We are sure, like everybody else you have heard about how Big Data is taking the world by storm and how a career in Hadoop can really take your future places. But we are also sure, like everybody else you have scores of questions but just don’t know who to ask or get guidance from. Well, at Intellipaat we earnestly endeavour to assist you in every possible way to let you succeed in a career path of your choice.
A recent study from the global consulting powerhouse Mckinsey has revealed that for the first time the exchange of cross border data is contributing more to the global GDP than the global exchange of goods (international trade to be precise). In short, data is the new trade that the world is enamored to. Do you know that the cross-border data exchange via the undersea internet cables has grown 45 times since 2005? Now this is further expected to grow another 9 times within the next five years. All that is too much of data on the grandest of the scales to even fathom, right?
Illustration of the major undersea data cables that account for bulk of the global internet traffic
So the natural question that you might ask is where does all this data emanate from? Well, the biggest contributor is internet videos, our penchant for watching them on YouTube or Facebook, then there are our online conversations and interactions on social networking sites, our ecommerce shopping data, financial and credit card information, all the website content, blogs, infographics, statistics and so on and so forth. But wait, we now have a new contributor to this league and this comes from the various machines which are connected to the internet in the grand scheme of things called the Internet of Things. In future IoT will be the biggest contributor of data exchange going from one end of the globe to the other at the speed of light over our internet networks. So that is all about Big Data for you in a nutshell.
So now your doubt about what comprises Big Data and how big it really is has been cleared once and for all, we can move on. So this should naturally convince you to take up a career in Big Data and Hadoop. The next question that you might have – what is Hadoop and why do I need to learn it? Hadoop is a software framework for processing of large amounts of data on a level that is just too overwhelming for regular database processing tools or software, for that matter. Scalability is one of the hallmarks of Hadoop as it can be replicated from a single machine to thousands, as and when the need arises. Hadoop is agile, resilient, versatile among other features making it the most important Big Data processing framework available today.
Prerequisites for a career in Hadoop
Let us start by saying that the first and foremost thing is a love for working with data, an inquisitive mind, a mindset that is ready to work out of the box and a creative thought process. This is not to confuse you in any manner but all we want to say is that the technical knowhow and the programming skills can all be acquired with the right frame of mind in a very short duration of time.
So if you are really keen on having a career in Hadoop then we suggest you start by learning the nuances of any programming language be it Java, Perl, Python, Ruby or even C. Once you have a basic framework of how programming languages work and how to write a highly effective algorithm then you are good to go to begin learning Hadoop.
Career prospects upon completion of Hadoop Certification
Let us reiterate, since the amount of data is only going to increase in the future and the field of Big Data hasn’t yet been saturated, you can expect a stellar career growth opportunity with the right skill sets and domain level expertise of Hadoop. In India, with just a few years of experience professionals in Big Data can command a salary of upwards of Rs. 10 Lakhs per annum. While there are many different roles and job opportunities in the Big Data domain, you can choose one that suits you the best among the ones mentioned herein – Hadoop Architect, Hadoop Developer, Data Scientist, Data Visualizer, Research Analyst, Data Engineer, Data Analyst, and Code Tester.
Industries that are currently hiring Hadoop professionals
Today we have reached a phase where working with huge amounts of data is imperative for organizations regardless of their industry vertical and customer segmentation. So expect a whole host of industry verticals vying for your attention in their pursuit of hiring the best talent in Big Data and Hadoop. Some of the popular business sectors currently hiring are banking, insurance, ecommerce, hospitality, manufacturing, marketing, advertising, social media, healthcare, transportation, and the list can be almost endless. There will be an overwhelming need for at least 1.5 million Big Data professionals and analysts by 2018 in the United States alone. Know that most of these could be filled by talented Indian professionals since India is the biggest talent pool in the IT sector currently in the world!
How all that Big Data is being used by business enterprises?
Today our world is firmly in a knowledge economy. It is no longer about how much capital or manpower your business organization has. But it inevitably boils down to how much data, information and knowledge that you have in the grand scheme of things. Data is the new arms race and the global multinational enterprises are the new superpowers.
Let’s consider a few examples to elucidate this:
Some of the largest technology companies of the world viz. Google, Apple, Amazon, EBay and Facebook run purely on the power of Big Data that they are accessing and making sense of in order to gain a definitive advantage over their rivals. It is vital to emphasize that more data is not just something about that is a little bit extra – more distinctively signifies new, more signifies better and more even signifies something radically different. Did you know that using IBM Watson cognitive computing technology the doctors in the United States were able to detect new symptoms of cancer the ones which they never knew existed in the first place. All this thanks to Big Data!
Among other things, Big Data helps organizations to understand their customers better, detect patterns, segregate demographics, anticipate sales, and better pitch the products and services to the customers in a more personalized and user-friendly manner. It assists enterprises to predict the future, understand growth opportunities, look for newer markets and better ways to service the customers among a million other things that only Big Data can afford these forward-thinking enterprises.
Finally, remember that only 0.5% of all the data that is available today has ever been analyzed or utilized. So the whole sea of information lies right in front of us and that needs the unflinching support of all individuals in their professional capacities like you to steer the global economy to the next orbit of growth and prosperity. So are you game to take up a career in Big Data and Hadoop now. One thing we can assure you is that with Big Data and Hadoop your career will never be the same again.