Is data science a good career? It is, considering the fact that right now, more than 83% of organizations are considering data as a valuable asset. This value can only be extracted using the right data science and analytics practices. That’s why data science has become the talk of the IT world, and searches for the term “data science” have shot up significantly over the Google search engine.
The trend is obvious since the data science domain is set to create 11.5 million jobs by 2026. High demand, a competitive salary, and impactful job roles make data science a good career choice. Read this comprehensive, fact-driven article to figure out whether data science is a good career.
What Is Data Science?
Data science is a field of study that revolves around data. What it means is that data science, with the help of various tools and technologies, finds meaningful insights from raw data. It involves various processes such as collecting, cleaning, and analyzing data. It also uses various techniques from statistics, mathematics, machine learning, and many more. Now the question is how data science helps businesses. Let us try to understand with real-life examples.
Amazon’s product recommendation system is one of the examples. Amazon uses data science algorithms to offer personalized product recommendations to its customers. So basically, by analyzing the customer’s history, purchase patterns, and preferences, Amazon’s recommendation system suggests relevant products to its customers. This recommendation system, developed by Amazon, drives 35% of overall Amazon sales. That’s the kind of impact data science can have on a business front, making it a must-have for every business.
Get 100% Hike!
Master Most in Demand Skills Now!
Why Choose Data Science as a Career?
In today’s world, data has become the cornerstone of success across a wide range of industries. It’s not just a trend; it’s a fundamental shift in how businesses operate. Think about it – from your favorite online store suggesting products you might like, to your doctor using data to provide you with better care – data is at the heart of these improvements. It’s no longer a matter of choice, it’s a necessity.
Businesses now rely on data to make informed decisions, adapt to customer needs, and stay competitive. As you consider a career in data science, it’s crucial to recognize the central role data plays in shaping the business landscape both now and in the future. Data science offers all that and more.
Let us look at factors such as growing demand, the number of jobs available in data science, salary, etc.
Growing Demand
According to USDSI, by 2026, the market for data scientists is predicted to grow by 46% in terms of job opportunities. Since a majority of organizations are adopting data-driven strategies, the demand for data science professionals is at an all-time high.
Number of Job Opportunities Available
According to LinkedIn, the job of a data scientist in India is more than 1,20,000. On the other hand, in the USA, the job of a data scientist is more than $1,81,000. Apart from this, if we consider other job roles in data science, this number would be much higher.
Lucrative Salary
Did you know that data scientist professionals are paid well due to the high demand in the market? According to Glassdoor, the salary of a data scientist in India ranges from 8 LPA to 20 LPA, and in the USA, it ranges from $92,000 to $2,00,000 per annum.
Impactful and Satisfactory Career Choice
Apart from these, data science is an impactful and satisfactory career choice. Let me tell you why. Data science is the field that directly impacts consumers and brings immense value to businesses, which makes it a fulfilling career choice. It enhances customer experiences, enables data-driven decision-making, drives innovation, solves complex problems, and creates positive social impact.
Moving ahead, let’s look into the future demand for data scientists.
Data Scientist Career Future Scope
Looking ahead, the need for data scientists is growing fast. Why? It is because data is becoming super important in many parts of our lives. Data scientists are people who help organizations find relevant information hidden in data. They’re like problem-solvers. As we use more data, they will be even more important, which will help make our world better with their skills.
In the coming years, data scientists will be in high demand across various industries, which include health care, finance, retail, digital marketing, etc. Let us now look into each industry and the salary they offer.
Healthcare: Increasing demand for data scientists to analyze patient data for better treatment outcomes and disease prevention.
