Business fundamentals rely on norms, whether we like it or not. As a society, we rely on credentialing for complex matters. Sure, while anyone can absolutely

Business fundamentals rely on norms, whether we like it or not. As a society, we rely on credentialing for complex matters. Sure, while anyone can absolutely learn to build a self driving car without a degree, here are two very likely paths as a result: 1. Company hires this data scientist, but regulators are skeptical of the efficacy of his/her implementation. 2. Companies adopt this notion that everyone can be a data scientist, build self driving cars, and the cars turn out to be a very error prone, imposing harm. Businesses have to set a bar somewhere to ensure their expected return on data scientist is positive. Just like pharma execs & investors vet their scientists, highly complex data science positions will require convincing the players (investors, regulators...etc.) that your guy is legit. A pharma company would never endorse Walter White as their scientist responsible for delivering drugs.