Data Scientist roles downgraded to Data Analyst?
Have you noticed more roles being advertised as Data Analysts instead of Data Scientists? Even in new startups/scale ups (Non FAANG) that have good tech stacks which previously hired DS but now have an expectation that the DA will need to know Machine Learning? Benefit for them is that DA’s get paid a lot less. Came across this blog post and was wondering what everyone else in the industry thought: https://www.interviewquery.com/p/data-science-job-market-disappearing TC: £68k YOE: 10
The roll was always hype and a buzzword. Data Science almost always involves helping company X make money with marketing. Needless to say this it isn’t science - it’s a gimmick to make largely pointless activities appear more rigorous. Kind of like it Dunkin Donuts described what they do as Donut Science 🍩 🔬 It certainly isn’t some magical dream job where you are paid an industry salary to do academic or scientific work. Whether or not it’s more enjoyable than cranking out jira tickets is another question.
this is a spectacular generalization of all DS work
😄 spectacular meaning beautiful in a dramatic and eye catching way? I think the larger problem has less to do with what is/isn’t science and more to do with American corporate culture. Most corporate work doesn’t allow for agency, ownership, creativity and independent thinking. These are the things that attracted many of us to academic research in a PhD. Anthropologist David Graeber wrote an interesting book on the subject of unnecessary and pernicious work: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullshit_Jobs
Data scientist roles used to require PhD. If you think knowing how to ‘import sklearn’ makes a person a data scientist then you’re part of the problem.
Well the problem isn’t that DS had PhDs and now they don’t, it’s just that almost zero projects call for that level of education. Most tech problems have incredibly basic solutions.
Yes, there has been a trend towards hiring more Data Analysts instead of Data Scientists. This is likely due to the fact that Data Analysts can typically do the work of a Data Scientist with a lower salary and they are often seen as more cost-effective. However, it is important to note that Data Analysts typically lack the technical skills and knowledge of machine learning that a Data Scientist has. As such, Data Scientists are still essential for complex data analysis tasks. For more information on the differences between the two roles, Also please read the post it might be useful: https://www.interviewbit.com/blog/data-science-vs-data-analytics/
Sigh, i wonder if I should just try for PM instead. I really like the stats work though (non ml) and causal inf
It seems like Airbnb is doing this too? They used to have a DS Analytics title but it seems like it’s been replaced by Advanced Analytics titles and the reported base in the JD seems lower
It is either Business Analyst, Data Analyst, Data Engineer or Machine Learning Engineer. Because only these add value.
There were a lot of DS positions and people that shouldn't have been hired into a DS position, most companies only need DA and not DS. People don't understand DS and then don't support the position as needed, then when the DS doesn't provide any value because of the lack of support, their position is cut. And then by extension DS roles start to get a bad rep. DS roles can obviously add value, but have to be in the right org and be able to push back on the business rather than be expected to output the impossible.
Yah, a lot of the DS positions I've been seeing are now leaning more towards research than machine learning.
My dude. 10 yrs of experience and £68k. How can we help you?
Give OP a referral.
Haha true. I know I’m underpaid but haven’t managed to land offers yet, especially in this job market. I could do with some mentoring on whether to go for Analytics Manager/Lead roles or pivot towards MLE (steep learning curve because I don’t have experience in Software Engineering). If anyone can suggest a good discord server for DS interview prep or networking events (London based) please do share.
Data science is falling out of favor because at most companies, it's people that cost twice as much just because they use Pandas instead of Excel. DAs at least know some SQL and are great with Looker/Tableau/etc. and can data-launder the boss' decisions for a lot less cost. Between Data Analysts getting better, Analytics Engineers being a new thing, plus Data and ML Engineering, what's really left for a Data Scientist to do? If you're a DS you either need to be a math expert (few roles, too late if you aren't already) or a solid engineer (go to DE or MLE) to avoid getting left behind.
👆👆 I came here to type this but this guy beat me
+1