How to build a career in Big Data?
Before we talk about the ways for building the Big Data career path, let’s understand some basic facts. First of all, what is Big Data? Big Data is nothing but a huge chunk of data that is almost impossible to process using traditional tools such as RDBMS, SQL, etc.
Big Data may seem easy, but it has a huge set of technologies and tools associated with it. To be precise, Big Data is a problem, for which solutions are structured in the form of certain tools, namely, Apache Hadoop, Apache Spark, Cassandra, RapidMiner, Apache Storm, etc. All these tools are used to solve the problem of Big Data. But the challenge is, which of these specialized tools shall be chosen to learn so that you can attain a successful career.
How to start a career in big data? Big Data career options are many but Big Data career path varies depending on the business needs of different organizations. For example, a Data Analyst in an IT firm may have a completely different role as compared to the one working in a healthcare company.
Education Qualification and the Skill Set Required
While talking about the educational background and the skill set required to become a Big Data specialist, you need to note that there isn’t any specific qualification required for the same; there is no degree associated with Big Data. Although, there are some skills that may define your Big Data career path.
Getting a bachelor’s or master’s degree in any mathematics-oriented field can build a perfect foundation for your Big Data career path. Otherwise, if you have an interest in this field but don’t have much knowledge, then obtaining relevant skills through well-designed IT courses and clearing the relevant certification exams can help you enter into the Big Data domain like a pro.
Before you get ready to enter into the workforce, it would be better for you to spend a reasonable amount of quality time in building your Big Data skills, such as Hadoop (an open-source framework used for running applications and storing data), SQL database and querying (several companies go from the basic-to-advanced level SQL to extract information), data mining (a process to examine huge databases for generating new information), etc.
Prepare yourself for the industry by going through this top Hyperion Interview Questions and Answers!
Big Data Career Path Options
There are various Big Data career path options, each one of which requires an extremely challenging skill set.
Various Big Data-related job roles include:
- Data Scientist: Data Scientists make value out of data, which has been fetched from different sources, by extracting meaningful insights from it. They need to have good analytics and technical capabilities to perform such tasks. A Data Scientist can earn an average salary in the range of US$90,000–1,100,000 per year.
- Big Data Engineer: Big Data Engineers particularly focus on developing, maintaining, testing, and implementing complex Big Data projects. Also, they are responsible for building designs that have been proposed by Solutions Architects. Big Data Engineers ensure the uninterrupted flow of data between servers and applications. They also develop, test, and maintain data architecture, such as large-scale processing systems. A Big Data Engineer can earn up to US$95,000–150,000 annually.
- Big Data Architect: Big Data Architects address some major data problems, along with the requirements. They describe the structure and behavior of a Big Data solution using a technology they are specialized in. They are referred to as the link between an organization and its Data Engineers. A Big Data Architect has an average annual salary of US$107,344.
- Business Analytics Specialist: Business Analytics Specialists assist in various testing activities, as well as in some development initiatives. They may also be involved in research for understanding business needs and issues and developing specific scripts. They generally come up with unique cost-effective solutions for solving business issues. A Business Analytics Specialist is capable of earning somewhere around US$78,819 a year.
- Data Visualization Developer: The role of a Data Visualization Developer and Analyst is to develop, design, and deliver production support for data visualizations to be used across an enterprise. Data Visualization Developers stick to any visual representation of data for explaining the significance of it. They have an artistic mindset that conceptualizes designs for the development of reusable graphics. They are also expected to have a good sense of technical knowledge for the implementation of the latest technologies. On average, a Data Visualization Developer earns US$123,039 per year.
Even though Big Data professionals earn a whopping amount of salary, there is a scarcity of talent. Despite having a huge set of opportunities in the market, employers are unable to find enough talent in the Big Data domain. As an aspiring candidate wishing to enter into the world of Big Data, you should be aware that the big players in the market, such as IBM, Microsoft, Google, etc., are looking forward to working on advanced Big Data-related technologies to get ahead in the industry, thus providing immense career prospects to potential candidates. As, Big Data career growth is increasing over time, Big Data opportunities seem to increase rapidly.
Learn to pass the Google Data Engineer Certification in this comprehensive blog on Cloud Data Engineer Certification.
Why is Big Data Career Path still a buzz in the market?
Due to the huge demand of Big Data specialists, Big Data has been creating a buzz in the market for the past 2–3 years. Offering so many profiles to choose from, Big Data has achieved a pivotal place in the market by attracting employees with a lot of Big Data career options to play with.
But wait, what will make you stand out from the crowd running in the same direction as you? An investment. Now, what kind of investment? Well, the thoughtful investment in a full-fledged Big Data training course!
A Big Data training course generally includes almost all aspects of Big Data and provides the learner with the complete exposure to this domain.
And the good news is that, even though more and more professionals are moving toward mastering Big Data, there is still a huge shortage of Big Data talent in the market. Compared to the steady increase in demand, the availability of talent is sparse. Additionally, since ‘Big Data’ is an umbrella term, there is a huge number of job titles and roles associated with it talking about the nature of job and domain choices. Finally, the salary for Big Data professionals in the market is skyrocketing day by day and Big Data continues to be treated as the ‘hottest technology’ in recent times.
Now, what are you waiting for?
If you are someone ready to invest in learning Big Data to get an enhanced Big Data career path, enroll in Intellipaat’s Big Data Hadoop course that comprises all popular Big Data tools.
What is Hadoop? Enroll in our Big Data Hadoop Training now and learn in detail!