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Ask HN: Am I too late for the “Data Science” wave?

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Re: Ask HN: Am I too late for the “Data Science” wave?

#21

Post by hermitcrab »

tomhoward wrote: post #17

Have you explored opportunities to apply data science to agriculture? I'm interested in this space; I do some work with agricultural data acquisition hardware and software (e.g., soil moisture, environmental conditions, sap flow, plant/fruit growth monitoring), irrigation, fertiliser application) and I'm interested in ways this data could be used in predictive models, but I'm not at the stage of being able to focus o…

>apply data science in new fields

I see what you did there.

But seriously, if you have a background in agriculture (and don't hate it) and want to get into data science, aim for the intersection of the venn diagram between agriculture and data science.

I understand agriculture is getting quite technical and data driven these days, and that can surely only become more the case in the future. Especially if vertical farms and robot tractors become a real thing.

Re: Ask HN: Am I too late for the “Data Science” wave?

#22

Post by pritovido »

It's up to you. You should have much more knowledge in the agriculture field than most people.

I believe it makes no sense that you discard the knowledge you already have. You can apply data science methods with the knowledge that you have going to work or creating a new company that works in agriculture using new methods.

Do you want to spend your life doing surveillance and spying on people like everybody else? This is fashionable but people are starting to resist and develop antibodies for it as they understand it more. The TV or the phone that I bought spying or me is not acceptable.

Agriculture will grow enormously in the future with things like LED and other methods to give energy to plants, or plankton or whatever. Drones controlling pests or humidity or temperature. Using natural insects predators for bio farming. Growing materials like cotton directly from cell's cultures.

The methods that are used today for growing marijuana indoors will be applied for more common things when prices go down.

Nobody better than you to identify the markets that will grow in the future. It is also a very good idea if you know (or associate with someone who knows) economics and marketing and selling.

Reason from First principles is extremely useful for identifying new waves that will carry you in the future with no effort. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NV3sBlRgzTI

All those things are hard problems. I have worked on those in the south of Spain and in Holland as engineer and entreprenour.

The real life is not Academia, your title means nothing if you can not apply it and give results, but means a lot if you can. So you will need some time to adapt to a different mentality.

Re: Ask HN: Am I too late for the “Data Science” wave?

#23

Post by vector_spaces »

st1x7 wrote: post #20
bvcvbuiy wrote: post #6

If I may give you an advice : Python, R and deep learning are sexy but the most important skill to start in data science is SQL. It will help you get your first data role and will be your main tool to solve 97% of the problems you will ever face. Bonus point it is very easy to learn.

I work as a data scientist and every statement in your post sounds incorrect to me. SQL is useful but it's far from the most important tool. It's certainly unlikely to land you a job. It definitely won't solve 97% of problems. You either have a very skewed perspective of what data science is or you spend a lot of time on linkedin/medium where bad advice like this is parroted a lot. Think about this - there are a bunc…

A surprisingly vast contingent of software developers do not know SQL, let alone know it very well. And as others have mentioned in this thread, data science looks differently at different companies.

For many, the math and "ML-specific stuff" ends up being a very small part of the process. For them, data quality and data cleaning take up the overwhelming majority of hours in a given project, and SQL chops will take you much farther in that kind of an environment.

Plus SQL is not going anywhere anytime soon. So worst case scenario, OP will learn a skill that's not likely to be dated in a few more tics of the hype cycle.

Re: Ask HN: Am I too late for the “Data Science” wave?

#24

Post by st1x7 »

I work as a data scientist and have some perspective on this. There's no boat to miss, you'll probably be fine. Just keep a couple of things in mind

- The fundamental skills that you need are mathematics and software engineering. Depending on your background it might take years of additional studying.

- There is a big oversupply of people for the junior-mid level data science jobs. There are more people who want to get in the field than there are jobs. If you drastically switch careers, you'll take yourself out of a field where your skillset is incredibly rare and your competition is limited and put yourself in a place where everyone else wants the same job.

- The fact that you have a PhD is going to help you. Personally, I don't think that a PhD in a field other than mathematics/computer science is that relevant but employers tend to favor applicants with PhDs mostly because there are too many candidates for any given job and asking for a PhD is just a strong initial filter. There are also research jobs within data science for which a PhD requirement (in a relevant discipline) makes more sense but these are a small proportion of all the data science jobs.

