5 ms·

A data scientist is an engineer.

M_Grey 10y ago
"Mathematicians becoming data scientists..." At best you're talking about a career change, at worst you're talking about a watered-down version of your intended career.
- stale2002 10y ago
  A watered down version of your career that pays 3 times as much, working on problems that will actually affect people's lives.
  - M_Grey 10y ago
    Oh yeah, you're going to change the world by figuring out who to market baby formula to, and that internet-connected toaster is a winner. The money is good though, that's true.
    - stale2002 10y ago
      The money is good because people are willing to pay. If the world needed more PHDs, then the world would pay them more. Thats how markets work. Supply and demand.
      - M_Grey 10y ago
        "Needs" Not so much. "Wants" as "Thinks it needs", but even then, the amount of student debt suggests that neither of those are entirely true either.
pryelluw 10y ago
Can you elaborate as to why and how? Im genuinely curious. :)
- stale2002 10y ago
  An engineer is a person who creates real world solutions to real world problems. What matters is not how elegant your solution is, what matters is solving the problem. And doing it under cost and time constraints. An engineer is first and foremost, a person focussed on the end goal, above all else.
  - pryelluw 10y ago
    Do data scientists do as engineers?
  - throw_away_777 10y ago
    This definition of engineer is so broad as to be meaningless. There is no "fake world" with "fake world" problems, pretty much everyone is trying to create real world solutions to real world problems. Similarly most jobs are focused on the end goal. A data scientist job usually involves a mix of science and engineering.
    - stale2002 10y ago
      My definition of "real world" problems are ones that people are willing to pay for. If nobody is willing to give you money for whatever it is that you are doing, then it probably isn't solving someone's actual problem.
      - throw_away_777 10y ago
        The problem with this approach is that people pay much more money for limited gains they can exploit than for general gains that benefit everyone equally. Advancing academic knowledge provides gains distributed over a very large number of people, but the current system often does not efficiently allocate resources to this problem.
    - nickdavidhaynes 10y ago
      >There is no "fake world" with "fake world" problems You've never met a number theorist.

"Mathematicians becoming data scientists..." At best you're talking about a career change, at worst you're talking about a watered-down version of your intended career.

stale2002 10y ago
A watered down version of your career that pays 3 times as much, working on problems that will actually affect people's lives.
- M_Grey 10y ago
  Oh yeah, you're going to change the world by figuring out who to market baby formula to, and that internet-connected toaster is a winner. The money is good though, that's true.
  - stale2002 10y ago
    The money is good because people are willing to pay. If the world needed more PHDs, then the world would pay them more. Thats how markets work. Supply and demand.
    - M_Grey 10y ago
      "Needs" Not so much. "Wants" as "Thinks it needs", but even then, the amount of student debt suggests that neither of those are entirely true either.

pryelluw 10y ago

Can you elaborate as to why and how? Im genuinely curious. :)

stale2002 10y ago
An engineer is a person who creates real world solutions to real world problems. What matters is not how elegant your solution is, what matters is solving the problem. And doing it under cost and time constraints. An engineer is first and foremost, a person focussed on the end goal, above all else.
- pryelluw 10y ago
  Do data scientists do as engineers?
- throw_away_777 10y ago
  This definition of engineer is so broad as to be meaningless. There is no "fake world" with "fake world" problems, pretty much everyone is trying to create real world solutions to real world problems. Similarly most jobs are focused on the end goal. A data scientist job usually involves a mix of science and engineering.
  - stale2002 10y ago
    My definition of "real world" problems are ones that people are willing to pay for. If nobody is willing to give you money for whatever it is that you are doing, then it probably isn't solving someone's actual problem.
    - throw_away_777 10y ago
      The problem with this approach is that people pay much more money for limited gains they can exploit than for general gains that benefit everyone equally. Advancing academic knowledge provides gains distributed over a very large number of people, but the current system often does not efficiently allocate resources to this problem.
  - nickdavidhaynes 10y ago
    >There is no "fake world" with "fake world" problems You've never met a number theorist.