A Day in the Life of a Data Scientist

What comes to your mind when you hear the word Data Science? Data Science is not just about writing code, algorithms, and formulas. But Data Science is all about collecting raw data, analyzing that data, and providing us with insights that can be used to make decisions. Who is the mastermind behind it? The Data Scientist is a role that is highly demanding in the tech industry and holds some of the most competitive salaries in the industry. They help to find patterns in big datasets and they have expertise not only in data science but also in Big data, Python, R programming, and SAS.

Nowadays, as technology is developing, the number of users is increasing and the data is now termed as Big Data. Data Scientists are important in solving the mysteries of Big data and patterns. Suppose it’s like having a giant jigsaw puzzle and when you solve it, you can figure out trends, make your business better, and even make your life better. That’s what data scientists do every day with tools and algorithms and their sharp minds. It helps our businesses to grow and make proper decisions.

What Does a Data Scientist Do?

Data Scientist looks closely at the information of digital data and finds patterns and meanings from the data. What kind of data do they deal with? Well, it can be anything- from the number of likes on social media posts to customers’ shopping behavior, Even to intricate metrics in healthcare and finance. In simple words, They predict large amounts of data and insights from that so that it helps to make better decisions in the future.

Data scientists create algorithms and data models to generate insights as outcomes. They use Machine learning techniques to increase the quality of data or products they offer. In data analysis, they deploy tools like Python, R, Big data, Statistics, SQL, and SAS. They are often seen preparing data for analysis, testing different models, data visualizing to find their patterns, and designing. The daily task of data scientists are multifaceted, On one day they may be decoding user behaviors for social media moguls, and on the second day, they are predicting the stock market trends for financial tycoons. Unstructured data is maintained and Sorted so that it can make sense and be understood by everyone. So if you have ever wondered who’s behind making sense of all the digital imprints we leave, It’s these data wizards who convert statistics into narratives.

A Typical Day in the Life of a Data Scientist

Just Imagine a world of data in which buying behavior of a customer, tweets, website interaction of people, handling social media, or even what satellite captures the world in which everything present on the internet is countable as data. The Data Scientists navigate this world and search for patterns. They spend more of their time deploying models, analyzing data by incorporating advanced programming, and using machine learning. They manage this world and provide us with insights that serve as more useful data for our personalization and organizational growth.

Lets us consider in tech giant companies like Google, a data scientist might be improving the algorithms searched, enhancing the experiences of users on YouTube, or even optimizing ad placements over there. So, Their daily schedule may look like this:

• 9:00 AM – Team huddle for the distribution of the task.
• 9:30 AM – Explore and go in-depth with data analysis: refine models, crunch numbers, and test new algorithms.
• Noon – Lunch break.
• 1:00 PM – Meeting with stakeholders to discuss insights and recommendations.
• 3:00 PM – Work on data visualization, and preparing reports.
• 4:30 PM – Collaborate with the engineering team to implement new features.
• 6:00 PM – Wind up for the day, perhaps reading up on the latest in the field.

Getting Started with Data Science

Starting with data science is not that thought, you just need to start from basic and then go in-depth with other advance areas of Data Science. The step-by-step process of learning about data science mainly consists of five main steps:

1. Learning Programming Language

Learning one programming language is crucial for starting with the data science journey, as a programming language helps to sort the data, analyze and help to manage large chunks of data. Python is a good start as it will provide numerous modules and libraries that help to get output more easily as compared to other languages. You need to learn the basics of Python such as datatypes, defining variables, etc. The two most important libraries that you need to understand are NumPy and Pandas. To work with data these are important to learn. Apart from Python other popular programming languages are

• R
• SQL
• SAS

2. Learn Statistics

Statistics are the foundation of Data science on which data analysis, machine learning, and predictive modeling work. Most of the ML models have underlying statistical assumptions. Learning basic data such as statistics helps to make informed decisions for businesses and with the help of hypothesis testing. you can test new features and analyze hypotheses of applications by using statistics. Predictive models use statistical algorithms to verify patterns and predict data for the future. You need to revise the previous topics that are

• Descriptive Statistics
• Probability
• Probability Distribution
• Inferential Statistics
• Regression Analysis
• Advance Topics include chi-squared tests, ANOVA, and more

3. Data Visualization

Visualizing the data in the form of Charts, tables, and graphs is important for data scientists. Making well-designed charts or graph which summarizes a thousand data points helps to visualize and interpret the given data easily. In Data visualization, there are two important libraries in Python to learn which are Matplotlib and Seaborn. Having proper knowledge about the tools is also important that will help you to prepare work in a proper manner.

• Tableau
• Excel
• PowerBI
• R ggplot 2
• D3.js
• Matplotlib and Seaborn

4. Machine Learning

Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence is one of the most important parts of Data Science. Machine learning is an integral part of Data Science that includes Predictive analysis of data, It helps to analyze a large chunk of data automatically. Machine learning automatically helps to process data analysis and makes data for real-time prediction with no human interaction in between. This is where it works in Data Science. Firstly It gets data from the datasets, then after it Clean and manipulates data as needed, After Testing the data if the data is not perfect or not ready for deployment then the model is further improved according to the given parameters. From showing favorable movies on streaming platforms to suggesting products that are required on an e-commerce website this all happens with the prediction and analysis of machine learning. The techniques that you need to learn in machine learning for data science are

• Supervised Learning
• Unsupervised Learning
• Reinforcement Learning
• Deep Learning
• Ensembles Methods like Gradient Boosting or Random Forest.

For more detailed Roadmap to Data Science you can refer to – How to Become Data Scientist – A Complete Roadmap

GeeksforGeeks a offers comprehensive data science course Complete Machine Learning & Data Science Program that cover topics for the beginner as well as professionals.

Future Scope of Data Science

The Future of data science is increasing as the number of data users and technology is increasing day by day. Nowadays The number of applications introducing day by day is limitless and the advancement of AI, ML, and Deep learning is developing the requirement of data scientists. From Social media posts, predicting diseases, and e-commerce, to enhancing customers’ services, to healthcare technology is endless.

Conclusion

As we came to know that the role of data science is important as they provide narratives of data, strategies, prediction, and analysis, It also acts as a bridge between the raw data and performing insights. If you are a person with strong interpersonal skills and are skilled in problem-solving, patterns, and prediction then the position of Data Scientist is the perfect fit for you.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How much does a Data Scientist earns?

A data scientist has an average salary of $108,700 in the US and In India, the average salary of a data scientist starts from₹ 3.7 Lakhs and goes upto ₹ 25.0 Lakhs resulting in average annual salary of ₹ 9.2 Lakhs.

2.How to Become a Data Scientist?

Practice real-world problems and work on projects. Start with the basics and then expand your knowledge by exploring statistics and programming in depth. Take a course with a proper roadmap and provide proper guidance by professionals like the ones Complete Machine Learning & Data Science Program offered by GFG.

3. Is there a high demand for Data Scientist Jobs?

Yes, the Demand for data science jobs is increasing day by day as technology and data increase. Data Science jobs are high-paying and it has a never-ending career. They are in high demand as they provide meaningful insights from the given information. Advancement in technology includes AI and Machine learning also plays a important role in developing jobs for Data Scientists.