Living in the age of big data translates to big opportunities. Organizations in every sector of society are discovering that their futures lie in collecting and interpreting data, and they’re ready to make sizable investments in personnel and infrastructure.
Harvard Business Review stated that data scientists have the “sexiest job” of the 21st century, and career website Glassdoor ranks it as the best job in America for 2019. Given the strong demand for data scientists and the shortage of people trained in the field, it’s no surprise that the average mid-career salary for data scientists in the United States is $128,227 (Glassdoor, 2019).
Businesses, healthcare organizations, government agencies, and natural and social scientists need highly qualified people to interpret complex information, and that need will only grow over time. Here’s a quick look at some of the most popular occupations for data scientists:
- Financial analyst
- Computer systems engineer/architect
- Business intelligence analyst
- Computer programmer
- Statistician
- Data analyst
- Data mining or big data engineer
And here are the types of organizations that employ data scientists:
- National and local governments
- Consulting and reporting companies
- Market research companies
- Research institutes
- Technology firms
- Manufacturers
- Construction and utility companies
- Entertainment companies
- Retailers