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The Must-Have Skills You Need toBecome a Data ScientistPosted November 17th, 2014

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Over the past year, interest in data science has soared. Nate Silver (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nate_Silver) is a

household name, companies everywhere are searching for unicorns (http://www.informationweek.com/big-data/big-

data-analytics/are-you-recruiting-a-data-scientist-or-unicorn/d/d-id/899843), and professionals in many different

disciplines have begun eyeing the well-salaried profession (http://www.burtchworks.com/big-data-analyst-salary/big-

data-career-tips/) as a possible career move.

In our recruiting searches here at Burtch Works, we’ve spoken to many analytics professionals who are considering

adapting their skills to the growing field of data science, and have questions about how to do so. From my perspective

as a recruiter, I wanted to put together a list of technical and non-technical skills that are critical to success in data

3/2/2015 The Must­Have Skills You Need to Become a Data Scientist ­ Burtch Works

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science, and at the top of hiring managers’ lists.

Every company will value skills and tools a bit differently, and this is by no means an exhaustive list

(http://www.datasciencecentral.com/profiles/blogs/job-skills-required-to-get-hired-data-science-startups), but if you

have experience in these areas you will be making a strong case for yourself as a data science candidate.

 

Technical Skills: Analytics

1. Education – Data scientists are highly educated – 88% have at least a Master’s degree and 46% have PhDs – and

while there are notable exceptions, a very strong educational background is usually required to develop the depth

of knowledge necessary to be a data scientist. Their most common fields of study are Mathematics and

Statistics (32%), followed by Computer Science (19%) and Engineering (16%).

2. SAS and/or R – In-depth knowledge of at least one of these analytical tools, for data science R is generally

preferred.

 

Technical Skills: Computer Science

3. Python Coding – Python is the most common coding language I typically see required in data science roles,

along with Java, Perl, or C/C++.

4. Hadoop Platform – Although this isn’t always a requirement, it is heavily preferred in many cases. Having

experience with Hive or Pig is also a strong selling point. Familiarity with cloud tools such as Amazon S3 can also

be beneficial.

5. SQL Database/Coding – Even though NoSQL and Hadoop have become a large component of data science, it is

still expected that a candidate will be able to write and execute complex queries in SQL.

6. Unstructured data – It is critical that a data scientist be able to work with unstructured data, whether it is from

social media, video feeds or audio.

 

Non-Technical Skills

7. Intellectual curiosity – No doubt you’ve seen this phrase everywhere lately, especially as it relates to data

scientists. Frank Lo describes what it means, and talks about other necessary “soft skills” in his guest blog

(http://www.burtchworks.com/2014/03/12/tips-for-hiring-data-scientists/) posted a few months ago.

8. Business acumen – To be a data scientist you’ll need a solid understanding of the industry you’re working in, and

know what business problems your company is trying to solve. In terms of data science, being able to discern

3/2/2015 The Must­Have Skills You Need to Become a Data Scientist ­ Burtch Works

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which problems are important to solve for the business is critical, in addition to identifying new ways the

business should be leveraging its data.

9. Communication skills – Companies searching for a strong data scientist are looking for someone who can

clearly and fluently translate their technical findings to a non-technical team, such as the Marketing or Sales

departments. A data scientist must enable the business to make decisions by arming them with quantified

insights, in addition to understanding the needs of their non-technical colleagues in order to wrangle the data

appropriately. Check out our recent flash survey (http://www.burtchworks.com/2014/09/23/flash-survey-quants-

communication-skills/) for more information on communication skills for quantitative professionals.

 

(http://burtchworks.admin.haleywebsite.com/files/2014/11/onlineeducation2.jpg)The next question I always get is,

“What can I do to develop these skills?” There are many resources around the web, but I don’t want to give anyone the

mistaken impression that the path to data science is as simple as taking a few MOOCs. Unless you already have a

strong quantitative background, the road to becoming a data scientist will be challenging – but not impossible.

However, if it’s something you’re sincerely interested in, and have a passion for data and lifelong learning, don’t let your

background discourage you from pursuing data science as a career. Here are a few of the resources we’ve found to be

helpful:

Resources

1. Advanced Degree – More Data Science programs (http://datasciencereport.com/2014/10/09/23-top-us-schools-

offering-a-masters-programs-in-data-science/?

utm_content=buffer640f5&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer#.VD7SLWddWSp)

are popping up to serve the current demand, but there are also many Mathematics, Statistics, and Computer

Science programs (http://www.kdnuggets.com/education/usa-canada.html?

utm_content=buffer725db&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer).

2. MOOCs –Coursera (https://www.coursera.org/), Udacity (https://www.udacity.com/), and codeacademy

3/2/2015 The Must­Have Skills You Need to Become a Data Scientist ­ Burtch Works

http://www.burtchworks.com/2014/11/17/must­have­skills­to­become­a­data­scientist/ 4/12

(http://www.codecademy.com/) are good places to start.

3. Certifications – KDnuggets has compiled an extensive list (http://www.kdnuggets.com/education/analytics-

data-mining-certificates.html).

4. Bootcamps – For more information about how this approach compares to degree programs or MOOCs, check

out this guest blog (http://www.burtchworks.com/2014/08/04/becoming-a-data-scientist-masters-program-

bootcamp-or-moocs/) from the data scientists at Datascope Analytics.

5. Kaggle – Kaggle (https://www.kaggle.com/) hosts data science competitions where you can practice, hone your

skills with messy, real world data, and tackle actual business problems. Employers take Kaggle rankings

seriously, as they can be seen as relevant, hands-on project work.

