Job Kit: Data Scientist

CAREERS

JOB KIT

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data scientist Insights, information and advice on STEM careers that count!

Think STEM. Think QUT.

Studying STEM at QUT opens a world of opportunities to achieve your full potential and forge a rewarding career.

Discovering how to improve lives by solving a range of real-world problems will be crucial in the future. Many of the jobs of today were unheard of a decade ago: app developers, big data analysts, nanotechnologists and sustainability engineers.

CRICOS No: 00213J

We all know that careers in STEM provide the greatest opportunities to succeed in the future.

No university is better placed to help you launch your STEM career than Queensland’s only university of technology.

Search QUT STEM to learn more about your study options, scholarship opportunities, and life as a QUT STEM scholar.

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FOREWORD

Fuelling the y m o n o c e l a t i dig Love numbers, analysis, trends and computers?

Data scientists are helping governments and organisations make smarter decisions – with massive career potential

Kerrie Mengersen ics, QUT Professor of Statist

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ted constantly, ata is all around us, genera time you use your all day everyday. Every ts at the supermarket smartphone, buy produc , you’re generating TV on or stream something or digital information. potentially useful data, etimes called ‘big data’ This huge resource — som “the new oil of the digital — has been described as is l of untapped value that economy”, because it is ful ut tho the 21st century (wi fuelling the industries of s!). the CO2 emission need people skilled in To harness that value, we l and computer sciences. mathematical, statistica they read and interpret data, t Data scientists don’t jus key nd sta ights, under use it to uncover new ins es, make predictions, and com out t tan por drivers of im ation to organisations, orm inf then communicate that tions to help them make governments and institu a decisions. That means dat smarter, data-supported and , too rs ato nic d commu scientists need to be goo o can think outside the box wh r tte spo nd tre a being e. will also give you an edg ts ists is huge, across all sor ent sci a Demand for dat , ies pan com h tec ks to big of industries — from ban g to a report from global din cor Ac ail. ret to media loitte, in 2018 more than De y consultancy compan sses were planning on three quarters of busine 0! es in data analytics by 202 increasing their capabiliti bal be a national and glo At QUT, our vision is to ds to use data to benefit tho me leader in developing

demand for data scientists is huge, across all sorts of industries — from banks to big tech, media and retail.”

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Watch a recording of our with real-life data scientislive webinar bit.ly/cws-data-webinar ts at

our world. Our Bachelor of Data Science, Bachelor of Mathematics, Bachelor of Information Technolo gy or Masters of Data Analytics will set you on the right path to a career as a data scientist, while our Centr e for Data Science also pro vides research and traini ng opportunities, led by int ernationally renowned statisticians and comput er scientists.

I hope this Job Kit will giv e you a taste of all that this exciting and fast-grow ing field has to offer.

Distinguished Professor of Statistics, Kerrie Mengersen, QU T

Check out Ca for more insights, inreerswithSTEM.com form advice about data scation, inspiration and ientist careers!

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DATA SCIENTIST

DEEP DIVE

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Data drop

Working in data science is literally the most popular job in the country RN, and job ads are still calling out for people to fill new roles. Think it could be for you but aren’t totally sure about the gig? Read on…

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er like fish ata and scientist go togeth ; Rick dia me d an and chips; social rld creates wo the As s. me Astley and me people to push more data, we need more discovery, research, the boundaries in tech, sis around the globe. development and analy ted for analysis or Data is information collec CSIRO data science reference. According to rld ’s data is growing by research Data61, the wo 2.5 quintillion by tes eve ry year. That’s A LOT of data. Sor ting through the data, deciding what’s useful, identifying trends and analysing the findings are data sci entists, analysts and engineers. Whet her it’s in retail, conser vation, humanities, transport, hea lth or computer science, there’s a growing need for data sav vy experts to unpac k what all of this information reveals.

In a nutshell, being a dat a scientist is about ma king data work for yo u. It’s looking through raw data and working wi th software tools and statistical methods to rec ognise patterns that can help with marketin g to the right people in the retail space; solving problems in industry

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stream lining processes); and government (think: s to help the medical or identifying key trend issues. sector screen for hea lth ried, and with The roles are wide and va t skill requested hes hig d data mining the secon five years and “data by employers in the last top job in terms of jobs scientist” ran ked as the and happiness at work, advertised, pay offered booming. it’s no wonder the field is ow about a career in Here’s all you need to kn data science…

Payday The average annual income for is set to pass AU$1 a data scientist 30K w ithin the nex t 12 months (*2

*THE FUTURE OF WORK REPO

RT, DELOITTE 2018 DEPARTM

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ENT OF EDUCATION, SKILLS

AND EMPLOYMENT “HOW

TO BECOME A DATA SCIENTIS

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T”, SEEK CAREERS WITH STEM

: DATA SCIENCE 2019

021 Deloitte).

Fact from fiction

out untruths out there ab There are plenty of science involves. what careerS in data and what to take note of...

