mark, your look out is a good institute that provides top notch data science training. Both fortunately and unfortunately there is an abundance of institutes that offer data science courses. While this makes the subject more available it also makes it difficult to choose the best institute or the appropriate course.
If you are sincere about it and want to take a strong step ahead then you must learn to discern genuine opportunities from lofty and vague promises. You need to accept that you cannot become a data scientist overnight and any such promise has little truth in it. It is best to do a detailed research before going for any course. Consult with seniors about the different curriculums; try to know what is trending and which among them are sustainable. Try to be meticulous about the training and do not lose any opportunities of learning. You need to grow a natural interest in the technical as well as the commercial aspects of data science. Look for opportunities where you will have an experienced superior to look up to. It does seem to be a long process and indeed it is but, as I told before, every bit of it is worthy.
The Indian market for data scientists is yet to mature although the demand is quite high in the USA. Bangalore is growing as India’s centre of data scientific activities. The facilities of data science training Bangalore are quite commendable. It is the perfect time to get trained and for joining the workforce so that, by the time India nears the peak of development in data science, you are prepared for the role.
