Talent Vs. Skills. Neither of us are born great at anything – coding, statistics, business, communication or business. We pick up skills and practice it with deliberation – we seek feedback and excel in it.
Data science proficiency starts with being great at ‘Data Skills’. You don’t need to be naturally good or talented in Math to read, understand and analyze data.
If the following statements are true for you, you could become a great Data Scientist!
You like analyzing things
When you play complex games like Monopoly or Chess, do you trust in your instincts or calculate the probability of scenarios? When you watch news, do you like hearing the story or do you check relevant statistics? When you are making a decision about buying a car, do you choose your car based on reviews or the specifications?
If you analyze scenarios, numbers and probabilities, you are already a data-minded person. You may not have all the numbers or outcomes but you can base your decisions on the facts available.
Combining the rational and emotional side – the numerical and the intuitive – this is a sign that you will be great at a career in Data science.
You are business-minded
Data science skills are not studied or applied in isolation.
If you love creating value in a business and constantly seek to innovate on models and approaches, data skills will heighten your productivity. A great data scientist needs to understand the big picture of business.
Data skills help you analyse business scenarios and create useful and actionable projects.
You love working in cross-functional teams
A great data team will work across verticals – often with non-data people like managers, developers, marketers and sales people from different product teams.
If you are a ‘people person’ and can work with diverse personalities and work styles, data skills will help you become invaluable in your organization. You will often end up in a leadership position if you leverage business savviness with data analysis skills.
You love storytelling
Not a math person? That’s okay! You have to be a ‘communicator’. Most data professionals have top-notch soft skills – they can tell the ‘story of data’ in a simple, impactful way – often to a group of non data professionals.
Most techies over complicate presentations with unreadable charts and fumble through presentations. This is where individuals with storytelling skills have the upper edge.
Sharing lines like “classification with logistic regression machine learning model” doesn’t help anyone. If you know how to create engaging, understandable presentations with data, you will love a career in data science.
You are a continuous learner
Data science is a continuously evolving space. It is also ‘domain-specific’. In your career trajectory, you may have to work for projects in IT; Logistics; Trading; Finance and many more. Analyzing what makes a viral marketing campaign is very different from understanding data to optimize a logistics process.
If you are a continuous learner and pick up new forms of knowledge at a fast pace, then data science is going to be a very exciting field for you!
In Conclusion
Hope this article has helped you understand that data skills do not necessarily need a math background. It is a discipline that occupies the space between tech and business. Even if you come with a humanities background, you can add unique perspectives to analyze data and add value to your field of work.
Interested in learning more about how data science can help you in your career?