Here’s what to ignore A data scientist is the same

data engineer which is #1 astheasame as a data analyst

FICTION

n these roles, and they There’s a lot of overlap betwee as if they are the same are sometimes talked about differences! thing, but there are some key ible for designing, • Data Engineers are respons of the infrastructure building, and maintaining all including tidying up raw needed for data generation, useful. data to make it readable and ls of data engineers to • Data Analysts use the too t they find, identifying analyse data and report on wha al representations of trends, creating charts and visu a scientists but dat the data. They are similar to l job. Other titles for leve ry ent generally it’s more of an s analyst and market data analysts include busines research analyst. lot with analysts, but go • Data Scientists overlap a ng of data — often orti rep beyond the reading and stions (hypotheses) and coming up with their own que to make predictions creating computer algorithms based on data.

#4

You will never stop learning

FICTION

You need to be a maths

#2 rockstar to handle data science

Fact

You need to have many skills but being Einstein ain’t one of them.

Understanding maths and reading statistics is handy, but the main thing maths brings to a data science role is the ability to think through problems logically and poke at problems until you find an answer. For instance, if you worked in an insurance firm, you could be combing through statistics to consider the number of car claims in a particular year and weigh up if an increase in fees is needed.

#3

Well, it’s not completely unt rue. Big data can come from big companies, but it is the term used for large volumes of dat a capturing information at high speed from various sources.

The Aussie government, for instance, has tonnes of data uploaded through its system s daily — like car regos, Med icare claims and education info. A data analyst looks at what the information is saying, so tha t the people making big decisio ns have all the facts.

Tools and required skills are changing quickly, so there will always be something new to understand.

You don’t come out of uni ready to be a data scientist, you will keep learning your whole career.

#5

Australia employs big in the data science field

Big data is information tha comes from big companies t

There’s no I in TEA M

nt to Data scientists are importa and business development profitabilit y, but they also big biz. contribute to areas beyond ude incl also can a Mining for dat -profits non for s ning lear finding key ed ledg rive er-p und help to on how water or n clea ess acc s itie mun com to to help environmental groups and cies protect endangered spe it alone. habitats. But they don’t do with a rate abo coll Data scientists ps, pee led skil er hit list of oth including: • Clients • Business analysts • Product developers • Project managers • Engineers • Sof tware developers • Marketers • Designers

FICTION

The only way is up Fact

g if you’ll You can forget about worryin nce scie a have job securit y in a dat t tes fas career as it’s one of the h an growing avenues of STEM wit nt of yme plo em in wth anticipated gro rs. yea five t nex the r ove almost 13%

Yep, Australia is one of the top 10 employers of data scientists in the world, so let’s hear it for the homegrown talent.

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DATA SCIENTIST

REAL PEOPLE

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s s e n i s u b g i b g n i Solv a t a d h g u o r h t problems A double degree in ph ysics and engineering led Ashleig h unexpected career dir Lau in an ection

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take machines apart. s a kid, Ashleigh Lau loved to around with things like “In my spare time, I would play see hine and take them apart to cameras or the sewing mac says. how it all fits together,” she ree in led her to study a double deg ics han mec in t res Her inte rs ineering at QUT. Now, two yea physics and mechanical eng global at lyst ana a dat a as king wor after graduation, Ashleigh is e. oitt Del y pan com ing sult con h that my favourite par ts of bot “While I was at uni, I found s, ent erim exp e the pracs and the science and engineering wer a did “I s. say she analysing it,” collecting the data and then space, e more in the data analytics wer t tha hips rns couple of inte of my h bot of t par e urit favo It was my and I just fell in love with it. field. degrees condensed into one ed jobs, and landed in the “I applied for more data-focus science e it’s really similar to solving consulting world. At the cor ead.” inst s but it’s business problem and engineering problems,

i just fell in love with it. It was my favourite part of both my degrees.”

“It can be really fast paced,” Ashleigh says. “And I like tha t there are tangible outcomes.

Sometimes we work on high profile projects, and it’s really excitin g to do the work during the day and then turn on the TV at night and see your project on the news.”

Ashleigh is keen to continue developing her analytics skil ls and learning more about consult ing.

“I chose analytics because it is so open to possibilities.

There are so many things you can do with it,” she says. “I wou ld like to manage a team and my own projects, but as long as it still involves data and solving act ual problems, I think I’ll be hap py.”

Ashleigh’s advice to anyone planning their future is to just follow what interests you.

