The lack of skilled IT workers is hurting the deployment of emerging technology, according to a new survey from Gartner. In areas from cloud to cybersecurity, this crisis is expected to last for years to come.
The supremacy of data
scientist jobs is being reiterated by a number of other reports too.
As of now, there seem to be
no contenders to the supremacy of data scientist jobs in the job market. The
factors that led the job rise to the top are worth noting.
Shortage of talent:
Big data and analytics
courses have started making their way into the classrooms only in past few
years. So it will take a while before supply for these professionals matches
demand for them.
Employers are particularly
after statistics and analytics professionals who are strong on communication
skills. Along with interpreting the message the numbers are conveying, data
scientists have to communicate their findings effectively too. There is an
acute shortage of professionals who have both the skill sets, a fact that
explains why salaries of data scientists are projected to grow over 6% this
year.
Deluge of data:
Cleaning the data and
converting it to a usable format accounts for about 80% of the work of data
scientists. Data preparation is a time
consuming process that comprises multiple steps - from translating system codes
into usable data to handling incomplete data. However, the time spent is worth it
because costs of bad data are very high. Many sophisticated analytics
dashboards and data collection tools have come into use to ease the job of data
wrangling. Still, there is a demand for professionals with skill set necessary
to clean and organize the data.
Demand from small
businesses:
The demand for data
scientists has pushed beyond technology giants. Small companies too are using
data to make informed decisions. In order to gain a competitive advantage, they
are eagerly churning whatever little data they can gather. With small and medium sized companies
competing for talent in this space, large companies may have to review their
recruitment processes to be able to attract top talent. Another striking observation
of late is that entry level data scientists are keenly exploring opportunities
in start-ups.
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