How to Become a Data Scientist

5 Expert Tips on Developing the Right Skills
How to Become a Data Scientist

A data scientist is a new breed of database professional who applies scientific analysis to large data sets to identify patterns and vulnerabilities.

See Also: Physical and Virtual Devices: How Cybercriminals are Exploiting Machine-to-Machine Communications

These professionals are distinct from other data analysts in their ability to use advanced quantitative analysis and security intelligence to support critical business decisions.

"Data scientists know how to find correlations, extract actionable data and discover undetected security events and patterns," says Phil Neray, head of security intelligence strategy and marketing for Q1 Labs, an IBM company. "They are the new-generation cops focused in identifying and preventing breaches."

As organizations are becoming more data-centric, the data scientist position is getting attention from several sectors, including financial services, e-commerce, healthcare and professional service organizations.

Glassdoor.com, a site that enables workers to self-report salaries, shows average data scientist salaries ranging from $75,000 to $115,000.

Following are five tips for information security professionals interested in becoming data scientists:

  • Earn a Mathematics Degree: A bachelor's degree in mathematics, statistics or computer science is a must, experts say. Candidates must have an understanding of algorithms, correlation and linear algebra to conduct quantitative analysis. "This role cannot be executed without sound knowledge of statistical methods," says Aaron Caldiero, senior data scientist at Zions BankCorporation, a financial services firm.
  • Gain Experience in IT Architecture: Individuals with professional experience in data structures, system architecture and programming are well-suited to transition into this new role, Neray says. Data scientists need to understand parallel distributed computing to build data repositories and accommodate large data sets for accelerating specific tasks.
  • Strengthen Data Mining Skills: The ability to collect, integrate, analyze and extract data is important. Data scientists must be able to find useful correlations among dozens of fields in large relational databases.
  • Leverage New Technologies: Technologies such as big data and semantics help data scientists to become innovative in their discovery processes. "We can now create logic behind the data that leads to important business decisions," Caldiero says.
  • Learn to Collaborate with Business Leaders: Data scientists help C-level executives interpret and integrate data. "The business people who own this data have the real understanding of its meaning," says David Saul, chief scientist at State Street Corp., a financial services company. "So the more we can move closer to the people who own and understand it, the more meaningful the data will be."

For profiles of three data scientists, see related story.


About the Author

Upasana Gupta

Upasana Gupta

Contributing Editor, CareersInfoSecurity

Upasana Gupta oversees CareersInfoSecurity and shepherds career and leadership coverage for all Information Security Media Group's media properties. She regularly writes on career topics and speaks to senior executives on a wide-range of subjects, including security leadership, privacy, risk management, application security and fraud. She also helps produce podcasts and is instrumental in the global expansion of ISMG websites by recruiting international information security and risk experts to contribute content, including blogs. Upasana previously served as a resource manager focusing on hiring, recruiting and human resources at Icons Inc., an IT security advisory firm affiliated with ISMG. She holds an MBA in human resources from Maharishi University of Management, Fairfield, Iowa.




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