Encouraging the Next Generation of Data Scientists

Long before Harvard Business Review called data scientist the sexiest career of the century, I was attracted to the data sciences. In my first job out of college I was hired as a database marketer at GE only a few months after BusinessWeek first ever used the term ‘database marketing’. The emerging discipline was a notable milestone in the history of data science.  I lobbied hard to be selected as a Six Sigma Black Belt, went on to lead a predictive analytics organization, and was the CMO of a discovery-based analytics software company. You can start to understand why data and outcomes have always been core to Couragion’s vision and mission.

Data science is interdisciplinary – and one of the fastest growing STEM career fields out there. It crosses industry verticals and combines math, stats, and information and computer science. There is a shortage of data scientists across many sectors. To inspire students to pursue this career path, Couragion features some incredible data scientist role models – each of whom have taken different paths to find a career they love. Here’s a quick profile of a few of our data scientists making a difference every day:

Vanessa Diaz

  • Role: Market Insights at Transamerica

  • Industry: Financial Services

  • Degrees: Finance + Computer Science

  • Favorite Part of Job: Watching organizations be positively transformed by data

Jose Dozal

  • Role: Web Development, Data Visualization at AT&T

  • Industry: Telecommunications

  • Degrees: Industrial Engineering + Data Science (latter complements of AT&T’s tuition reimbursement program)

  • Favorite Part of Job: Every day is different with a variety of tasks

Hayley Davis

  • Role: Data Scientist at Oracle

  • Industry: Information Technology

  • Degrees: Mathematics and Economics

  • Favorite Part of Job: Mix of technical analysis and client interactions

Did you know Glassdoor rates data scientist the best job in America for 2016? And for the past 2 years running data scientists have been rated in the top 3 jobs for work and personal life balance? There are boot camps, certificates, and degree programs popping up everywhere to prepare the incoming workforce. Help our students understand how rewarding these career paths can be. I encourage you to reach out to Couragion for help!

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 1660021. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

Forbes:  Very Short History of Data Science

http://www.forbes.com/sites/gilpress/2013/05/28/a-very-short-history-of-data-science/#6dede5c769fd

 

 

 

 

Melissa Risteff