Big data analysis: A promising career for your youngster
Data analysis has been one of the most popular trends in the past decade. It has grown to become a buzzword in the arena of Information Technology field. For school-aged children, the foundation of data analysis is a combination of science and math in the curriculum. If your child has ever shown an interest in data collection, charts, or tables, data analysis could be the field for him to pursue. Here’s all your child needs about Big Data Analysis.
What is data science?
Data science is a systematic form of knowledge that requires the examination and processing of data. It is an evolving term that describes voluminous amounts of data in the structured, semi-structured, and unstructured form to be able to generate a predictable power of knowledge and information for the future. To understand data better, it can be broken down into 4 Vs, namely volume, variety, velocity, and veracity.
The ‘big’ in Big Data is the volume of data that has to be processed, variety refers to the type of data, such as structured or unstructured, the velocity refers to the rate at which data is processed, and the veracity refers to the data's reliability.
What data analysts do
Data analysts often make recommendations and predictions by which a company can improve the data systems with maximum efficiency. The major roles of data analysts and job profiles include:
- Data collection and interpretation
- Analyzing the outcomes
- Identifying patterns and trends in data sets and reporting the findings to the appropriate business members
- Working with internal business teams or the management team to determine business requirements
- New data collection and analysis processes are being developed.
Essential skills required
Data analysts are often called the ‘wizards of all problem solvers’ and this is because they study crucial soft skills like critical thinking, communication, business acumen, and problem-solving. To become a specialized professional in the field one must possess a variety of skills like:
- Structured Query language (SQL)
- Microsoft Excel
- Critical thinking
- R or Python-Statistical Programming
- Data Visualization
- Data mining, cleaning, and munging
- Machine learning
- Presentation skills
- Linear algebra and calculus
- Data warehousing
- Communication skills
Eligibility criteria
Data analysis requires students to have a graduate degree in an analysis programme with a high GPA or a degree in mathematics, statistics, finance, economics, or computer science. Diploma courses in Information Technology and management along with Masters in data science can help your youngster venture into this field successfully.
Why study data analysis
The analytics industry has experienced a boom like never before and with data jobs in high demand, the need for professional analysts is growing. Here’s how data science can benefit your child:
- Gaining problem-solving skills
- Influencing decision-making in a company
- Presents freelancing opportunities
- Exploring popular data tools and techniques
- Enhancing retailer/customer relations
- Learning multiple programming languages
- Working with recognized brand names