From PhD to Data Scientist: Tips for Making the Transition

#1

Post by jakek » Wed, Jul 31, 2013, 9:18 PM UTC

From PhD to Data Scientist: Tips for Making the Transition
insightdatascience.com

Re: From PhD to Data Scientist: Tips for Making the Transition

#2

Post by tomrod » Wed, Jul 31, 2013, 10:11 PM UTC

I'm currently finishing a PhD in economics and have spent a lot of time learning the exact technologies he suggests (Python, SQL, a bit of R). Working as a data scientist would be an awesome opportunity. But are most companies _really_ in need of so many data scientists, or is it just a trend?

Re: From PhD to Data Scientist: Tips for Making the Transition

#3

Post by shoyer » Wed, Jul 31, 2013, 10:14 PM UTC

tomrod wrote: post #2

I'm currently finishing a PhD in economics and have spent a lot of time learning the exact technologies he suggests (Python, SQL, a bit of R). Working as a data scientist would be an awesome opportunity. But are most companies _really_ in need of so many data scientists, or is it just a trend?

Well, if you believe Insight's white paper (http://insightdatascience.com/Insight_White_Paper_2013.pdf), the answer is "Yes".

Re: From PhD to Data Scientist: Tips for Making the Transition

#4

Post by Blahah » Wed, Jul 31, 2013, 10:17 PM UTC

Sweet, according to his list I'm over-qualified. Interesting to think it would be so easy to make the transition to data science. Except I can't imagine wanting to work on less important problems than the ones I work on now.

Global food security vs. social network analytics. Yeah, fuck the money.

edit: calling all data scientists - why not consider becoming a computational biologist? We have hard problems, real outcomes that affect people's lives, and not much money.

Re: From PhD to Data Scientist: Tips for Making the Transition

#5

Post by fiatmoney » Wed, Jul 31, 2013, 10:23 PM UTC

tomrod wrote: post #2

I'm currently finishing a PhD in economics and have spent a lot of time learning the exact technologies he suggests (Python, SQL, a bit of R). Working as a data scientist would be an awesome opportunity. But are most companies _really_ in need of so many data scientists, or is it just a trend?

"Data scientist" is a terribly broad term that's begun to encompass a lot of jobs that used to be called "junior analyst" or somesuch.

Re: From PhD to Data Scientist: Tips for Making the Transition

#6

Post by scott_s » Wed, Jul 31, 2013, 10:26 PM UTC

Blahah wrote: post #4

Sweet, according to his list I'm over-qualified. Interesting to think it would be so easy to make the transition to data science. Except I can't imagine wanting to work on less important problems than the ones I work on now. Global food security vs. social network analytics. Yeah, fuck the money. edit: calling all data scientists - why not consider becoming a computational biologist? We have hard problems, real outco…

Not everyone has the luxury of working in the field they got a PhD in. Two of my friends were looking into switching to data science positions because they were having problems finding positions in their fields. One was on her second post-doc as an astrophysicist, and the other is a soon-to-gradute biochemist. Both did find positions in their fields, but not before much fear and existential angst.

Re: From PhD to Data Scientist: Tips for Making the Transition

#7

Post by tomrod » Wed, Jul 31, 2013, 10:26 PM UTC

shoyer wrote: post #3

tomrod wrote: post #2

I'm currently finishing a PhD in economics and have spent a lot of time learning the exact technologies he suggests (Python, SQL, a bit of R). Working as a data scientist would be an awesome opportunity. But are most companies _really_ in need of so many data scientists, or is it just a trend?

Well, if you believe Insight's white paper ( http://insightdatascience.com/Insight_White_Paper_2013.pdf ), the answer is "Yes".

Dang, the graphics in this are terrible and unreadable. But it "looks" positive.

Thanks for the link. Do you know anyone who went through the program?

Re: From PhD to Data Scientist: Tips for Making the Transition

#8

Post by besquared » Wed, Jul 31, 2013, 10:27 PM UTC

Blahah wrote: post #4

Sweet, according to his list I'm over-qualified. Interesting to think it would be so easy to make the transition to data science. Except I can't imagine wanting to work on less important problems than the ones I work on now. Global food security vs. social network analytics. Yeah, fuck the money. edit: calling all data scientists - why not consider becoming a computational biologist? We have hard problems, real outco…

You're everything that everyone hates in academia. Congratulations as I hear that self importance is one of the key ingredients to solving the biggest problems facing the world today.

Re: From PhD to Data Scientist: Tips for Making the Transition

#9

Post by jkldotio » Wed, Jul 31, 2013, 10:27 PM UTC

tomrod wrote: post #2

I'm currently finishing a PhD in economics and have spent a lot of time learning the exact technologies he suggests (Python, SQL, a bit of R). Working as a data scientist would be an awesome opportunity. But are most companies _really_ in need of so many data scientists, or is it just a trend?

I think it's a new name for an old thing, lots of jobs through the last century had things like "analyst" attached to them. Business has been about measuring things for a long time, look at Taylorism or Gosset at Guinness in 1899 for example.[1][2]

A few little 1% gains from some A/B tests, or looking at geographic breakdowns of customers from IPs or addresses add up.

[1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_management

[2]http://www.umass.edu/wsp/statistics/tales/gosset.html

Re: From PhD to Data Scientist: Tips for Making the Transition

#10

Post by acadien » Wed, Jul 31, 2013, 10:29 PM UTC

Blahah wrote: post #4

Sweet, according to his list I'm over-qualified. Interesting to think it would be so easy to make the transition to data science. Except I can't imagine wanting to work on less important problems than the ones I work on now. Global food security vs. social network analytics. Yeah, fuck the money. edit: calling all data scientists - why not consider becoming a computational biologist? We have hard problems, real outco…

Ive got strong convictions too and the big data fad (real or not its still a fad) seems specious and unfulfilling. But as a PhD candidate who has had his funding cut and grant proposals continuously denied since sequestration, money of any kind is starting to sound good right now.