Salary Range: ₹ 5.5 lakhs to ₹ 25.0 lakhs per annum
Average Salary: ₹ 17.8 lakhs per annum
Finance: Growing need for data scientists to navigate complex financial markets, optimize investments, and manage risks effectively
Salary Range: ₹ 4.0 lakhs to ₹ 29.5 lakhs per annum
Average Salary: ₹ 15.2 lakhs per annum
Sports: Growing demand for data scientists to analyze player performance, optimize strategies, and engage fans more effectively
Salary Range: ₹ 4.0 lakhs to ₹ 36.0 lakhs per annum
Average Salary: ₹ 22.5 lakhs per annum
Impact of Data Scientists on Various Industries
A career in data science requires professionals to find patterns and trends from raw data. Then, these patterns are used to find valuable information for making various decisions.
You may ask the question, “Why?” Let me tell you that data science helps any organization predict the future with a higher level of accuracy. Today, almost every industry benefits from data science, be it in core business domains like supply chain management or critical healthcare tasks like disease detection.
Below are the various industries that benefit from data science:
E-commerce: E-commerce companies use data science to understand customer behavior and preferences. Based on these preferences, they personalize product recommendations and set pricing strategies for higher conversion rates.
Finance: Financial institutions use data science to reduce fraud by detecting patterns of fraudulent transactions and developing predictive models.
Marketing: Data science also helps marketers analyze customer data and behavior to optimize ads for personalized marketing campaigns for better customer engagement and conversion.
Education: Data science is everywhere; educational institutions also use data science for analyzing students’ performance data, personalized learning experiences, and developing predictive models for early intervention and student success.
Entertainment: The entertainment industry uses data science for content recommendation systems, market segmentation, and predictive analytics to understand consumer preferences and improve user experiences.
Work-Life Balance for Data Scientists
One of the notable aspects of a career in data science is the favorable work-life balance that it offers. A data scientist has a more relaxed and flexible work environment than other technical roles that demand long hours and high levels of stress. Apart from these, many organizations prefer productivity over presence in the workplace, which allows data scientists to have remote work options and flexible schedules.
This promotes a healthier work-life balance and gives you the flexibility to plan your work hours according to your needs. As a result, data science does not offer just exciting challenges and financial rewards but also quality time away from work.
Data Scientist Salary
Data science isn’t just intellectually rewarding; it’s financially rewarding too. Professionals in this field enjoy some of the best salary packages available. Whether you’re starting as a data analyst, stepping into data science, or specializing as a data engineer, you can count on impressive pay. This reflects the strong demand for data-driven expertise in various industries.
In India, the salary of a data scientist for beginners is 12 lakh per annum; for mid-level professionals, that is, for senior data scientists, the salary is 22 lakh per annum; and the salary of the lead data scientist is 30 lakh per annum.
On the other hand, in the USA, the salary of an entry-level data scientist is $1,54,922 per annum, and for a mid-level data scientist, the salary is $2,30,465 per annum.
Conclusion
Nowadays, data science is adopted by the majority of organizations for data-driven strategies. This is why the demand for data science professionals is at its peak. Not only this, but the data science professionals are paid well. So if you are looking to build a career in data science, then you should go for this domain, which has a promising career.
FAQs
Is data science in demand?
Yes, data science is in demand, which is why the majority of organizations are adopting data-driven strategies for their businesses. In India and the USA, 4,00,000+ data scientist jobs are available on LinkedIn job boards.
Does data science have a future?
Of course, data science has a promising future; according to a survey, there is even a shortage of 1,90,000 data science professional jobs as this domain is skyrocketing. Even in the future, the demand will be high due to the adoption of data science strategies by organizations.
Can a fresher get a job in data science?
Honestly, as a fresher, you may not get your dream job, but yes, you can start by taking on small roles like data analyst to gain experience and build your skills. So grab these opportunities for learning and building skills, and of course, over a period of time and experience, you can land a dream job as a data scientist.
Can I learn data science on my own?
Learning data science on your own can be a difficult task. So it is recommended that you learn from any organized program.
What is data science with an example?
Data science is a field of study that deals with data and extracts valuable information from it. For example, it can optimize road routes by combining traffic and location data from several users. This can help reduce fuel use.