There is no doubt that programming is an essential skill for a data science job and to succeed in a data science career, but it does not mean that you must be highly skilled in programming to pursue a career in data science and make a mark in the data science sphere. Good programming skills are a prerequisite skill but not a mandatory one. Even if you are not very skilled in programming, there is nothing to worry. I have good news for you! Data science experts from the industry acknowledge that anyone who is comfortable with programming and understands the basics of programming such as loops, if-else, programming logic, and functions can become a successful data scientist.
What is Data Science?
Data science is a blend of various algorithms, tools, and machine learning principles that operate with the goal of discovering hidden patterns from raw data. It is used to make decisions and predictions by using prescriptive analysis, predictive causal analysis, and machine learning. It is used to scope out the right questions from the dataset. It is a multidisciplinary field that works at the raw level of data (structured, unstructured, or both) to make predictions, identify patterns and trends, build data models, and create more efficient machine learning algorithms. Data science experts work in the realm of the unknown. Some of the data science techniques are regression analysis, classification analysis, clustering analysis, association analysis, and anomaly detection.
Putting Your Programming Skills to Use
Today, there are more than 256 programming languages that are available. Hence, deciding which language to learn can be very difficult and overwhelming.
Data is the oil of all data science projects. For driving any artificial intelligence or machine learning algorithm accurately, they need meaningful data modelling and visualization. Python is one of the very popular programming languages that has overtaken languages like C++ and Java and is credited with being the most popular and widely accepted data science programming language. Industry professionals completely agree to it, and it is widely used by mathematicians, statisticians, physicists, economists, and even Nobel Laureates.
As a data scientist, it is important to make sure that you have the one essential and mandatory skill to succeed in a data science career and that is having the ability to analyze data and glean meaningful insights from it. There is a huge demand for data scientists across the globe, and in India alone, there are more than 97,000 data science and analytics jobs.
A skilled data scientist is one who identifies an issue, works with the given dataset, analyzes it based on different perspectives, build machine learning models to predict and visualize outcomes, and weave a story to convey the insights to stakeholders. So, the job of a data scientist revolves mainly around analytical skills, modelling skills, communication skills, and business acumen.
Understanding programming languages such as R or Python and understanding the way SQL queries work will definitely help you shine in your data science career. The programming skills you need to have, and the programming languages you need to know will depend on the area of analytics or data science you wish to work in. It would be best for you to consult with data science experts or career coaches about the ideal path that you can choose within data science.
Several multinational companies use SQL in their operations and adopt a data strategy that will require you to possess legacy skills such as SQL if you need to manage databases. You can also expand your SQL skills with a special focus on other data skills like collecting, managing and storing data if you wish to do more with the data that you are gathering and the data that you already have.
If you are looking to use that data to perform modelling, analytics, and data visualization, you can consider learning programming languages such as Python and R for working with large datasets. If you are looking to convert static visualizations into interactive ones by creating online dashboards and reports, having a knowledge of JavaScript and HTML will help.
The main goal of a data science profile is to understand the syntax of the relevant programming language such as Python or R and try to implement the mathematical concepts using the predefined functions available in the language.
Conclusion
When you are mapping out a rewarding career like that of a data scientist job, it is important to look for advice from data science experts or career coaches about the skillset, knowledge, available job roles, and any other valuable information. Once you have gathered the required information estimate, you can create a timeline of the programming languages you aim to learn and the path to be chosen to get there.
To become a data science expert and learn more about data science certifications, check out Global Tech Council.