- If you're already employed with your agriculture PhD, there must be a number of opportunities for you apply the techniques that you're currently learning wihout leaving the industry. That's probably the path that I would suggest - it would allow you to expand your skillset without taking big risks and you'll have more options in the future. Use the career capital that you already have and explore your options instead of making a sharp turn in your career direction that might leave you disappointed.

Re: Ask HN: Am I too late for the “Data Science” wave?

#25

Post by karimtr »

There is huge potential around better data usage & analytics in agriculture & crop science. You're domain expertise would place you in a unique position compared to other data scientists with more of a generic background.

I've personally spoken to a few large enterprises in the agricultural sector who are just beginning to build out their data science department. It seems like the industry as a whole is just getting started in data science.

Also, there are many promising startups that are emerging in space. E.g. Vertical farming

Re: Ask HN: Am I too late for the “Data Science” wave?

#26

Post by mft_ »

hermitcrab wrote: post #21
tomhoward wrote: post #17

Have you explored opportunities to apply data science to agriculture? I'm interested in this space; I do some work with agricultural data acquisition hardware and software (e.g., soil moisture, environmental conditions, sap flow, plant/fruit growth monitoring), irrigation, fertiliser application) and I'm interested in ways this data could be used in predictive models, but I'm not at the stage of being able to focus o…

>apply data science in new fields I see what you did there. But seriously, if you have a background in agriculture (and don't hate it) and want to get into data science, aim for the intersection of the venn diagram between agriculture and data science. I understand agriculture is getting quite technical and data driven these days, and that can surely only become more the case in the future. Especially if vertical far…

This. Leverage the strengths you already have —agriculture— to help you get to where you want to get to. In another field, a junior data scientist with an agriculture phd is just a junior data scientist. In your field, you’re either a phd with a strong extra skill in data science, or a junior data scientist with a superpower.

Re: Ask HN: Am I too late for the “Data Science” wave?

#27

Post by iamacyborg »

hermitcrab wrote: post #21
tomhoward wrote: post #17

Have you explored opportunities to apply data science to agriculture? I'm interested in this space; I do some work with agricultural data acquisition hardware and software (e.g., soil moisture, environmental conditions, sap flow, plant/fruit growth monitoring), irrigation, fertiliser application) and I'm interested in ways this data could be used in predictive models, but I'm not at the stage of being able to focus o…

>apply data science in new fields I see what you did there. But seriously, if you have a background in agriculture (and don't hate it) and want to get into data science, aim for the intersection of the venn diagram between agriculture and data science. I understand agriculture is getting quite technical and data driven these days, and that can surely only become more the case in the future. Especially if vertical far…

On a related note, I can't help but be excited by what Planet are offering in the agriculture sector.

Whoever can crack ground level data with something like Planet's bird's eye view is going to be onto something groundbreaking.

Re: Ask HN: Am I too late for the “Data Science” wave?

#28

Post by b0rsuk »

hermitcrab wrote: post #21
tomhoward wrote: post #17

Have you explored opportunities to apply data science to agriculture? I'm interested in this space; I do some work with agricultural data acquisition hardware and software (e.g., soil moisture, environmental conditions, sap flow, plant/fruit growth monitoring), irrigation, fertiliser application) and I'm interested in ways this data could be used in predictive models, but I'm not at the stage of being able to focus o…

>apply data science in new fields I see what you did there. But seriously, if you have a background in agriculture (and don't hate it) and want to get into data science, aim for the intersection of the venn diagram between agriculture and data science. I understand agriculture is getting quite technical and data driven these days, and that can surely only become more the case in the future. Especially if vertical far…

It would be more intriguing to apply agriculture in data science.

Re: Ask HN: Am I too late for the “Data Science” wave?

#29

Post by jimbob45 »

st1x7 wrote: post #24

I work as a data scientist and have some perspective on this. There's no boat to miss, you'll probably be fine. Just keep a couple of things in mind - The fundamental skills that you need are mathematics and software engineering. Depending on your background it might take years of additional studying. - There is a big oversupply of people for the junior-mid level data science jobs. There are more people who want to g…

> There is a big oversupply of people for the junior-mid level data science jobs.

Honest question is there any field where that isn’t true right now? Seems like there are no junior jobs in any sector.

Re: Ask HN: Am I too late for the “Data Science” wave?

#30

Post by rramadass »

As many people have already recommended, you should absolutely look into Applying Data Science to problems in your Agricultural field. Your domain expertise combined with skill in computing technology would be a killer combo.

PS: You might find the book Cloud Computing for Science and Engineering useful - https://cloud4scieng.org/

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