“So many things change and the world changes and you change,” she says. “I think if you kind of pick something that you enjoy, every step of the way you’ll find your process. Jus t be true to yourself and do what you enjoy.” — Chloe Walker

ld outcomes Fast paced, real-wor a data consulting firm,

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ntium, Ashleigh’s first role was at Qua e ed an internship. It was her plet com sly viou where she had pre s, lytic ana a dat of s foundation that she star ted to learn the and SQL (structured query B TLA MA in ing cod including nts oduction to working with clie language). It was also her intr as a consultant. or team at Deloitte, she helps maj Now, as part of the forensics g urin ens problems such as companies solve big accounting fraud. t they’re owed, or identifying wha ive rece es underpaid employe

Bachelor of Science (Physics)/ Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical), QUT

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Intern, Quantium

Project Research Officer, CSIRO

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Associate Analyst, Quantium

Analyst, Deloitte

A day in the life of a…

DATA SCIENTIST

hine-learning My work is typically data or mac make algorithms related. I might write code to gh problems, or better, be creative to solve tou nt. I also plan what create a new model for a clie and meet with to build in the next six months is happy. e clients to make sure everyon

1.30pm

Here’s what a typical day looks like: 8.00am

ing other team Continue with projects and help the other data members. This week, one of lement a new scientists was trying to imp kept trashing machine learning model and

I like to have an early start so I can finish early!

First, I check the algorithms that run 24/7. They try to predict what is happen ing in clients’ factories and make recomm endations about the best operating conditions (eg temperature, amount of chemicals and wat er).

the computer!

3.30pm

Check in with my team and plan

4.00pm

8.15am

the next day.

! It’s lots of fun.

After work, I love Latin dancing to dance classes go I k wee a Three or four nights burgh or parties. — Nadine Cranen

Every day depends on my cur rent priorities, so I review what’s at the top of the list.

I might also help work colleagues out or ask them for help and manage grads to make sure they’re on top of everything.

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Bachelor of Science (Applied Chemistry)/Bachelor of Mathematics, QUT

n 1.30pm. I get too I can’t do lunch any later tha I’ve been working ic dem hungry! During the pan I might go for a so e, tim the from home most of walk in the garden.

Researcher, QUT

1.00pm

Data Scientist and Machine Learning Engineer, Interlate, Brisbane

9.15am

Data Scientist, Woodside Energy, Perth

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n his role at data company Interlate in Brisbane, Luke uses data and algorithms to help mining companies optimise their safety, efficiency and productivity.

But his skills could be used in many other applications, like finding the best temperature to brew the perfect beer!

“I was blown away that it was something people could do for a job!” he says.

After his Bachelor of Mathematics degree at QUT, Luke taught himself coding, which led to a data science internship at Woodside Petroleum in Perth. Combined with some impressive software experience on his LinkedIn profile, this led to him being headhunted by Interlate for a full-time data science job.

Coding and data science skills are rare in new graduates, and roles like Luke’s usually get snapped up by Masters grads or people with workforce experience.

“Don’t rely on your uni courses alone,” Luke says, adding that there are loads of free data science tutes online.

Researcher, University of Melbourne

After a double degree in Science and Mathematics at QUT, Luke Ginn taught himself to code and entered the brave new world of data science

DATA SCIENTIST

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ecklist Electives ch l electives?

Get the job!

Ready to dive into a career with data? Start here

h schoo Choosing hig will set you on the ts . ec bj These su data science a career in to th pa t righ ✔ Maths g stud ies ✔ Computi n n g stud ies ✔ En gi neeri Stud ies ✔ Busi ness s ✔ Econom ic

Listen and learn

ts to start learning Plug into these three podcas e hom about data science at

Crack the code

Data Skeptic ws and discussions on This podcast features intervie s, machine learning all things data science, statistic stories about our and , and artificial intelligence (AI) om ic.c ept data-driven world. datask Data Science at Home r and chief Hosted by software enginee hine learning mac and AI at t ntis data scie es, Francesca company, Amethix Technologi intriguing gs Gadelata, this podcast brin gy, nolo discussions about tech machine learning and AI. datascienceathome.com

le you’re still in school…

• Scratch.mit.edu is a simple, free block coding program toge t the basics • Grasshopper is a coding app for beginners: grasshopper.c odes • There are hundreds of hou rs of coding activities at cod e.org/learn • Join a code club or start you r own — check out codeclubau .org

Fill your feed

Double tap these data scie nce socials to fill your feeds with inspo

Reddit: r/dataisbeautiful Like the name suggests, this subreddit is full of cool, fascinating or quirky data visu alisations.

Twitter: @hmason Hilary Mason is a data scientis t, machine learning expert and lover of cheeseburgers.

YouTube: Data School This YouTube channel is pac ked with tutorials literally all about getting a job in data science, run by data science educato r Kevin Markham.

O’Reilly’s Data Show O’Reilly is an American es learning company that publish s an vide pro and s nce books, runs tech confere t, cas pod this plus — form online learning plat nce scie a dat a, dat big gs thin all which is about and AI. bit.ly/oreilly-podcast

Choose th career if yois u…

> Love spotting tre nds > Th ink outside the box > Enjoy codin g and maths > Are a good problem solver

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This edition was published on 28 Oct 2020.

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