6. LinkedIn Groups – Join relevant groups to interact with other members of the data science community.

7. Data Science Central and KDnuggets – Data Science Central (http://www.datasciencecentral.com) and

KDnuggets (http://www.kdnuggets.com) are good resources for staying at the forefront of industry trends in data

science.

8. The Burtch Works Study: Salaries of Data Scientists – If you’re looking for more information about the salaries

and demographics of current data scientists be sure to download our data scientist salary study

(http://www.burtchworks.com/big-data-analyst-salary/big-data-career-tips/).

I’m sure there are items I may have missed, so if there’s a crucial skill or resource you think would be helpful to any data

science hopefuls, feel free to share it in the comments below!

Want more quantitative and career news delivered right to your news feed? Check out Burtch Works’ social media

channels on Twitter (https://twitter.com/BurtchWorks), LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/burtch-works),

Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/BurtchWorks), and YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/user/burtchworks) for

access to all our latest salary information, blog updates, and webinars!

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7 Responses to “The Must-Have Skills You Need to Become a Data Scientist”

Ross Bettinger

3/2/2015 The Must­Have Skills You Need to Become a Data Scientist ­ Burtch Works

http://www.burtchworks.com/2014/11/17/must­have­skills­to­become­a­data­scientist/ 5/12

You are addressing the new entrees to the field. You might also, in a subtle manner, indicate that as people age,

they become less and less desirable to employers in today’s job market. Tell them not to grow old, and if they find

a way to slow down the onset of entropy, ask them to share their knowledge with you. Perhaps you will find a way

to bottle it and provide for your advanced years and those of your family and friends :^|

Tell them that every job that they take must give them skills to take to their next job, and when they are cast out

into the street because their employer wanted to make his first-quarter earnings look better, it’s no reflection upon

them.

I could go on in this vein, but you would think me bitter, and of course, I am not bitter. The most valuable thing that

you can tell anyone starting out is to learn, as the Chinese phrase has it, “to eat bitterness.” End of rant.

November 19th, 2014 (http://www.burtchworks.com/2014/11/17/must-have-skills-to-become-a-data-scientist/#comment-1860)Reply (/2014/11/17/must-have-skills-to-become-a-data-scientist/?replytocom=1860#respond)

Kamraj Subramanian (http://in.linkedin.com/in/kamraj/)

I would also like to add another resource here. Jigsaw Academy, the Online School of Analytics. They have some

great courses and certifications in Data Analytics and Big data and have been rated among the best online

analytics training institutes. Their blog analyticstraining.com also has some very interesting resources. I did a

couple of courses with them and I must say my experience has been fantastic and as they focus on industry

relevant skills, I think what you learn with them really allows you to hit the ground running as a data analyst.”

November 19th, 2014 (http://www.burtchworks.com/2014/11/17/must-have-skills-to-become-a-data-scientist/#comment-1863)Reply (/2014/11/17/must-have-skills-to-become-a-data-scientist/?replytocom=1863#respond)

George Danner (http://www.business-laboratory.com)

Hi Linda–

There’s one subtle thing I have noticed that separates the good data scientists from the really great data scientists:

the ability to draw. If you ask one of them to explain their most recent project and they cannot wait to get on a

whiteboard and draw it out in clear, simple graphics, then most likely you have an excellent candidate. If you don’t

have those skills and aspire to become a data scientist, get a proficiency in technical drawing – Visio, Omnigraffle,

or Illustrator – pick your tool.

November 24th, 2014 (http://www.burtchworks.com/2014/11/17/must-have-skills-to-become-a-data-scientist/#comment-1984)Reply (/2014/11/17/must-have-skills-to-become-a-data-scientist/?replytocom=1984#respond)

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Trackbacks/Pingbacks Linda Burtch on the Skills Data Scientists Need - Analytics Training Blog

(http://analyticstraining.com/2014/linda-burtch-skills-data-scientists-need/)

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Leave a Reply

Ramani Natarajan

Hi Linda,

This is a good article to which I would like to add that one of the most important skill in a Data Scientist’s toolbox is

to communicate the procedure and results. Visual creativity is a must and I don’t mean just creating pretty

PowerPoint presentations. Having said this, these are my take on some requisites for a Data Science professional:

Scripting Languages: Python, some Java.If the candidate has exposure to C the candidate would have learned the

basics of memory manipulation and would have gotten an idea of computational complexity

Command Line Scripting: sort, uniq, grap, awk, cowsay, set, cut, find, xargs, and lots more. Given the custom nature

of projects Data Scientists handle, command line familiarity is a must. At the end of the day, ability to script from

scratch allows for more control over the data and the algorithm that eventually gets implemented.

Statistical Packages: R, SAS, ideally, one of the two at a minimum

Data Mining: KNIME, Salford Predictive Modeler, SPSS Modeler, or some such package that will allow for rapid data

mining with smaller datasets for a quick turnaround without having to sling code.

Analysis: NumPy, SciPy, SciKit Learn, Celery, and some vicious googling skillz to unearth information already on the

web

Graphics: GIMP, Inkspace, ePix, Asymptote, etc.

Web: Django, HTML5,

Databases: MySQL, MongoDB, CouchDB, HBase, etc

Big Data: The Hadoop ecosystem.

January 19th, 2015 (http://www.burtchworks.com/2014/11/17/must-have-skills-to-become-a-data-scientist/#comment-2942)Reply (/2014/11/17/must-have-skills-to-become-a-data-scientist/?replytocom=2942#respond)

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