Word of the Day: data scientist

Word of the Day Daily updates on the latest technology terms | July 13, 2018 data scientist A data scientist is a professional responsible for collecting, analyzing and interpreting large amounts of data to identify ways to help a business improve operations and gain a competitive edge over rivals. The data scientist role is an offshoot of the statistician role that includes the use of advanced analytics technologies, including machine learning and predictive modeling, to provide insights beyond statistical analysis. The demand for data science skills has grown significantly in recent years as companies look to glean useful information from the voluminous amounts of structured, unstructured and semistructured data that a large enterprise produces and collects -- collectively referred to as big data. The mix of personality traits, experience and analytics skills required for the data scientist role is considered difficult to find, and, thus, the demand for qualified data scientists has exceeded supply in recent years. Data scientist topped the list of 50 Best Jobs in America by Glassdoor.com in 2016 and again in 2017, based on metrics such as job satisfaction, number of job openings and median base salary. Basic responsibilities include gathering and analyzing data, and using various types of analytics and reporting tools to detect patterns, trends and relationships in data sets. Data scientists typically work in teams to mine big data for information that can be used to predict customer behavior and identify business risks and opportunities. These professionals are tasked with developing statistical learning models for data analysis and must have experience using statistical tools, as well as the ability to create and assess complex predictive models. A data scientist uses large amounts of data to develop hypotheses, make inferences and hone in on customer, business and market trends. The data scientist must be able to communicate how to use analytics data to drive business decisions that may include changing course, improving a process or product, or creating new services or products. With the latter, the data scientist is involved in the development process. In the case of software, for example, the data scientist's role involves using data analytics to prescribe new features. Data scientists also set best practices for data collection, use of analytics technology and data interpretation. Read more... Quote of the Day "Beyond math skills, data scientists must be able to think creatively and develop context around the data in order to tell a story." - Jason Cline Trending Terms predictive modeling data mining data storytelling relational database management system data-driven decision management data science as a service Learning Center Building a data science team in today's data-centric climate It isn't easy building a data science team in today's data-centric world, in which machine learning and AI are hot. In a recent webinar, a Gartner analyst offered tips and recommendations on how to do it. How a healthcare data scientist can aid in value-based care The government wants providers to move from fee-for-service to value-based care. A healthcare data scientist can analyze patient data to improve outcomes. Big data throws bias in machine learning data sets Data bias in machine learning data sets is a big problem for AI, and correcting it is no small feat. New data science platforms aim to be workflow, collaboration hubs A group of rival workbench-style data science platforms offer users a centralized environment for managing advanced analytics projects involving teams of data scientists -- and Oracle's acquisition of startup DataScience.com brings another major IT vendor into the fold. Two data scientists offer advice on breaking down siloed data Two data scientists address the ever-present issue of siloed data and offer advice to IT leaders on how to deal with it. Quiz Yourself The core components in the first iteration of this big data framework included MapReduce. a. What is Hadoop? b. What is Splunk? Answer Stay in Touch For feedback about any of our definitions or to suggest a new definition, please contact me at: mrouse@techtarget.com Visit the Word of the Day Archives and catch up on what you've missed! FOLLOW US About This E-Newsletter This e-newsletter is published by the TechTarget network. To unsubscribe from Whatis.com, click here. Please note, this will not affect any other subscriptions you have signed up for. TechTarget, Whatis, 275 Grove Street, Newton, MA 02466. Contact: webmaster@techtarget.com Copyright 2018 TechTarget. All rights reserved.